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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
This started off so strong, but this turned into quite a slog by the end of it all. I'm not sure too many people will be able to relate to many of the characters, but I suppose that the whole point of the book is that all the people who are somehow involved in solving the murder are equally as disturbed as the murderer.
I don't think I'd recommend this to others.
I don't think I'd recommend this to others.
The classic coper with insides tugging toward the truth that the descent to actually find some drags him into subcultures and recesses one doesn’t emerge from whole or fully aligned. In looking for the killer dubbed the Black Dahlia there is no good guys. The not so bad are probably the victims and the pursuit of the killer is more to scratch the itch of an answer than to adjudicate normal Justice. Bad people doing bad things with unchecked authority is the name of the game.
You can tell right away too. The parlance is steeped in racial slurs from the onset. There’s no peace, just a vice that stops, briefly, what is currently predominantly wrong. Cobbled patchworks of people working jobs that appeal for unexamined reasons. We readers know far more about the detectives than they do, all they can do is drive, never perceiving the flog that will lead them to ruin. And who knows if they’ll find any capital A answers. If they burn themselves to the quick, and if they’re lucky, maybe they’ll get ab abstraction of what happened they can hypothesize about, possibly leading to the enactment of their own broken justice.
Needless to say, this is not a happy book. But it does make a lot of sense after a while. And that’s terrifying. It’s an indictment of everyone, even the the way the public indicts the victim. It’s also pretty fair, I feel. There’s no moral ground, least of all in the manmade, concrete system erected to “police” the public. And as misogynistic as this is, it’s toward a larger purpose, aimed at a condemnation of the right things, I think. I don’t think it fully nails the larger aspects of the underlying, underlined themes just yet. But the intent is clear. I imagine the next one will be more refine, and that will be quite something.
You can tell right away too. The parlance is steeped in racial slurs from the onset. There’s no peace, just a vice that stops, briefly, what is currently predominantly wrong. Cobbled patchworks of people working jobs that appeal for unexamined reasons. We readers know far more about the detectives than they do, all they can do is drive, never perceiving the flog that will lead them to ruin. And who knows if they’ll find any capital A answers. If they burn themselves to the quick, and if they’re lucky, maybe they’ll get ab abstraction of what happened they can hypothesize about, possibly leading to the enactment of their own broken justice.
Needless to say, this is not a happy book. But it does make a lot of sense after a while. And that’s terrifying. It’s an indictment of everyone, even the the way the public indicts the victim. It’s also pretty fair, I feel. There’s no moral ground, least of all in the manmade, concrete system erected to “police” the public. And as misogynistic as this is, it’s toward a larger purpose, aimed at a condemnation of the right things, I think. I don’t think it fully nails the larger aspects of the underlying, underlined themes just yet. But the intent is clear. I imagine the next one will be more refine, and that will be quite something.
Jesus Christ this was a grim read. Definitely felt like it meandered at times, but the ending was worth it
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Similar to my thoughts on "L.A. Confidential", this is okayish for the bulk of the proceedings but fumbles in the resolution. The gritty, morally ambiguous cop/detective stuff is more effective here than it was in "L.A. Confidential" by virtue of being more grounded in reality, but in turn, it shoots itself in the foot with the true crime aspects. I'm a noted disliker of true crime and this doesn't escape the perils of incorporating real-life tragedy into the narrative. I can't profess to be an expert on the Black Dahlia case, but I can tell you that this is definitely an uncharitable portrayal of events. Suffice to say, I don't think I'll be reading another Ellroy novel anytime soon.
Also, part of me wonders if David Lynch is a fan of this novel given the similarities between the portrayal of Elizabeth Short and her influence on the characters in the novel and that of Laura Palmer in "Twin Peaks".
Also, part of me wonders if David Lynch is a fan of this novel given the similarities between the portrayal of Elizabeth Short and her influence on the characters in the novel and that of Laura Palmer in "Twin Peaks".
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes