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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
It took me a long time to slog through this book. The writing was super cheesy at times, and I read a Raymond Chandler book after I read this and if I would have read Chandler first, I would have put down this book 2 pages into it. Do yourself a favor and bypass this book and read something by [b:Raymond Chandler|2052|The Big Sleep|Raymond Chandler|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41AGA624Z5L._SL75_.jpg|1222673] instead! And if you've seen the movie, it ends TOTALLY different than the book. A main character's death is completely different (and cheesy as hell). Just awful.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
informative
sad
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
I was looking for something to read and a librarian friend said, "Have you ever read the LA Quartet" by James Ellroy? I had not but I am sure glad I did. This is the first of the four and is a great hardboiled noirish look at LA in the 1930s,40s.
Didn't really like this book so much. Maybe it's because I believe a different story. I think if you read into the real murder, this takes a different way out.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Neo-noir: dames, fists, pistols. What more do you need?
This a NOVEL, not non-fiction, which somehow I missed. I was expecting The Suspicions of Mr. Wicher or something. (Good book, btw.) So it's the tale of two cops working to "solve" a case that was never actually solved. I thought that would be a problem, too, but that was pulled off just fine.
By the time I decided what was actually going in instead of what I expected, it all finally took off. The beginnig IS slow and has nothing to do with the murder, but the events described all turn out to have been necessary for the plot. I'd just roll with it. This isn't a perfect book, it's really a 4.5, but I rounded up. Nothing is written badly or weakly; the book just doesn't hit Dashill Hammett or the other greats of the actual era. Expect a good neo-noir following traditional tropes (including a last-moment twist) rather than new story ground covered. It's Chinatown. That's about all you need to know.
Recommended for noir and neo-noir fans and fans of historical fiction who can stand a greusome murder or two.
This a NOVEL, not non-fiction, which somehow I missed. I was expecting The Suspicions of Mr. Wicher or something. (Good book, btw.) So it's the tale of two cops working to "solve" a case that was never actually solved. I thought that would be a problem, too, but that was pulled off just fine.
By the time I decided what was actually going in instead of what I expected, it all finally took off. The beginnig IS slow and has nothing to do with the murder, but the events described all turn out to have been necessary for the plot. I'd just roll with it. This isn't a perfect book, it's really a 4.5, but I rounded up. Nothing is written badly or weakly; the book just doesn't hit Dashill Hammett or the other greats of the actual era. Expect a good neo-noir following traditional tropes (including a last-moment twist) rather than new story ground covered. It's Chinatown. That's about all you need to know.
Recommended for noir and neo-noir fans and fans of historical fiction who can stand a greusome murder or two.
Holy cow! I hesitate going five stars on my first Ellroy read - because where do you go from there? - but I ate this up fast. It's visceral, lurid crime fiction, appropriate for its legendary subject. I saw Ellroy's writing described as "literary crack." Apt label. I can't remember if I watched the movie version or not, but having dug Hollywood Babylon and Rockstar's L.A. Noire on Xbox, this was a thrill-ride. Looking forward to the next round!
rough, but good
If you can get past the racism, the misogyny, the homophobia, and the anti- Semitism, there’s a good book in there.
If you can get past the racism, the misogyny, the homophobia, and the anti- Semitism, there’s a good book in there.
Twisty twisty, gruesome gritty. Proper noir brought kicking and screaming into the modern age.