To say goodbye is to die a little. -- Raymond Chandler

Recently, I have read numerous novels and science fiction works, including books by Dan Brown, Michael Crichton, Laurell K. Hamilton, and Patricia Cornwell. There are also many books by Agatha Christie, Herbert George Wells, Phyllis Whitney, Walter Gibson, etc., which I have read a few years ago. But one or two months ago, I decided to read works by Raymond Chandler. I had heard his name as a detective storywriter. Now, I have just finished reading "The Long Goodbye" and I can't help but wonder how to express my feelings. It was such a terrific piece of art and story telling. And much more, in fact.

After reading a book, that is when some time passes by, I usually do not remember the story itself or the plots and events in it. But what stays in my mind and makes me think about it now and then, are the characters, the feelings, and the thoughts.

What you find in "The Long Goodbye" is not a series of events designed ingeniously to entertain you; it does entertain you all right, but it has much more to offer. The personality of Philip Marlowe, IMHO, tries to show the multidimensional and multifaceted nature of a human being, bringing into light the inevitable fact that there are dimensions, which are more genuine to being human than others. There are things that are more important, and there are ideas and motives that, even though scarcely expressible, are the characteristics of a lovable and good person.