Raymond Chandler made the right choice in utilizing a euphemism for death to title his book. The Big Sleep is full of the stuff: back-stabbings, murder, poison, seduction - and it makes the novel pulpier than Florida's Natural orange juice. Chandler's influential noir novel manages a spiraling plot and quirky, vulnerable characters into a small package, one that has shown up in many mystery novels in one form or another.
One of the most endearing qualities of the novel is, of course, the heroic Philip Marlowe, a private dick (unlike some other hard-boiled detectives like Spade, specializing in the former part of the phrase rather than the latter) who is called into General Sternwood's exorbitantly rich mansion to explore a blackmailing scheme that has been plaguing the family. Marlowe's job comes first, and though he has a few mysterious qualities to his lifestyle, the private eye is more morally refined than other detectives in novels of this nature. Chandler makes it clear that Marlowe is not out for money in the case, nor is he in it to be a babe magnet for Sternwood's daughters, Carmen and Vivian. He turns these vices down, instead opting for the more professional side to being a detective, and it's easier for the reader to relate to a character who operates under the assumption that police work should be done by ethical people rather than shady underhanded tactics.
The plot of The Big Sleep is a fairly encompassing view of a big city that has been riddled with crime. Pornography rings, murders, illegal gambling, prohibitive drinking, breaking and entering - all of these are rules that were made to be broken for characters in the novel. Most of these crimes happen during the course of the plot in one way or another, and they help to distract and confuse Marlowe from the larger criminal activity. In truth, the reader rarely knows where The Big Sleep is going; is it about blackmail, something larger? Chandler weaves the ideas together well towards the end of the novel, but the disjointed feel from the strangely-connected developments might throw some readers off the case.
But Chandler's plot has an undeniable attraction, perhaps because of the contradictory feeling that the characters are both full of depth and impermanent. Each character plays a minimal but integral role in this game that Marlowe unravels, and though the characters gain a unique personality in a short amount of time, their presence is always cloaked in a bit of intrigue, as though one should not get too attached to someone who might not be there in the next chapter. It's this uncertainty that keeps the reader pushing forward.
Slash to the Point: Chandler's novel is a fast-paced read, and his legendary protagonist stands the test of time as an honorable but professional detective. The Big Sleep is full of beautiful imagery set behind a backdrop of seedy crime, and it's perfect for a rainy day, where everything has a tinge of cleanness and an ugliness behind it.
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