"The little sister" by Raymond Chandler

Philip Marlowe obviously doesn’t like his new client: a pretty, quaint, modest young lady, an obedient daughter of a religious mother. Is it just because you disapprove of smoking and drinking? Or is there something else behind his rudeness? ESP, probably?

He accepts her $ 20 anyway and even begins working on his search: searching for his missing brother. Several times they fight and then make amends again; several times he returns the fees. Finally he has another client, richer and more illusory. And, apparently, she’s much more likely to be guilty of some nasty things, even if she’s not a murderer. Why then? Philip Marlowe may be a rude, arrogant, and shady drunk, but he won’t help anyone he considers a villain – he has his ethics when it comes to his job.

Peculiar ethics, I must add. Over and over he gets into trouble, and over and over he manages to get out of it without losing not only his head, but even his license. And in the end, when it comes time for explanations, we can see that he had his perfect reasons for being rude to a seemingly nice girl, and good to a seemingly naughty one. It’s amazing how low some people can fall while still maintaining that innocent gaze …

He doesn’t seem to respect the police very much: suppressing evidence is his daily routine. You don’t mind telling people some things about them, things that may be defamatory, but somehow you know they won’t sue you (what if you can prove it?). boy, but he will never hurt an innocent person, and by some magic he seems to always know who that innocent person is, even if he is the most unlikely of all.

Raymond Chandler writes books that are great for times when you feel like you need to suppress some of your extra optimism. The world of his books looks like a dirty hole; good people hardly exist. I know you considered suicide many times in your life; reading some of your books, I easily believe it. But the plot is always excellent and the final explanations of the true roles that everyone has played are the kind you would least expect. Good turns to bad and bad to good only in the last pages: until then, you will cleverly stay in the dark.

Another unexpected thing is that your book does not depress me, despite all its pessimism. I think I’ll even read “The Little Sister” more than once; it sure has an entertaining element. What I don’t understand is why almost all detective story writers think that their main character just has to drink and smoke so much – is alcohol supposed to stimulate the brain? Hardly. Philip Marlowe smokes and drinks a lot, it’s no wonder he looks old at 38. Well, maybe he’s not exactly old, but he’s definitely not young.

But for the lone wolf that he is, it’s probably the right lifestyle …