Stats
Date Read: 24-25 Sep
Pages: 42 (the short story alone)
Format Read: PDF, laptop
Genres: Detective, Crime, Noir
My Rating(out of 5): 4.5 Stars
Quotes
There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands' necks. Anything can happen. You can even get a full glass of beer at a cocktail lounge.
"I don't think you will," he said. "I think you'll give him a clean bill of health and anything else he wants. He's giving you a lesson in police work."
Review
I read this as another required reading for my film class. This story that I read was actually part of a bigger book which was a collection of short stories. So, I technically didn’t finish the whole book. But since I’d been reading a quarter or half of so many books for class, I’ve amassed a significant number of incomplete books, so I thought I’d let myself have this.
Red Wind is the story of one of famed private eye Philip Marlowe’s cases. He witnesses a murder at a bar he’s at, decides to personally investigate in typical heroic fashion, stumbles into a damsel in distress and a key witness, runs into more murders, and puts the pieces together as he carries out his unauthorized legwork and interrogation.
The writing was short and sharp, the plot was eventful and moved incredibly quickly, and the dialogue was punchy and entertaining. I was most impressed by how the story managed to construct such a distinct noir atmosphere, pack so much action, and unveil a pretty complex plot in barely forty pages. We also gain a clear picture of Marlowe’s character — he’s gruff, cynical, and borderline rude, but we root for him because he has a clear sense of justice and morality; and most importantly, he’s funny. Thus, writing, story, and character are all great and definitely kept my attention throughout. I did feel that the killings and events were almost happening too fast without explanation, that I felt lost in the first half, but I guess that’s a function of the packed short story.
This was a nice, succinct introduction into an historically influential genre of American fiction. Marlowe is the archetypal American detective, and Chandler is one of its most celebrated authors. I really enjoyed it; it had the heroism and humor of the old detective novels I used to read, mixed with grittier, more realistic elements, which I could tell heavily inspired the Lee Child and James Patterson novels I binge read in my teens. With it being such a short read, I think it’s worth picking up. You get a classic which provides a glimpse into a key era of fiction which has left its mark on pop culture, but you also get a story that’s entertaining on its own (which is perhaps not as common among classics).