The Big Sleep– Style before substance…..

“The Big Sleep” by Raymond Chandler is about a private detective who gets caught up in the sordid affairs of a wealthy family involving blackmail, pornography, seduction and of course murder.

After struggling through "The Big sleep", I can safely say that Chandler is all about atmosphere and he tries to smother you with the feel of the place while oblivious to the fact that the best stories are about people and not places.

It is obvious that he loves the environment and he wishes that he was the detective. But trying to force feed one's love through a story is tantamount to raping the story for petty pleasures, which , here, is the similes like "she looked as attractive as a stray dog". Who gives a shit. Get on with the story and try to develop the characters rather. On which regard, Hammett, with all his faults, is a master. Pretty prose is always a good attribute but ultimately it is the story that matters.

Reading the story it is apparent that Chandler was making everything up as he went and this results in a overdrawn, complicated mess. Hammett has his destination in sight however messy the story seems to be.

Whereas chandler seems to be a dreamy eyed wanderer who wants to talk about the pavement, the beer cans, the dogs and the cigarettes on it rather than about the bum slumped over at the alley nearby, Hammett talks about that bum and how he would be a hindrance to the destination. Chandler writes about his wet dreams while Hammett writes about his nightmare.
Chandler's detective can be easily summarized as one's wet dream on masculinity whereas Hammett's detective is a despicable, dreary, opportunistic, cold-hearted bastard. It is of no surprise that the latter is a much interesting character to read about.

Ultimately, it is what you expect out of a story that would determine the author you would like. If you are about the atmosphere and the mood, Chandler would be your man. But if you are about the story, the journey and the destination, Hammett would be your best bet.

But, as for myself, judging from "The Big Sleep", I would daresay that Chandler is egregiously overrated. But I do not intend to stop reading Chandler with this book. I plan to read "The Long Goodbye", which is acclaimed to be his best work, and decide after that. But he's got to do some serious convincing in that one.

Rating: 2/5.