7/6/09

I can see elements of both City of Glass and The Big Sleep in Gun with Occasional Music. It’s written in a style very similar to Chandler’s but it isn’t a simple rehash of the same form. Although Gun with Occasional Music is written in a style similar to Chandler’s it is vastly different because of the science fiction element that is thrown in. It seems as if the science fiction element of the book makes a subtle commentary on society. Perhaps the babyheads are supposed to be cautionary about kids growing up to fast. And it’s not that far of a leap from today’s psychological drugs to the emotion inducing drugs present in Gun with Occasional Music. In my point of view, The Big Sleep is fairly straight forward, its main concern is solving the mystery, it’s not overly concerned with morals or making the reader really think. On the other hand, City of Glass seems to have been written with the object of getting the reader to think and question, it’s not concerned with solving the mystery or answering questions. Gun with Occasional Music seems to fall somewhere in between the other two books. I think it can be read at face value for the sake solving the mystery but I also think that it can be read on a slightly deeper level that makes a social commentary.

-Samantha Pepper