The Simple Art of Murder by Raymond Chandler (ISBN:0394757653)

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		The Simple Art of Murder
	
				(7 reviews)			
(254 Readers)

			Raymond Chandler		
	
Prefaced by the famous Atlantic Monthly essay of the same name, in which he argues the virtues of the hard-boiled detective novel, this collection...more
 Prefaced by the famous Atlantic Monthly essay of the same name, in which he argues the virtues of the hard-boiled detective novel, this collection mostly drawn from stories he wrote for the pulps demonstrates Chandler's imaginative, entertaining facility with the form.   less

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
great stuff. He returns to themes and some of the scenes in the shorts reappear in the novels but always great to read. Wonderful setter of scenes and moods and great dialogue

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
One of my all time favorites.

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
Sort of a mixed bag. The prefatory essay still stands as a landmark in literary criticism--anticipating the New Historicism movement, as it does, by at least twenty years. But the accompanying short stories are inconsistent: a few very strong ones, but also a couple of his weakest (and this edition had a surprising number of typos, for what it's worth).

Worth it for the essay alone, but I've...more
 Sort of a mixed bag. The prefatory essay still stands as a landmark in literary criticism--anticipating the New Historicism movement, as it does, by at least twenty years. But the accompanying short stories are inconsistent: a few very strong ones, but also a couple of his weakest (and this edition had a surprising number of typos, for what it's worth).

Worth it for the essay alone, but I've always enjoyed Chandler's novels over his short stories.   hide

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
Gran colecci

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
It's more than just a book about writing detective novels, it's a mystical, magical and secret manual for life. Well, if you actually are making a living as a detective. 
The stories included are all well-done. 
I don't think Philip Marlowe would have survived in the modern world. Things are more vicious and venal than they were in his time.
"Lie down with dogs, get up with fleas." 
Hard to...more
 It's more than just a book about writing detective novels, it's a mystical, magical and secret manual for life. Well, if you actually are making a living as a detective. 
The stories included are all well-done. 
I don't think Philip Marlowe would have survived in the modern world. Things are more vicious and venal than they were in his time.
"Lie down with dogs, get up with fleas." 
Hard to find a good flea collar these days.   hide

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
Chandler, possibly at his best in short form at least.

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
This collection was pretty darn good. The title essay was alright, not very profound and mostly just a rant about how crappy most mystery writers are. The stories themselves were pretty good, less contemplative and faster paced then Chandler's books with more action and violence. It's hard to write a good short mystery without it turning into a crime story, but Chandler manages this...more
 This collection was pretty darn good. The title essay was alright, not very profound and mostly just a rant about how crappy most mystery writers are. The stories themselves were pretty good, less contemplative and faster paced then Chandler's books with more action and violence. It's hard to write a good short mystery without it turning into a crime story, but Chandler manages this without trouble. The writing is always high quality, but sometimes these stories felt repetitive- a few too many hotel detectives and blond women. However, "Pearls are a nuisance" provided an excellent break in terms of mood and style- it was funny and I've never read Chandler write this kind of character.In all, a great collection.   hide

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