4.5
The Annotated Big Sleep
By Raymond Chandler & Owen Hill &Publisher Description
The first fully annotated edition of Raymond Chandler’s 1939 classic The Big Sleep features hundreds of illuminating notes and images alongside the full text of the novel and is an essential addition to any crime fiction fan’s library.
One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years
A masterpiece of noir, Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep helped to define a genre. Today it remains one of the most celebrated and stylish novels of the twentieth century. This comprehensive, annotated edition offers a fascinating look behind the scenes of the novel, bringing the gritty and seductive world of Chandler's iconic private eye Philip Marlowe to life. The Annotated Big Sleep solidifies the novel’s position as one of the great works of American fiction and will surprise and enthrall Chandler’s biggest fans.
Including:
-Personal letters and source texts
-The historical context of Chandler’s Los Angeles, including maps and images
-Film stills and art from the early pulps
-An analysis of class, gender, sexuality, and ethnicity in the novel
One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years
A masterpiece of noir, Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep helped to define a genre. Today it remains one of the most celebrated and stylish novels of the twentieth century. This comprehensive, annotated edition offers a fascinating look behind the scenes of the novel, bringing the gritty and seductive world of Chandler's iconic private eye Philip Marlowe to life. The Annotated Big Sleep solidifies the novel’s position as one of the great works of American fiction and will surprise and enthrall Chandler’s biggest fans.
Including:
-Personal letters and source texts
-The historical context of Chandler’s Los Angeles, including maps and images
-Film stills and art from the early pulps
-An analysis of class, gender, sexuality, and ethnicity in the novel
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities6 Reviews
4.5
Oaky Tyree
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Brandon Sears
Created over 2 years agoShare
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“My Original 2012 Review
General Sternwood, a millionaire in 1930s Los Angeles, hires Phillip Marlowe to investigate a man who claims to have controversial photos of his socialite daughter. However, as Marlowe's investigation progresses, he finds himself in for a little more than he bargained for (excuse the cliche).
In the last few years, I have developed quite an appetite for detective fiction. However, in the past few months, I've wanted to dig deep into the hard-boiled and noir sub-genre. What better place to start than with one that is considered one of the founding fathers of all modern detective fiction.
Chandler not only presents us with a great mystery but also his much revered original style. After finishing this book, I can see why his prose was so influential on a generation of writers. So many memorable quotes are contained within this book! I've selected just a few of my favorites but there are more than I can possibly remember.
It must have been something to be an avid reader when this hit shelves back in 1939. To read this and take in something special that rarely existed must have been refreshing to say the least. With so many signature characters and series' that clutter bookstores nowadays, it's hard to imagine seeing something like this for the first time.
I've certainly become a Marlowe fan after just this one outing and I can't wait to get my hands on subsequent novels
****
After buying the Annotated edition at the tail end of 2018, I finally got around to reading it this month (I figured 10 years after I first read the book is as good a time as any other to revisit it). If you are a fan of Raymond Chandler's classic, this is an excellent addition to your library. Not only does this new edition obviously expand upon The Big Sleep, but it also digs deep into the entire Marlowe series with notes on The Little Sister, The High Window, The Long Goodbye and all the rest sprinkled throughout.
I think perhaps a full series re-read is in order.
Dead men are heavier than broken hearts..”
Anonymous 1
Created over 2 years agoShare
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Jim O'Connell
Created almost 5 years agoShare
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Efbeckett
Created over 5 years agoShare
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“The 2018 annotated edition. The annotations are excellent, covering a wide range of topics, placing the novel in its context historical and literary, and never is it boring. The slang is deciphered, and the important questions about the text - class, racism, homophobia, and of course who killed Owen Taylor - are all addressed.
As for the novel itself, if you have any interest whatsoever in this genre, it is of course a must. But do read it in its entirety before tackling the annotations: they are not spoiler-free.”
About Raymond Chandler
RAYMOND CHANDLER (1888-1959) turned to writing fiction at the age of forty-five, after a career as an oil executive. He published his first story in Black Mask in 1933, and his first novel, The Big Sleep, in 1939. Over his lifetime, Chandler wrote seven novels, several screenplays, and numerous short stories, and became the master practitioner of American hard-boiled crime fiction.
OWEN HILL is the author of two mystery novels, a book of short fiction, and several books of poetry. He has reviewed crime novels for the Los Angeles Times and the East Bay Express. In 2005 he was awarded the Howard Moss residency for poetry at Yaddo. He is currently coediting the Berkeley Noir anthology, forthcoming in 2020. He works at Moe’s Books in Berkeley.
PAMELA JACKSON is an editor, scholar, and librarian specializing in California literary and cultural history. She holds a PhD from UC Berkeley and an MLIS from UCLA and was coeditor, with Jonathan Lethem, of The Exegesis of Philip K. Dick.
ANTHONY DEAN RIZZUTO is a professor of English at Sonoma State University, where he teaches (among other things) California ethnic literature and hard-boiled fiction. He is also a bookseller at Moe’s Books in Berkeley. He received his PhD from the University of Virginia.
OWEN HILL is the author of two mystery novels, a book of short fiction, and several books of poetry. He has reviewed crime novels for the Los Angeles Times and the East Bay Express. In 2005 he was awarded the Howard Moss residency for poetry at Yaddo. He is currently coediting the Berkeley Noir anthology, forthcoming in 2020. He works at Moe’s Books in Berkeley.
PAMELA JACKSON is an editor, scholar, and librarian specializing in California literary and cultural history. She holds a PhD from UC Berkeley and an MLIS from UCLA and was coeditor, with Jonathan Lethem, of The Exegesis of Philip K. Dick.
ANTHONY DEAN RIZZUTO is a professor of English at Sonoma State University, where he teaches (among other things) California ethnic literature and hard-boiled fiction. He is also a bookseller at Moe’s Books in Berkeley. He received his PhD from the University of Virginia.
Other books by Raymond Chandler
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