The Long Goodbye: The 49 Best Covers from Around the World

Simply saying Raymond Chandler’s name summons up a world: a slant of light, a wry grin, the sting of gin and lime, a melancholy something in the air. Few authors can match him for evocative intensity. Maybe that’s why we have so many iconic images from his work and such a strong visual sense of what it means to experience a Chandler story. The particulars range across individuals, ages, and cultures. The Long Goodbye alone—to many his greatest achievement—has inspired countless visions from artists and designers. There’s the Robert Altman film, of course, but then there are the hundreds of editions produced around the world, each with its own peculiar take on Marlowe’s Lennox/Wade investigations. Some are beautiful, some bizarre; often they’re both. On the 59th anniversary of Chandler’s death, here are 47 of the best covers of The Long Goodbye from around the world. They’re organized by language (almost certainly some are placed in the wrong section—my apologies), and chit-chat has been favored over rigorous analysis of aesthetics. Better, I think, to embrace the chaos. This is, after all, The Long Goodbye.

ENGLISH

The English-language paperbacks have always made a strong showing for Chandler. Notice the contrast in blurbs, while you’re admiring: one salacious (“one lover too many”) and one from a rival, Ross Macdonald (“Chandler wrote like a slumming angel”).

Normally I’d eschew movie tie-ins, but (1) that rule doesn’t apply to Elliot Gould, and (2) this edition from Ballantine, a steal at just under a dollar, belongs framed and hanging on a wall.

Here’s another paperback gem from Ballantine.

Black Lizard produced a sleek, cool modern classic with its red-band Rolls.

Harper’s 2013 edition is chic, with a new variation on an old standby: the eye.

This cocktail pop art from Penguin, you’ll notice, had an influence in foreign lands. And that wasn’t the publisher’s only hit. A classic black band against sunset pink leaves a mark, too. The use of “Nighthawks” is a little questionable, but still a great image. [mehr] http://crimereads.com/the-long-goodbye-the-49-best-covers-from-around-the-world/