The Cases that Haunt Us
One of my all-time favorite books, and definitely not for the squeamish. The authors cover--in unbelievably great detail and depth--the crimes, aftereffects, motives, evidence and suspects involved in the periphery of the Jack the Ripper killings in Whitechapel in 1888, the Jonbenet Ramsay trial, the Lizzie Borden case, the Zodiac Killer, The Black Dahlia (see the James Ellroy blog entry below this one) and a few others. The writing about these cases is inspired, impressive, thorough and intense. They are also, especially when writing about 1888 Whitechapel (Jack the Ripper) and 1950s L.A. (The Black Dahlia), historically accurate and extremely fascinating. I have re-read this book a few times now, and, like a true classic, I get a new thing out of it each time. John Douglas's take on Jack the Ripper, especially, is definitive, and obliterates the efforts of Patricia Cornwell and others who have tackled and been derailed by the topic. For Ripper enthusiasts, this is the one to read.
Obsession
Gruesomely fascinating, as usual. Very good writer, and it's amazing how he's been able to keep his sanity, considering all of the insanity he's seen.
Mindhunter
Well-written, as usual, and memorable for both the writing and the content. I wrote in a journal: "It reinforces that Epicurus quote for me: 'If God listened to the prayer of men, all men would quickly have perished: for they are for ever praying for evil against one another.'"
Showing posts with label The Black Dahlia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Black Dahlia. Show all posts
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
James Ellroy--L.A. Confidential and The Black Dahlia
The Black Dahlia
Based on the infamous case of Elizabeth Short, who Ellroy later claimed to be his mother. Almost as brilliant as Ellroy's L.A. Confidential, and in some ways it's superior. The time, the pitch, the pace, the plot, the dialogue and characterization--all among The Mad Dog's best. As with L.A. Confidential--perhaps even more so--by the time you're done reading it, you'd swear that every member of the L.A. force was hopped up on something, boozing, brawling, sleeping around, or just plain going crazy in the 50s. (Turns out, it was just the author. You've got to be feelin' it like that to write like this consistently. This wasn't great editing; it was a mindset.) Ellroy's lost a little steam over the years--Who could keep it up?--but he's probably healthier after his breakdown. L.A. Confidential and The Black Dahlia are probably the high water marks of this kind of thing in the latter 20th Century. And if you don't believe me, just ask Ellroy himself. He'll tell ya.
L.A. Confidential
In terms of perfection, I give this one a slight nod over The Black Dahlia, and the only reason I can give you is that I got that feeling as I was reading it. You just get this strong sensation that you are reading something great, something unique that will stand as the best of its type. Perhaps some of it is in retrospect, as I finished this long ago, and certainly the excellent movie helps the idea. (The movie is perhaps a classic of its type as well.)
To give you an idea of how complex the plot is, the movie based on it was dumbed down in a severe way, and those I watched the movie with in the theatre said it was one of the more complicated films they'd ever seen. I don't know about that--Chinatown also seemed a bit convoluted to me--but these people were not morons by any means. The kitchen scene with Spacey and James Cromwell was too simplistic for me, but what else can you do to get the Rollo Tomassi thing out there? The plot as in the book certainly had to get watered down. No complaints here about that, and I usually will harp on that.
And casting James Cromwell, the farmer from the (very good) talking-pig movie Babe, was inspired casting.
Ellroy's other books pale in comparison to L.A. Confidential and The Black Dahlia, but in this genre, whose wouldn't? Though it is slightly disturbing to admit that his writing was more...energetic, lucid, inspired, and, yet, fluent...while he was spiraling out of control. Life inspires art, right?
Based on the infamous case of Elizabeth Short, who Ellroy later claimed to be his mother. Almost as brilliant as Ellroy's L.A. Confidential, and in some ways it's superior. The time, the pitch, the pace, the plot, the dialogue and characterization--all among The Mad Dog's best. As with L.A. Confidential--perhaps even more so--by the time you're done reading it, you'd swear that every member of the L.A. force was hopped up on something, boozing, brawling, sleeping around, or just plain going crazy in the 50s. (Turns out, it was just the author. You've got to be feelin' it like that to write like this consistently. This wasn't great editing; it was a mindset.) Ellroy's lost a little steam over the years--Who could keep it up?--but he's probably healthier after his breakdown. L.A. Confidential and The Black Dahlia are probably the high water marks of this kind of thing in the latter 20th Century. And if you don't believe me, just ask Ellroy himself. He'll tell ya.
L.A. Confidential
In terms of perfection, I give this one a slight nod over The Black Dahlia, and the only reason I can give you is that I got that feeling as I was reading it. You just get this strong sensation that you are reading something great, something unique that will stand as the best of its type. Perhaps some of it is in retrospect, as I finished this long ago, and certainly the excellent movie helps the idea. (The movie is perhaps a classic of its type as well.)
To give you an idea of how complex the plot is, the movie based on it was dumbed down in a severe way, and those I watched the movie with in the theatre said it was one of the more complicated films they'd ever seen. I don't know about that--Chinatown also seemed a bit convoluted to me--but these people were not morons by any means. The kitchen scene with Spacey and James Cromwell was too simplistic for me, but what else can you do to get the Rollo Tomassi thing out there? The plot as in the book certainly had to get watered down. No complaints here about that, and I usually will harp on that.
And casting James Cromwell, the farmer from the (very good) talking-pig movie Babe, was inspired casting.
Ellroy's other books pale in comparison to L.A. Confidential and The Black Dahlia, but in this genre, whose wouldn't? Though it is slightly disturbing to admit that his writing was more...energetic, lucid, inspired, and, yet, fluent...while he was spiraling out of control. Life inspires art, right?
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