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flowersofthecity's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
drinkingpondscum's review against another edition
5.0
“America was never innocent. We popped our cherry on the boat over and looked back with no regrets. You can't ascribe our fall from grace to any single event or set of circumstances. You can't lose what you lacked at conception.”
A history of bad men. At a certain point this turns from a taut political thriller into an almost impressionistic portrait of the dregs of humanity, with wiretaps, double crosses, gossip, and sudden violence coming at you with such ferocity that it’s pretty much impossible to keep track of everything. All that’s left is the petty, vindictive, unapologetic social climbers at the heart of it all, and a plot that seems to count down, like a bomb, to a fateful November day in Dallas. Kennedy wasn’t a savior, just a doped up horndog with a bad back; and the CIA blew his head off because he fucked over too many people, or because he was just slightly too friendly to those third world dogs we were supposed to be subjagating, certainly not because he could inhibit their power in any way. And now we live in the world they built; we inhabit a castle with blood in the mortar and pulverized corpses in the stones, built by a handful of Yale-educated perverts who drank so much that their pores probably excreted whiskey instead of sweat. All so we could have thirty different brands of beef jerky to choose from at the store. It’s cool, I guess.
jessetrex's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
myspiace's review against another edition
4.0
Violente raffinate sotterranee trame muovono i fili dell'America di JFK. Storia stronzissima http://www.myspiace.it/american-tabloid/
elecon's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
gregbrown's review against another edition
5.0
History class was never this exciting. Ellroy's AMERICAN TABLOID seduces you with bad news, spilling out the extortion, bribery, and killings that underlay the forces of history between 1958 and 1963.
Through it all are three fixers trying to play all the parties involved: FBI, Mob, Justice Department, CIA, and more. There are few things more enjoyable than watching someone good at their job, and these three men are very fucking good at their jobs—except when they forget that they're tools of the powerful, to be used and discarded when out of control.
The prose? Like uppers on uppers, hurtling forward with maximum velocity and minimum equivocation. It doesn't hurt that he gets to revel in the lurid details, both weaving together and ripping apart history with the glee of a good skank sheet. It's goddamn infectious, as you can probably tell.
That style—and the subject matter—keep this from being properly understood in the maximalist tradition: think Pynchon, Gaddis, Delillo. Encompassing decades of American history and myth is an even grander aim than any of those chumps, and this is just installment one of three.
Next up: THE COLD SIX THOUSAND and BLOOD'S A ROVER.
Through it all are three fixers trying to play all the parties involved: FBI, Mob, Justice Department, CIA, and more. There are few things more enjoyable than watching someone good at their job, and these three men are very fucking good at their jobs—except when they forget that they're tools of the powerful, to be used and discarded when out of control.
The prose? Like uppers on uppers, hurtling forward with maximum velocity and minimum equivocation. It doesn't hurt that he gets to revel in the lurid details, both weaving together and ripping apart history with the glee of a good skank sheet. It's goddamn infectious, as you can probably tell.
That style—and the subject matter—keep this from being properly understood in the maximalist tradition: think Pynchon, Gaddis, Delillo. Encompassing decades of American history and myth is an even grander aim than any of those chumps, and this is just installment one of three.
Next up: THE COLD SIX THOUSAND and BLOOD'S A ROVER.
acinthedc's review against another edition
4.0
a fascinating look at what could have led to some of the most striking moments in American history
imthechillalex's review against another edition
5.0
There is no fucking way that this can exist in this world.
melissa_m's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25