Perchance to Dream (novel)
Encyclopedia
Perchance to Dream is a detective
crime novel by Robert B. Parker
, written as an authorized sequel to The Big Sleep
by Raymond Chandler
. Following his post-mortem collaboration with Chandler on Poodle Springs
, this 1991 release is the second and final Philip Marlowe
novel written by Parker.
by Norris, the butler
. He finds older daughter Vivian still in residence and still dating gangster Eddie Mars but her younger sister Carmen, still tormented by the events of the original story, has been sent off to live at Resthaven, a luxurious psychiatric rehabilitation
facility. When Carmen disappears from the rest home, Norris hires Marlowe to find her.
, a Philip Marlowe
novel begun in 1958 by Chandler but finished by Parker for publication in 1989. They authorized him to write this entirely new sequel to the first Marlowe novel, The Big Sleep
, originally published in 1939. Parker, a longtime fan and student of Chandler's writing, said he took the assignment because "I wanted to see if I could do it". After the publication of Perchance to Dream, Parker announced that this would be his final Marlowe novel because he did not "want to spend [his] life writing some other guy's books".
, the title of which is a euphemism for death. (The older novel includes a philosophical reflection on "sleeping the big sleep".) Continuing the play on words, the sequel derives its name from famous lines from Prince Hamlet's soliloquy
in Hamlet
, a tragedy
by William Shakespeare
: "to die: to sleep— / To sleep, perchance to dream" (Act 3, Scene 1, Lines 63–64). One reviewer snarkily suggested alternate titles including Maybe to Dream, The Bigger Sleep, and Sleep Bigger.
, author Martin Amis
wrote that it "never amounts to more than a nostalgic curiosity" while finding the text "candidly puerile" and "full of stubbed toes and barked shins". Josh Rubins of Entertainment Weekly
allowed that "Parker has no trouble telling a story in the spare, coolly sardonic Chandler/Marlowe voice" but found Parker's Marlowe to be "a bit of a lightweight" and that "the tale Parker has concocted for this sequel doesn't seem worthy of the occasion". Writing in the Los Angeles Times
, Dick Lochte asserted that Parker "was no Chandler" but found the novel "entertaining" in its own right. Author Robert Goldsborough
reviewed the novel more positively for the Chicago Tribune
, finding this book to be better than Poodle Springs and that Parker has "crafted a Marlowe tale stronger than most of Chandler's later work."
release of Perchance to Dream was on cassette tape in January 1991 (ISBN 978-1558002913) from Dove Entertainment, Inc. Phoenix Books released a new audio book production of the novel on compact disc
in February 2007. This edition (ISBN 978-1597770255) was read by actor Elliott Gould
.
Detective fiction
Detective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...
crime novel by Robert B. Parker
Robert B. Parker
Robert Brown Parker was an American crime writer. His most famous works were the novels about the private detective Spenser. ABC television network developed the television series Spenser: For Hire based on the character in the late 1980s; a series of TV movies based on the character were also...
, written as an authorized sequel to The Big Sleep
The Big Sleep
The Big Sleep is a hardboiled crime novel by Raymond Chandler, the first in his acclaimed series about detective Philip Marlowe. The work has been adapted twice into film, once in 1946 and again in 1978...
by Raymond Chandler
Raymond Chandler
Raymond Thornton Chandler was an American novelist and screenwriter.In 1932, at age forty-five, Raymond Chandler decided to become a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Depression. His first short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", was published in...
. Following his post-mortem collaboration with Chandler on Poodle Springs
Poodle Springs
Poodle Springs is the eighth Philip Marlowe novel. It was started in 1958 by Raymond Chandler, who left it unfinished at his death in 1959. The four chapters he had completed, which bore the working title "The Poodle Springs Story", were subsequently published in Raymond Chandler Speaking , a...
, this 1991 release is the second and final Philip Marlowe
Philip Marlowe
Philip Marlowe is a fictional character created by Raymond Chandler in a series of novels including The Big Sleep and The Long Goodbye. Marlowe first appeared under that name in The Big Sleep published in 1939...
novel written by Parker.
Plot
Set a few years after the events of The Big Sleep, the new novel begins with long passages of text lifted from the original to set the scene, establish the characters, and remind readers of the events of the first book. The story is set in motion by the death of family patriarch General Sternwood. Marlowe is called to the Sternwood mansion in the hills of Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
by Norris, the butler
Butler
A butler is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some also have charge of the entire parlour floor, and housekeepers caring for the entire house and its...
. He finds older daughter Vivian still in residence and still dating gangster Eddie Mars but her younger sister Carmen, still tormented by the events of the original story, has been sent off to live at Resthaven, a luxurious psychiatric rehabilitation
Psychiatric rehabilitation
Psychiatric rehabilitation, also known as psychosocial rehabilitation, and usually simplified to psych rehab, is the process of restoration of community functioning and well-being of an individual who has a psychiatric disability...
facility. When Carmen disappears from the rest home, Norris hires Marlowe to find her.
Development history
The estate of Raymond Chandler was satisfied with Parker's completion of Poodle SpringsPoodle Springs
Poodle Springs is the eighth Philip Marlowe novel. It was started in 1958 by Raymond Chandler, who left it unfinished at his death in 1959. The four chapters he had completed, which bore the working title "The Poodle Springs Story", were subsequently published in Raymond Chandler Speaking , a...
, a Philip Marlowe
Philip Marlowe
Philip Marlowe is a fictional character created by Raymond Chandler in a series of novels including The Big Sleep and The Long Goodbye. Marlowe first appeared under that name in The Big Sleep published in 1939...
novel begun in 1958 by Chandler but finished by Parker for publication in 1989. They authorized him to write this entirely new sequel to the first Marlowe novel, The Big Sleep
The Big Sleep
The Big Sleep is a hardboiled crime novel by Raymond Chandler, the first in his acclaimed series about detective Philip Marlowe. The work has been adapted twice into film, once in 1946 and again in 1978...
, originally published in 1939. Parker, a longtime fan and student of Chandler's writing, said he took the assignment because "I wanted to see if I could do it". After the publication of Perchance to Dream, Parker announced that this would be his final Marlowe novel because he did not "want to spend [his] life writing some other guy's books".
Publication history
- 1991, USA, Putnam Adult, ISBN 978-0399135804, Pub date 10 January 1991, Hardback
- 1991, UK, Little, Brown, ISBN 0-356-20167-8, Pub date March 1991, Hardback
- 1991, USA, Thorndike Press, ISBN 978-1560549772, Pub date June 1991, Large Print Paperback
- 1993, USA, Berkley BooksBerkley BooksBerkley Books is an imprint of Penguin Group that began as an independent company in 1955. It was established by Charles Byrne and Frederic Klein, who were working for Avon and formed "Chic News Company". They renamed it Berkley Publishing Co. in 1955. They soon found a niche in science fiction...
, ISBN 978-0425131312, Pub date 1 December 1993, Paperback
Explanation of the novel's title
Perchance to Dream is written as a direct sequel to The Big SleepThe Big Sleep
The Big Sleep is a hardboiled crime novel by Raymond Chandler, the first in his acclaimed series about detective Philip Marlowe. The work has been adapted twice into film, once in 1946 and again in 1978...
, the title of which is a euphemism for death. (The older novel includes a philosophical reflection on "sleeping the big sleep".) Continuing the play on words, the sequel derives its name from famous lines from Prince Hamlet's soliloquy
To be, or not to be
"To be, or not to be" is the opening phrase of a soliloquy from William Shakespeare's play Hamlet , Act III, Scene 1. It is the best-known quotation from the play and probably the most famous in world literature but there is disagreement on its meaning, as there is of the whole speech.- Text :This...
in Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, a tragedy
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
by William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
: "to die: to sleep— / To sleep, perchance to dream" (Act 3, Scene 1, Lines 63–64). One reviewer snarkily suggested alternate titles including Maybe to Dream, The Bigger Sleep, and Sleep Bigger.
Literary significance and reception
Reviewing the novel for The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, author Martin Amis
Martin Amis
Martin Louis Amis is a British novelist, the author of many novels including Money and London Fields . He is currently Professor of Creative Writing at the Centre for New Writing at the University of Manchester, but will step down at the end of the 2010/11 academic year...
wrote that it "never amounts to more than a nostalgic curiosity" while finding the text "candidly puerile" and "full of stubbed toes and barked shins". Josh Rubins of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
allowed that "Parker has no trouble telling a story in the spare, coolly sardonic Chandler/Marlowe voice" but found Parker's Marlowe to be "a bit of a lightweight" and that "the tale Parker has concocted for this sequel doesn't seem worthy of the occasion". Writing in the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, Dick Lochte asserted that Parker "was no Chandler" but found the novel "entertaining" in its own right. Author Robert Goldsborough
Robert Goldsborough (author)
Robert Gerald Goldsborough is an American author of mystery novels.Goldborough grew up in the Chicago area. Although he worked for 45 years for the Chicago Tribune and Advertising Age, he first came to prominence in the 1980s with the publication, with the approval of the estate of Rex Stout, of...
reviewed the novel more positively for the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, finding this book to be better than Poodle Springs and that Parker has "crafted a Marlowe tale stronger than most of Chandler's later work."
Adaptations
The first audio bookAudio book
An audiobook or audio book is a recording of a text being read. It is not necessarily an exact audio version of a book or magazine.Spoken audio has been available in schools and public libraries and to a lesser extent in music shops since the 1930s. Many spoken word albums were made prior to the...
release of Perchance to Dream was on cassette tape in January 1991 (ISBN 978-1558002913) from Dove Entertainment, Inc. Phoenix Books released a new audio book production of the novel on compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
in February 2007. This edition (ISBN 978-1597770255) was read by actor Elliott Gould
Elliott Gould
Elliott Gould is an American actor. He began acting in Hollywood films during the 1960s, and has remained prolific ever since. Some of his most notable films include M*A*S*H and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, for which he received an Oscar nomination...
.