Noir Breath
While listening to The Lady in the Lake by Raymond Chandler, it occurred to me how bad everyone's breath must've been in Phillip Marlowe’s world. In every scene someone is drinking. Whisky, rye, and occasionally gin. They're not always drinking it straight. In one scene, Philip Marlow produces a bottle of rye from his pocket and suggest the other person get some ginger ale. There was no Ginger Ale Zero to spare your teeth at the expense of your microbiome.
And man or woman, everyone smokes. They smoke cigarettes, pipes and cigars. They smoke for breakfast and for lunch. They smoke for dinner and in all the gaps between meals.
Marlow starts his day with coffee and cigarettes, then in his Hollywood office, he’ll take a belt from the ‘office bottle’ while enjoying a pipe. When he’s questioning someone, drinks will be had. And you can’t have a drink without a cigarette.
Maybe that's why so many of the characters are irascible.
The Philip Marlowe books are efficient. In a 7 1/2 hour audiobook you get an intricate story filled with subtle clues and twists. Chandler doesn't hold your hand. He never tells you when something is important. You have to pay attention.
One of the reasons a novel like Lady in the Lake can be so short is the lack of introspection from the protagonist. You do get impressions of what Marlow feels about what he's going through but you're never beaten over the head with it. Whereas some modern books feel like litanies of pop psychological explorations of back stories.
I tend to like something in between the two. Some writers craft characters emotions in a way that cuts close, leaving you with the impression they know something about you personally.
With Scott Brick’s excellent narration, you get a layer of internal conflict and emotion. Scott’s narration elevates and already great book.