The Long Goodbye

De: Raymond Chandler

Narrado por: Full Cast, Toby Stephens

Fast-talking, trouble-seeking private eye Philip Marlowe is a different kind of detective: a moral man in an amoral world. California in the ’40s and ’50s is as beautiful as a ripe fruit and rotten to the core, and Marlowe must struggle to retain his integrity amidst the corruption he encounters daily. In The Long Goodbye, Marlowe forms an uneasy friendship with a drunk named Terry Lennox. So when Lennox shows up late one night, looking guilty and asking for a ride to Tijuana airport, Marlowe agrees - though he suspects he’s going to regret it. He’s right. First Lennox’s rich, adulterous wife is found murdered, then Marlowe is arrested, then Lennox himself turns up dead in Mexico: an apparent suicide with a signed confession by his side. And if that wasn’t enough, Marlowe also finds himself babysitting an author to make sure he delivers his next book. Trying to juggle two increasingly tricky cases, Marlowe knows that if he takes his eye off the ball, he could end up dead... Starring Toby Stephens, this powerful dramatisation by Stephen Wyatt cannot fail to draw you into Raymond Chandler’s darkly attractive world of deceit, decadence and death.

Great classic work

I’m a fan of Mr. Chandler and this story hits all his beats! Well done all around.

Enjoyable Noir. Well Produced.

Where does Raymond Chandler: The Long Goodbye (Dramatised) rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In the upper third. These dramatized Chandler tales aren't not long enough to spend a full credit on, but they are entertaining enough to pay the small price Audible asks for them.

What did you like best about this story?

The dramatization. These abridge shorts are very well made.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

I really like the background sounds (a clink of a glass, the click of a gun, etc.)

Any additional comments?

Bought this one and then started collecting some of the others. I'm up to three of these now, and can see myself buying a few more.

A Great Way To Spend One & A Half Hours

Any additional comments?

I'm a huge fan of those old radio plays from the 40's & 50's so at first I was a bit skeptical that they could re-create what is now an entirely lost artform. But I was blown away by how wonderful a job they did at producing that same feeling while listening. The acting, music, sound effects & overall production all contributed to a really great translation of Raymond Chandler's book into the different medium.

Just what you'ld expect from Chandler

Dramatisation is certainly more fun than a single reader's voice. Reader's chosen well and great material.

Toby Stephens is no Ed Bishop

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Better actors, full production elements, sound effects, and a longer less condensed version of the story.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Phillip Marlowe-however this rather amaterurish version of Marlowe doesn't work.

What didn’t you like about the narrators’s performance?

The narrator tried too hard to evoke a film noir influenced style to his read. It was not only ineffective it was style over substance. The beauty of any Chandler book is the words, the late Ed Bishop who performed these same stories in the 1970's on BBC articulated and emphasized with ease the language and attitude of Chandler. Toby has the pipes but gets lost by not understanding the context of the character. It's especially annoying with the inferior mix of audio, a lot of background bursts of voices which are mere fragments of the original production, The whole production although sharp in some sections sounds too post modern and ironic.

What character would you cut from Raymond Chandler: The Long Goodbye (Dramatised)?

That should read what actor? The gentlemen playing Terry Lennox was horiffic, sounded like a 17 year old boy. No Jim Bouton.

Any additional comments?

Unfortunately Ed Bishop has passed, and the original 1970's era actors and producers are likely not available. I admire the fact that you would take this task on and Toby is talented, but not ready to step in Ed's shoes. As for the paired down production elements and lesser actors it's a real disappointment. Instead-reissue the superior production from the 1970's. The producers should have offered the lead to Elliot Gould who besides being a great actor, is a huge chandler fan and the star of the 1973 film adaptation of the book.