Raymond Chandler fans, you finally have a gift book of your very own! For DAYLIGHT NOIR: RAYMOND CHANDLER’S IMAGINED CITY, Catherine Corman (daughter of Roger) shot photos of Los Angeles buildings mentioned in the author’s classic hard-boiled prose.
Corman’s stark black-and-whites — most taken from a low, neck-craning angle that careens toward the sky, giving the structures a larger-than-life feeling — are every bit as noir as her subject matter’s scrawlings. Excerpting Chandler directly across from a photo of what he was writing about was a no-brainer decision, but genius nonetheless. Ms. Corman has a terrific eye, with snapshots purposely a little darker and underexposed than they need to be, making for a perfect marriage of literature and likeness. —Rod Lott
