Reading the 20th Century discussion
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Playback
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Playback by Raymond Chandler (Philip Marlowe #7) (May 2023)
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I have enjoyed revisiting the Marlowe books so much that I couldn't put it off any longer
I seem to recall Playback is a bit divisive round these parts. The last time I read it I loved it but I seem to recall Sid was far less enthralled, awarding it a paltry two stars 😳
I'm wondering whether I got a little carried away last time I read it and will be interested to revisit it having recently read the previous six novels, so more able to put it into context
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Playback was another Philip Marlowe mystery but it differed from his previous work in that much of the action took place away from Los Angeles, in a suburb of San Diego that he called Esmeralda but which is easily recognizable as La Jolla. Although not his best literary work it is interesting for his observations of the town that had been his home for the preceding decade.
Rest here...
http://thewebsters.us/2015/01/16/raym...
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Never let it be said that I am deaf to persuasion. 😉
Finished this now, and although it has a few phrases that are reminiscent of the original Marlowe, they are few and far between. I liked the story, but it did seem as if Chandler was getting a bit weary with it all. I understand he died a short time after this book was written so maybe that had a big bearing on it. I felt it showed a lot of loneliness.
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I really enjoyed this, for reasons that I explain in my review. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...I found it to be a pleasant and leisurely stroll through Marloweland. It was not as good on either the plot details or the snappy dialogue as The Long Goodbye but had a sufficient amount of both to fulfill my desire for an enjoyable yet non-taxing read. I always looked forward to reading it. For me, it was the right book at the right time.
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Glad you enjoyed it
This re-read was an inspired idea
And then later this month, I'll return to the snappy dialogue of the suave and debonair Jackson Lamb (hah!) the man whose idea of chatter is a prolonged fart. It's a different form of snappy dialogue than Marlowe's and I really should refer to it as 'retorts and comments' rather than dialogue. Actually that could apply for both Lamb and Marlowe. However you designate it, it's simply that when they speak, we get entertained. That's description enough,
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"However you designate it, it's simply that when they speak, we get entertained. That's description enough"
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Reading the 20th Century
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This discussion officially opens in May 2023 but feel free to post before and after that month
More about the book....
Los Angeles PI Philip Marlowe is mixing business with pleasure - he's getting paid to follow a lovely mysterious redhead called Eleanor King. And wherever Miss King goes, trouble is sure to follow. But she's easy on the eye and Marlowe's happy to do as he's told. But one dead body later and what started out as a lazy afternoon's snooping soon becomes a deadly cocktail of blackmail, lies, mistaken identity - and murder . . .
'Chandler grips the mind from the first sentence' Daily Telegraph
'One of the greatest crime writers, who set standards others still try to attain' Sunday Times
'Chandler is an original stylist, creator of a character as immortal as Sherlock Holmes' Anthony Burgess