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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
The first 60+ pages of this were so dry. However, once that was done it was a great fictionalization of the black dahlia murder in LA in the 40s.
I am not a natural reader of crime or thriller novels. I have an innate aversion to violence, and the only crime books I can read are the psychologically driven ones, like Richard Price's Lush Life. Given the graphic nature of Ellroy's book and the unabashed racism/homophobia/misogyny of the 1940s, I struggled with the Black Dahlia. And yet, I'm almost ashamed to admit, I was sucked in by the story. For all that made me squirm, Ellroy has a gift for storytelling and I could not put this down. The afterword in the edition I read also helped a long way in putting aside some of my uneasiness about the luridness of the book. However, I regret that more of Ellroy's introspection was not present in the character of Bucky.
Gritty and at times hard to read because of the sadistic nature of some of the crimes but it really is very good.
I only got 20 pages into this book before I became sick of the racist and sexist language as well as the senseless violence. Plus both of the main characters were boxers, a "sport" I can't stand to watch.
J'ai beaucoup apprécié cette lecture. Beaucoup de descriptions ce qui nous permet de bien connaitre les personnages. On va de rebondissement en rebondissement dès que l'enquête commence. Je pense que personne n'a jamais vu arrivé la fin. Le seul problème que j'ai rencontré se trouve dans les deux derniers chapitres qui ma foi selon moi n'était absolument pas nécessaire.
J'espère lire d'ici peu le deuxième tome de cette série.
J'espère lire d'ici peu le deuxième tome de cette série.
At first I really disliked this book. It seemed to take forever before the actual murder of the Black Dahlia occurred, and then it seemed like the police officers were just going around in circles and not really making any progress in the investigation. Finally when I was about 200 pages through the book, it really started to grab me in. I won’t say that I particularly enjoyed it, but it did lead up to a suspenseful and satisfactory conclusion. I give it a C-.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is one intense book. It draws you very deep into the main character's obsession.
I recommend reading about Ellroy's family history before reading this.
I recommend reading about Ellroy's family history before reading this.
This was a book that suffered from overblown expectations on my part. I had been told it was an excellent book, and the paperback copy I had was filled with critical raves. So, I went in expecting something... well, more than what I got.
Don't get me wrong, it's a well done noir mystery, with tight prose and compelling links to history. It's well worth reading.
However...
It felt like in his desire to push the boundaries of noir Ellroy picked up a dictionary of racist and misogynist terms of the 1940's and decided to use all of them as often as possible. While this is an effective way to convey dark elements of the time period and establish the moral ambiguity of even the "good guys" of the story, it went from edgy to irritating quickly. It reminded me of Frank Miller's attempt to supercharge noir with Sin City.
This ultra-noir sensibility hit me with the characterizations as well. About half the characters felt like they were drawn out of a genre hat. Time and again I found myself nodding as a stereotypical plot beat or character type emerged. Check that box. Check that box.
But what continues to gnaw at me is the way the book ended.
I've tried to be spoiler free so far.... but stop reading now if you've not read the book yet.
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Ok. The way Madeline was handled in the last few chapters just pissed me off. She went from troubled wild child to paper-thin lunatic. The post-coital confession was so clumsy it felt like the author couldn't figure out a way to get his characters to reveal information in a plausible way and just gave up.
Most of my issues with the book can be dismissed with an author both constrained by genre and attempts to push the sensationalist aspects of it. But the expositionary wrap up was just plain sloppy.
Don't get me wrong, it's a well done noir mystery, with tight prose and compelling links to history. It's well worth reading.
However...
It felt like in his desire to push the boundaries of noir Ellroy picked up a dictionary of racist and misogynist terms of the 1940's and decided to use all of them as often as possible. While this is an effective way to convey dark elements of the time period and establish the moral ambiguity of even the "good guys" of the story, it went from edgy to irritating quickly. It reminded me of Frank Miller's attempt to supercharge noir with Sin City.
This ultra-noir sensibility hit me with the characterizations as well. About half the characters felt like they were drawn out of a genre hat. Time and again I found myself nodding as a stereotypical plot beat or character type emerged. Check that box. Check that box.
But what continues to gnaw at me is the way the book ended.
I've tried to be spoiler free so far.... but stop reading now if you've not read the book yet.
--------
-------
------
-----
----
---
Ok. The way Madeline was handled in the last few chapters just pissed me off. She went from troubled wild child to paper-thin lunatic. The post-coital confession was so clumsy it felt like the author couldn't figure out a way to get his characters to reveal information in a plausible way and just gave up.
Most of my issues with the book can be dismissed with an author both constrained by genre and attempts to push the sensationalist aspects of it. But the expositionary wrap up was just plain sloppy.
Elizabeth Short, aspirante attrice e prostituta occasionale, soprannominata la Dalia Nera per la sua passione per il film 'La dalia azzurra' e la sua abitudine a vestirsi di nero, venne torturata e uccisa brutalmente nel 1947, ma il suo delitto, a distanza di anni, è ancora irrisolto. La sua storia affascinò un giovane James Ellroy la cui morte della madre era rimasta anch'essa irrisolta e contribuì in particolar modo a far di lui lo scrittore crime che tutt* conoscono.
Ero molto curiosa di leggere qualcosa di suo e ho deciso di approfittare di approcciarmi per la prima volta a questo autore leggendo questo romanzo sapendo della storia che lo legava alla figura. Risultato? La ricostruzione dell'indagine così come la potenziale soluzione del delitto è geniale e ti tiene attaccat* alle pagine, peccato che la maggior parte del romanzo sia composta dalla narrazione della vita del poliziotto ex pugile Bucky Bleichert, che ha un'impostazione molto classica dato il genere di appartenenza (ovvero il noir)... Peccato che il personaggio del detective è talmente iconico da esser diventato un stereotipo e leggere di un personaggio moralmente ambiguo, in un'ambientazione in cui non si salva nessuno, ad eccezione di qualche donna angelicata, mi ha dato l'impressione di leggere la solita storia e questo, perlomeno per me, mi ha impedito di apprezzare fino in fondo questo libro. Non so se leggerò altro di suo, ma è stato interessante conoscere la storia della Dalia Nera e sicuramente approfondirò questo caso di cui forse non si saprà mai come sono andate davvero le cose.
Ero molto curiosa di leggere qualcosa di suo e ho deciso di approfittare di approcciarmi per la prima volta a questo autore leggendo questo romanzo sapendo della storia che lo legava alla figura. Risultato? La ricostruzione dell'indagine così come la potenziale soluzione del delitto è geniale e ti tiene attaccat* alle pagine, peccato che la maggior parte del romanzo sia composta dalla narrazione della vita del poliziotto ex pugile Bucky Bleichert, che ha un'impostazione molto classica dato il genere di appartenenza (ovvero il noir)... Peccato che il personaggio del detective è talmente iconico da esser diventato un stereotipo e leggere di un personaggio moralmente ambiguo, in un'ambientazione in cui non si salva nessuno, ad eccezione di qualche donna angelicata, mi ha dato l'impressione di leggere la solita storia e questo, perlomeno per me, mi ha impedito di apprezzare fino in fondo questo libro. Non so se leggerò altro di suo, ma è stato interessante conoscere la storia della Dalia Nera e sicuramente approfondirò questo caso di cui forse non si saprà mai come sono andate davvero le cose.