Take a photo of a barcode or cover
editbarb 's review for:
The Black Dahlia
by James Ellroy
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.