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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
It's not that I got 5 stars worth of enjoyment out of this, but it's certainly a 5 star novel in my mind. Gritty in the extreme. Disturbing. There are no good guys here. The edition I read included an afterword from the author written after the motion picture came out. A gut wrenching personal insight into Ellroy's life and how it relates to his telling of this story. Can't describe this as my cup of tea but I lost lots of sleep not being able to put it down.
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this novel becomes, by turns, darker and more disturbing. The narrator becomes more deeply emeshed in the tragedy of the Dahlia while his own life becomes torridly intertwined with the people responsible for her death. The short, terse chapters and the time appropriate dialogue combine to spin this tale out. A worthwhile read.
I did not enjoy this book. It was thoroughly unpleasant, which is to be expected in a book that is completely noir. I can deal with it in movie form; spending 2 hours with horrible people who make bad decisions is doable. Spending the time to read a 350-page book, though, is something totally different. I just think this genre isn't for me. As soon as we finished the scene of Bucky having dinner with the Spragues, I realized that I just needed to power through the unlikable characters and jargoned text.
Ellroy tells the story of Bucky Bleichert, an ex-boxer cop in 1940s LA. He partners up with another ex-boxer cop, falls into an odd relationship with the partner and the partner's girl, and winds up investigating the murder of the Black Dahlia. The writing sounds like stereotypical film noir dialogue; it's all jargon and slang. The book spends WAY too much time on the background of Bucky and Lee; I just don't care about boxing that much.
At its heart, it is a mystery, and the revelations and twists and misdirections toward the end of the book are legitimately interesting; it just took forever to get there.
This book is a classic of the genre, I've gathered. I guess what I learned is that it's just not a genre I want to commit any more time to.
Ellroy tells the story of Bucky Bleichert, an ex-boxer cop in 1940s LA. He partners up with another ex-boxer cop, falls into an odd relationship with the partner and the partner's girl, and winds up investigating the murder of the Black Dahlia. The writing sounds like stereotypical film noir dialogue; it's all jargon and slang. The book spends WAY too much time on the background of Bucky and Lee; I just don't care about boxing that much.
At its heart, it is a mystery, and the revelations and twists and misdirections toward the end of the book are legitimately interesting; it just took forever to get there.
Spoiler
From the description, I had assumed that the book would be much more about Lee and Bucky, though Lee disappears entirely fairly early into the story (though obviously his presence remains). I was also surprised that the book solved the Dahlia mystery; I had spent a lot of the book wondering how Ellroy would handle the unsolved nature of the murder. The resolution was satisfying, though I did get annoyed with the "No, WAIT!" twist after twist.This book is a classic of the genre, I've gathered. I guess what I learned is that it's just not a genre I want to commit any more time to.
Although based on an actual murder, the novel was too farfetched for me. I still enjoyed the author's dialogue, prose, and characters though.
A brilliantly constructed mystery that's as much about the city it's set in as it is about the crime at the heart of the plot. The sense of a city descending into hell is palpable, the characters and the sense of place sticking to the reader's hands like glue; as rich as the characters are, the way women are treated in this story is deeply troubling and it's hard to discern from this book alone if that's Ellory or hos characters, or both.
Dark, macabre, and daring, The Black Dahlia is a must-read for any fan of noir crime. The characters tug you into the storyline, and the vivid descriptions of the crimes, as well as the relentless pursuit of a killer, keep you coming back.
For those who haven't read this book or seen the movie, the Black Dahlia is a mystery/crime novel based on fact. There was a real wannabe starlet nicknamed Black Dahlia who was brutally murdered in the mid-40s in Los Angeles. The novel takes liberties with the truth, though, adding characters including the narrator, a cop named Bucky Bleichert. In the afterword, James Ellroy explains that Bleichert is really an extension of himself. He also explains how closely he connects himself with the story, since his own mother also was murdered in LA a few years after the Dahlia.
While reading this, I found myself getting hung up on a lot of unfamiliar slang (and overuse of the n-word) and overwhelmed by a huge cast of characters. About halfway through, things got really interesting and I felt like the setup was over so I could sit back and watch the real story unfold. But by the end, I had forgotten a lot of the earlier parts. It's just like watching an entire season of a cop show like the Shield! Everything is related somehow, but you just can't remember all the details. It's also very mannish, this book. What I mean is, there are several scenes where Bleichert or his partner Blanchard assault someone or run off without explaining exactly why. He finds cash and burns it. Who does that? And there is also some confusion of love, lust, sex, aggression and desires to hurt. Ellroy even admits in his afterword how he both loved his mother and wanted her dead; he sort of lusted after her, too, but then substituted the Dahlia in her place. In the book, the narrator is a dopey crush-boy, a loving husband (sortof), a sleazy one-night stand, and a scary john with cruel fantasies all in one.
While reading this, I found myself getting hung up on a lot of unfamiliar slang (and overuse of the n-word) and overwhelmed by a huge cast of characters. About halfway through, things got really interesting and I felt like the setup was over so I could sit back and watch the real story unfold. But by the end, I had forgotten a lot of the earlier parts. It's just like watching an entire season of a cop show like the Shield! Everything is related somehow, but you just can't remember all the details. It's also very mannish, this book. What I mean is, there are several scenes where Bleichert or his partner Blanchard assault someone or run off without explaining exactly why. He finds cash and burns it. Who does that? And there is also some confusion of love, lust, sex, aggression and desires to hurt. Ellroy even admits in his afterword how he both loved his mother and wanted her dead; he sort of lusted after her, too, but then substituted the Dahlia in her place. In the book, the narrator is a dopey crush-boy, a loving husband (sortof), a sleazy one-night stand, and a scary john with cruel fantasies all in one.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes