Today we celebrate the birthday of the great detective fiction writer Raymond Chandler (1888-1959). He is generally considered to have invented the private detective character and his Philip Marlowe is, indeed, one of the great characters of fiction. Almost all of his novels have been made into movies, none of them, unfortunately, the equal of the original book.
“He was worth looking at. He wore a shaggy borsalino hat, a rough gray sports coat with white golf balls on it for buttons, a brown shirt, a yellow tie, pleated gray flannel slacks and alligator shoes with white explosions on the toes. From his outer breast pocket cascaded a show handkerchief of the same brilliant yellow as his tie. There were a couple of colored feathers tucked into the band of his hat, but he didn’t really need them. Even on Central Avenue, not the quietest dressed street in the world, he looked about as inconspicuous as a tarantula on a slice of angel food.”
–Farewell, My Lovely
In other words, it’s best to read the books. Which I am in the mood to do.
dual personalities 