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mawalker1962's review
4.0
In 1958, Jean Ellroy was murdered. Her son, James, age 9, already troubled in the wake of his parents' acrimonious divorce, quickly spiraled out of control as he lived lived a chaotic life with his loving, but ineffective father. In spite of months, indeed. Years, if investigation, Jean's killer was never found.
James was simultaneously obsessed with and repelled by the memory of his murder. He became obsessed with crime novels and police procedurals. By the time he was in high school, he was a small-time criminal and alcoholic drug addict.
Eventually Ellroy got clean. He began to write crime novels (L.A. confidential, The Black Dahlia). And he decided to stop running from his mother's ghost. Teaming with a retired LA detective, thirty years after her death, Ellroy began to investigate the case.
This book was often more detailed than I cared for. (And I don't mean crime scene details; I mean that I learned more than I needed to know about minor characters). But it was beautifully written in Ellroy's hard-boiled style. In the end, he provides a fascinating picture of how violent crime guts the lives of survivors and of the workings of homicide investigations. And we know understand how one of our era's most gifted crime writers was made.
James was simultaneously obsessed with and repelled by the memory of his murder. He became obsessed with crime novels and police procedurals. By the time he was in high school, he was a small-time criminal and alcoholic drug addict.
Eventually Ellroy got clean. He began to write crime novels (L.A. confidential, The Black Dahlia). And he decided to stop running from his mother's ghost. Teaming with a retired LA detective, thirty years after her death, Ellroy began to investigate the case.
This book was often more detailed than I cared for. (And I don't mean crime scene details; I mean that I learned more than I needed to know about minor characters). But it was beautifully written in Ellroy's hard-boiled style. In the end, he provides a fascinating picture of how violent crime guts the lives of survivors and of the workings of homicide investigations. And we know understand how one of our era's most gifted crime writers was made.
debjazzergal's review
4.0
I had a hard time getting into this book. The first section really dragged for me because the writer seemed to write very woodenly about his experiences. It was almost as if he needed to not connect to his own life experiences in order to write about them. It picked up from there, and I had a hard time putting it down. Besides thinking about everything he and his family experienced, it also made me think about are writers born to write or is the passion to write a development along the way. In this case, it seems he was born to write in the genre in which he famous.
elainenotbenes's review
2.0
Could have done without the author’s fantasies of incest with his mother.
dcox83's review
3.0
Good idea. Good process. Average execution.
The author, James Ellroy, investigates his mother's unsolved murder and in
the process opens himself up to emotions that provide a deeper understanding and new appreciation for their tumultuous relationship.
Ellroy's quick staccato writing, which works so well with fictional police
work, becomes maddening with the mundane repetitiveness of actual police
work. Not to mention the mundane repetitiveness associated with an 40 year old unsolved murder.
That dullness is saved, though, as Ellroy transitions from a writer looking for a story to a son desperately looking for a relationship with his deceased mother. This raw emotional evolution kept me coming back to his story, even if I did skim through a few of the chapters.
The author, James Ellroy, investigates his mother's unsolved murder and in
the process opens himself up to emotions that provide a deeper understanding and new appreciation for their tumultuous relationship.
Ellroy's quick staccato writing, which works so well with fictional police
work, becomes maddening with the mundane repetitiveness of actual police
work. Not to mention the mundane repetitiveness associated with an 40 year old unsolved murder.
That dullness is saved, though, as Ellroy transitions from a writer looking for a story to a son desperately looking for a relationship with his deceased mother. This raw emotional evolution kept me coming back to his story, even if I did skim through a few of the chapters.
bookcraft's review
3.0
Halfway through. Fascinated by the content but I can't help but feel like Ellroy tries too hard, like he's still the kid he was at age ten, spewing garbage for the shock value and for the attention it gets.
Finished, and my midway-point assessment hasn't changed. There's some sincerity there, but there's just as much bull. I can't quite decide if he's a brilliant writer or an ex-druggie whose brain has been fried. Maybe it doesn't matter.
Finished, and my midway-point assessment hasn't changed. There's some sincerity there, but there's just as much bull. I can't quite decide if he's a brilliant writer or an ex-druggie whose brain has been fried. Maybe it doesn't matter.