Gray cities, cigarettes in men's hands, mysterious women, heavy rain at night, lonely detectives...
The novelist, Raymond Chandler, began writing at the age of forty-four and published his first novel at the age of fifty.
Almost single-handedly, he rewrote people's impression of "unpopular" detective novels, and also let the "tough guy novels" influence countless creators.
Batman in Gotham Town, the lonely protagonist in Haruki Murakami's novel, the cynical but persistent detective in True Detective... Raymond Chandler's shadow can be seen everywhere.
On the book review website Goodreads, some readers commented on Raymond Chandler's The Long Farewell, saying that it is a book that "can accompany you in the dark and spend lonely nights with you."
In recent years, Raymond Chandler's novels have been published by many publishers, reflecting the ability of his works to resonate emotionally with readers across the ages. For readers who like genre literature, his protagonists and crimes exude endless attraction; for literary youth, Chandler's sentence "Saying goodbye, is to die a little" is also the benchmark of literary golden sentences.
In the age of heroes, we all wanted to meet a friend like Chandler's Detective Marlowe, or, at some point, we all became Marlowe.
Today's recommendation is the preface written by the writer Liu Zichao for "The Long Farewell". We may have known Liu Zichao because of "The Lost Satellite", but his other identity is that of a translator.
This is perhaps the best guide to the world of this detective novelist.
The Long Farewell
By Raymond Chandler, translated by Liu Zichao
Daxing Culture x CITIC Generous | CITIC Press, 2020-9
Author | Liu Zichao
Edit | Cheng late
Raymond Chandler:
Influenced the detective novelist in murakami
Raymond Chandler was an American "post-eighties" born in 1888 – five years younger than Kafka and eleven years older than Hemingway. It was not until the age of fifty-one that Chandler published his first novel, Sleepless. In the nearly two decades that followed, he wrote seven novels featuring Marlowe, including the classic The Long Farewell.
"Sleep Without Awakening"
Daxing Culture x CITIC Generous | CITIC Press, 2021-10
Born in the United States, Chandler returned to England with his Irish mother at the age of seven to be educated in public schools. Later he often proudly referred to this "classical education", which included Latin and Greek.
In a letter to the British publisher Hamish Hamilton, Chandler wrote: "Classical education allows you to avoid being fooled by pretentiousness, which is exactly what most novels are currently infested with." Thus, despite his career as a writer of cheap detective novels, Chandler's work has always maintained a literary style, and its unique style has influenced a number of serious writers, including Haruki Murakami.
Due to his family's financial situation, Chandler did not go to college. He was admitted to the civil service, but soon found the job boring and tedious, and chose to quit after only six months. He intended to make a living as literature, wrote poetry, and also wrote "anything that could be printed." However, after a few years as a poor freelance writer in London, Chandler regrettably concluded that the road was not working.
In 1912, at the age of twenty-four, Chandler returned to the United States. Throughout his life, he faced the dilemma of identity: he grew up in Britain, but not British. He lacks identification with vulgar American culture, but he also hates the general snobbish attitude towards Americans.
Raymond Chandler
After the outbreak of World War I, Chandler joined the Canadian Army and was sent to the French front as a platoon leader. "When you have to lead a platoon of soldiers to face the strafing of machine guns, everything becomes different," he said. ”
Most of his comrades died. After the war, Chandler returned to California with a traumatic heart.
Chandler found himself without skills. To make a living, he plucked apricots in an apricot orchard and threaded tennis rackets. Later, he taught himself bookkeeping and entered a company running an oil business, and his life gradually got on the right track.
At the age of thirty-five, Chandler married a woman eighteen years older than him. We now know that at the time of their marriage registration, the woman is likely to have underreported the age of ten. But surprisingly, it was a happy marriage that lasted for more than thirty years. When Chandler wrote The Long Goodbye, his elderly wife was seriously ill in bed. Chandler wrote while taking care of his wife.
"I watched my wife die." In his letter, he said, "In the midst of extreme pain, I wrote one of my best books. I don't know how I did it. ”
Raymond Chandler/wiki
Chandler didn't really start writing until he was forty-four years old. That year, he lost his job because of alcoholism. He had not published any works for more than a decade and had a very realistic attitude towards his chances of success in pure literature. He decided to write detective fiction for a cheap magazine, thinking it was a great way to learn to write novels while still making some money.
"I specialize in detective fiction because it's a popular genre," Chandler said, "and I think the right and lucky guys will end up turning it into literature." ”
Chandler spent five years writing many short stories for cheap magazines, and his writing skills were maturing. His requirements for himself were very clear: he must learn to use a new language, both to be simple and fluent, but also to maintain the proper atmosphere of literature. This kind of breath is not what the public demands, but people subconsciously accept and like it.
Many critics believe that Chandler's style of writing was influenced by Hemingway. However, Chandler was slightly critical of this. In "Goodbye, My Love," Chandler teases Hemingway through Marlowe's mouth. In the novel, Marlowe has been calling a policeman "Hemingway". The confused policeman finally asked, "Who the hell is this guy named Hemingway?" Marlowe replied, "He keeps repeating the same thing over and over again until you believe that his words are wonderful." ”
"Goodbye, My Love"
Raymond Chandler, translated by The Results
Reader culture | Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing House, 2019-9
In 1938, Chandler wrote his first novel, "Sleepless and Awake". He once confessed that he wrote too slowly and threw away too much. Still, Time magazine gave him the title of "Poet Laureate of the Lonely." Chandler's work not only shows a unique style, but also creates a classic image in literary history, Philip Marlowe.
Philippe Marlowe:
Sad but never defeated, lonely but never taken seriously
Looking at Chandler's eight novels, we can use a variety of clues to piece together a short biography of Philip Marlowe.
Marlowe was supposed to have been born around 1905, although in The Long Farewell (1953) he said he was forty-two. The only child in the family, he grew up in santa rosa, Northern California. By the time Marlowe became a private investigator in 1925, both parents had died.
In high school, Marlowe played football, injured his nose, and had surgery — something that didvetailed with Chandler's experience. Unlike Chandler, Marlowe went to college. He must have read a great deal during his university years, for he quoted many times in his novels the works of Proust, Hemingway, Eliot, and Flaubert.
Marlowe worked as an investigator at an insurance company and then entered the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office. He was fired for disobeying orders, but more often because he was "being too efficient in a place where leaders least want to see efficiency." Marlowe had never been a police officer, but he knew the profession well. He knew many members of the police community, including old police officer Bernie Ors, who would later become friends.
Marlowe's height is about 1.82 meters, his weight is about 87 kilograms, his hair is dark brown, his eyes are brown, and a single boast of "he is still handsome" will certainly not satisfy him. Chandler said that if he had a chance to choose the actor who played Marlowe, the best person would be Gary Grant.
Marlowe liked to drink—and this was also a shadow of Rich Drey's own. Marlowe rarely refuses to be offered Scotch or rye whiskey, but he doesn't pick and choose from other wines—as long as they're not sweet. His favorite cocktail is double Gibson. Later, he drank Jimlet with Terry Lennox. Marlowe is very good at making coffee. He has demonstrated the art of making coffee many times. He would make a simple breakfast and the remaining two meals would be sorted out outside.
Stills from "Sleepless", Marlowe played by Humphrey Bogart.
In The Long Farewell, Marlowe once told publisher Howard Spencer: "I am a lone wolf, unmarried, middle-aged and not much money." I've been in the innings more than once. I don't take divorce cases. I love spirits, women, playing chess and other things. ”
Apart from not taking on divorce cases, Marlowe accepted any other legal job. As for the pay, he knows very well that "if you're honest, you don't make much money in this business." "He abhors the sedate middle-class life — the life most Americans aspire to." However, Marlowe said, "Friend, you have lived this life." I chose the dirty, despicable and depraved big city. ”
In this corrupt and depraved world, Marlowe's morals and intellect are full of power and romance. He protects the innocent, guards the helpless, and destroys the forces of evil to the best of his ability, and he receives only a small reward. He bears the weight of urban civilization, but must rise above these pressures and do his work.
Stills from The Long Goodbye, marlowe played by Elliott Gould.
Marlowe is a noble character with mean wit, sad but undefeated, lonely but never taken seriously. He insisted on his principles, even if they made him suffer terribly. According to Chandler, this is Marlowe's philosophy of life. In a way, this "chivalry" of modern society is also the charm of Marlowe.
In 1957, Chandler, who was at the end of his life, said of Marlowe for the last time: "I think he would always be woken up by troublesome people in troubled moments to do some troublesome work." It seemed to me that it was his destiny — perhaps not the best in the world, but it was his destiny. ”
Unlike reading Agatha-esque classical speculative fiction, reading The Long Farewell doesn't have to be limited to reasoning itself or "who is the murderer?" In fact, Chandler himself has repeatedly stated that his ambitions are not reasoning.
In 1944, in a letter to a friend, Chandler wrote: "I don't seem to have paid much attention to the elements of reasoning in detective fiction... Often, a mind that can conceive of cool reasoning cannot take into account the enthusiasm required for vivid writing. ”
British detective fiction writer Agatha Christie, whose work belongs to the classical mystery novel. /wiki
With tight reasoning and pure writing, Chandler is clearly more inclined to the latter. He values style – that's a key to our appreciation of The Long Goodbye.
Regarding style, Chandler said: "The most enduring thing in writing is style, and style is the best time investment for a writer." ”
By "style," Chandler refers to the writer's unique perspective and word processing. When reading The Long Farewell, we occasionally come across bright sentences—because of the chic novelty of their presentation—which is one of the hallmarks of Chandler's style.
The oak table was scarred, presumably removed from Noah's Ark, and Noah bought second-hand goods.
The waves are as gentle as an old lady singing a hymn.
The water was calm like a sleeping kitten.
He sighed. The eyebrows trembled slightly, like the tentacles of some kind of suspicious insect.
An hour crawled slowly, like a sick cockroach.
In addition to figurative sentences, as long as details such as the appearance, clothing and demeanor of the characters, and even the room layout help to reflect the character 's personality (even if it is only a supporting role), Chandler will also be extremely patient to describe the brush strokes, making people feel vivid.
For example, in The Long Farewell, Chandler uses a large paragraph about Sheriff Peterson and his office.
The house was filled with souvenirs from grateful people, all of which were a tribute to the sheriff's loyal service over the past two decades. The walls were covered with pictures of horses, each with Sheriff Peterson. The four corners of his carved desk are all horse heads. The ink bottle is polished smooth horseshoe. The other horse paired with it contains white sand in its hooves and a fountain pen inserted into it. Gold medals are studded on both horses' hooves, and it is written to commemorate a special day. In the middle of the spotless record book was a bag of "Duhan Bull" brand tobacco and a packet of brown cigarette paper—Peterson's own cigarettes. He can roll cigarettes on horseback with one hand, and enjoy it, especially when he rides a tall white horse draped in a Mexican saddle and decorated with beautiful Mexican silver ornaments at the forefront of the parade. He sat on horseback and wore a Mexican flat-topped wide-brimmed hat. His riding skills are extremely beautiful. The horse was also understanding, knowing when to be quiet and when to throw a little tantrum so that the sheriff could subdue him with one hand with a deep smile. The sheriff knows how to perform. His side face was handsome like an eagle, but at this age, his chin was inevitably a little loose, but he knew how to swing his head so that this point was not too revealing. He has also worked how to take pictures... He simply sat down behind the desk, staring sternly at the suspect, leaving his side face for the camera. Flashing lights, the photographer respectfully thanked the sheriff, the suspect was taken away without even opening his mouth, and the sheriff returned to his ranch in the San Fernando Valley. There, you can always call to find him. Even if you can't find the sheriff himself, you can always talk to one of his horses.
In The Long Farewell, we observe and experience American society in the 1950s through Marlowe's perspective. As Marlowe searched for the truth, we also met all kinds of characters with him.
There are millionaires, there are upper classes, there are wandering socialites, there are lost hollow beauties, there are gangsters and their thugs, there are policemen and lawyers, there are journalists, there are servants and waiters, there are doctors and nurses, there are Jews who have run away from their wives, there are working women who share a room... Chandler gives each character a personality, and no one is a lifeless prop.
Stills from "Modern Times", the film presents a microcosm of the capitalist society of that time.
In the process of contacting these characters, we can glimpse the epitome of a highly developed capitalist society. With the help of these characters, Chandler occasionally threw out insights into various social phenomena. Many of the insights are insightful and critical even today—another key to appreciating The Long Farewell, and one of The Characteristics that Distinguish Chandler from his contemporaries.
The author's critique of law, democratic society, and fashion is not jumped out by the author or the protagonist Marlowe himself and shouts of exhaustion, but from the mouths of different characters. When we read it, we will feel that such a character must have such an opinion in that situation. A person with such an opinion is bound to fall into that situation. It can be said that although "The Long Farewell" is a detective novel, its capacity and ambition have long exceeded murder and suspense.
Today's topic
Have you read Raymond Chandler's novels?
What's your favorite?
· END ·
Author 丨 Liu Zichao
Editor 丨Cheng late