A good James Ellroy novel

[MrTrolleyguy]

I heard a wonderful interview of James Ellroy on BBC's Hard Talk last night. Now I want to read one of his novels.



Suggestions and comments please.

I seem to recall starting "The Black Dahlia" don't recall finishing it or anything about it. That tells me it might have been too dark or my memory is going.

There are different series so that offers me a chance to pick up somewhere other than the beginning. Are there any series that are of special note?

I'll wait for a few replies and then download an audio book today. But don't let that stop you from making a suggestions. I read about a hundred books a year so I suspect I'll read more than one Ellroy.

 

[Hapworth]

If "The Black Dahlia" was too dark, you may want to skip Ellroy -- all his stuff's exceptionally dark at times.

Otherwise, I'd say try "Dahlia" again -- it's perhaps his best. Runner up might be "L.A. Confidential".

I tried his Kennedy assassination trilogy and found them a mess...

 

[Absalom]

Yeah, you definitely have to like "dark", like depressing, pitch-black, don't-trust-anyone kind of dark to enjoy Ellroy. That said, I think he is one of the greatest American novelists of the 20th century. But as a reasonably patriotic American, you have to be forewarned that there really isn't any of our institutions, be it politicians, law enforcement, the press, or whoever, that ends up looking good in his books.
"The Black Dahlia" was the first of four novels known as the L.A. Quartet, which basically tell the story of some cops in LA during the 40s and 50s. The most famous of those four is LA Confidential which also was made into a pretty decent movie. I'd definitely recommend those novels. The other two are White Jazz and The Big Nowhere. I don't recall the exact order.
Ellroy's recent stuff is not supposed to be very good. I got hooked on his books maybe 10 or 15 years ago and read them pretty much in one stretch.

 

[Marshwheeling]

I have read a lot of Ellroy, none of it recently. In addition to the other stuff mentioned, one of my favorite pieces is called "Dick Contino's Blues", about the hip scene in L.A. in the '50s. Dunno how much is fact, how much fiction, but Dick Contino is a real accordion player. You can look him up on the Internet.

Another interesting one is Ellroy's book about his own mother's murder, a crime with similarities to the Black Dahlia murder, and which remains unsolved today.

The later stuff on the Kennedy assassination didn't resonate with me, mostly because his writing style evolved by then to a staccato delivery with very short sentences that put me off. But Ellroay is still one of the more interesting crime writers around, and definitely worth exploring.

 

[MrTrolleyguy]

I have to return to James Ellroy after listening to an hour long interview of him on the BBC World Book Club. He is a truly interesting fellow. His history is as a draft dodger and a recovering addict. (no judgment here on my part) I am sure those experience prepared him for his chosen career.

What is intriguing me is the trilogy American Tabloid. He moves away from his dark noir crime themes into the politics of and events of the 1960s. Having lived through those times I think the reading will be entertaining. Ellroy is a funny writer, his facility with profanity is amazing. I will download it tonight.

 

[Absalom]

He does move into politics, but definitely not away from "dark noir" with that trilogy! His writing style also gets noticeably more choppy and the story lines more bizarre as the books progress (The last one in the trilogy was from 2009). Which doesn't mean it's not still great writing. Just take all JFK-CIA-Castro-Mafia-J.Edgar Hoover-conspiracy theories about the 60s wrapped together, add lots of Ellroy's cynicism and hard-boiled style, and you have the trilogy.
Since the first part of this thread a few weeks ago, I've started reading "My Dark Places", Ellroy's autobiographical book about his mother's murder. I'm thinking this may be his best book. It reads like well-crafted fiction, except it's not.

 

[S&WIowegan]

I've read virtually all of Ellroy's stuff and I recommend LAConfidential and Black Dahlia. I read all his stuff to prove to myself I was tough. But man, his writing gets progressively more depressing and weird. He's got former, semi- Feds roaring around popping people right and left and various rotten rich guys and politicians pulling the strings.

If Ellroy is a recovering addict, his books suggest he's lapsed a few times.

Go for it!