The Big Sleep

Philip Marlowe, Book 1

By: Raymond Chandler

Narrated by: Scott Brick

The iconic first novel from crime fiction master Raymond Chandler, featuring Philip Marlowe, the "quintessential urban private eye" (Los Angeles Times).

A dying millionaire hires private eye Philip Marlowe to handle the blackmailer of one of his two troublesome daughters, and Marlowe finds himself involved with more than extortion. Kidnapping, pornography, seduction, and murder are just a few of the complications he gets caught up in.

©1939 Raymond Chandler (P)2020 Random House Audio

Fun but Confusing

Performance was perfect, it's fun to listen to Chandler's writing and turns of phrase but trying to keep up with all the twists and turns and who is who is almost impossible.

Outstanding

I have become a big fan of these works in Recent years and adds to the enjoyment first experience with the movie.

Philip Marlowe

The big sleep. You got that right and as a classic gumshoe he wants to be better and in the end he was. A true great Noir

My favorite Chandler story

A very good performance. No weaknesses for me. Other Chandler stories can suffer to whatever degree by casual racial stereotypes. This story is perhaps his tightest as to plot and plausibility.

Solid Noire

I like this book a lot — especially the performance. Scott Brick kills it. His voice and tones are perfect — noire to a tee. The story is a little convoluted but overall good. I’ll listen to another Raymond Chandler book for sure.

Fundamental with great narration

Finally read this--Brick is maybe the perfect narrator--and I understand how important this is as a fundamental noir novel. It works! I may be too influenced by parodies and stories inspired by this and other noir novels, but the story felt a iny bit predictable.

I love how he creates such a visual experience with wordplay!

New favorite book and author. can't wait to read more! absolutely love the plot, story telling, and visual wordplay.

no one writes a simile like Raymond Chandler

got to keep track to keep all the characters straight. high brow fiction now,pulp fiction then. how we've regressed.

What a story!

I loved it! I had just listened to the Maltese Falcon and was looking for something similar. Oh boy did I get more than I expected! The story was dark but without filth. It’s amazing how it’s unnecessary to fill the readers eyes or ears with smut and violence and yet that’s all our modern writers do. It’s sad really that they have forsaken an art like suspense and instead sell us trash all naked and covered in blood and fools just lap it up and call it good. What a story! Riveting, suspenseful, even provocative but never smut. What a story!

classic noire

Scott Brick delivers a very compelling performance of a classic noire novel. Brick channels a very world weary Philip Marlowe in a tale that keeps you guessing until the bitter end.