A Mysterious Something in the Light: The Life of Raymond Chandler
In this immersive biography of novelist Raymond Chandler, who helped define the detective fiction genre, first-time author Williams pieces together numerous interviews, letters, and articles to offer a remarkably detailed portrait of the famously hard-boiled writer. Chandler's father was abusive and an alcoholic, two qualities that had a lasting impact on the writer. Philip Marlowe, Chandler's iconic character, was a drinker (as was Chandler himself), and the abuse his mother suffered at the hands of his father inspired a chivalrous streak displayed in fiction as well as real life. Williams spends the most time on Chandler's early writing, sharing passages from stories and poems, as well as insight into the writer's process that yielded classics like The Big Sleep and The Long Goodbye. Chandler fans will find discussions of the minutiae of these novels to be illuminating; those with a more casual interest will likely skip ahead to read about the writer's tumultuous relationship with Hollywood, including spats with directors Billy Wilder and Alfred Hitchcock. Meticulously annotated and researched, and written with a tangible fondness, it's hard not to appreciate Williams's efforts. Still, the book may be too myopic for most fans of crime writing. 25 b&w photos. Agent: Grainne Fox, Fletcher & Co. (Sept.)