There
are times in life when you need a good opener. Maybe you’re caught in a rut and
need the charge of a new world, new characters, something that carries with it
the quiet thrill of possibility. Maybe you’re looking for inspiration yourself.
All writers, aspiring and established, have a few special works they return to
time and again, those books and stories that seem to act like jumper cables for
their own work—read a few paragraphs, a chapter or two, and you’re back on the
road. Whatever your reason or need, you’d be hard pressed to find an author
equal to Raymond Chandler in jolting a story alive. If Elmore Leonard was the
king of the opening line, Chandler made a case for himself as the master of the
opening paragraph. Whether he’s describing the weather, the face of a building,
a street corner, or the glint in a doorman’s eye, Chandler brought the scene
instantly to life and gave you an immediate and overwhelming feeling that you
were in a real place, encountering real people caught up in the little dramas
and tragedies that define all our lives.
One-hundred
and thirty one years ago today, Chandler was born in Chicago, Illinois. In
honor of that auspicious entrance and the many more he would pass down to the
annals of literature, we’ve collected here (and ranked, because some are first
among peers) our ten favorite openers from Chandler’s novels and short stories.
Read
them all, get drawn in all over again, and above all, let yourself be inspired.
“It
was about eleven o’clock in the morning, mid-October, with the sun not shining
and a look of hard wet rain in the clearness of the foothills. I was wearing my
power-blu suit, with dark blue shirt, tie and display handkerchief, black
brogues, black wool socks with dark blue clocks on them. I was neat, clean,
shaved and sober, and I didn’t care who knew it. I was everything the well-dressed
private detective ought to be. I was calling on four million dollars.
You
can read the rest of the piece via the below link:
You
can also read my Crime Beat column on Raymond Chandler via the below link:
And
you can read my Washington Times review of The Annotated Big Sleep via the
below link:
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