Re: RARA-AVIS: Ellroy's "Contino"

Anthony Smith (ansmith@netdoor.com)
Tue, 5 May 1998 08:56:36 -0500 > My first reaction was whatthehell?
Well, that's a good sign.

> Second, reaction: ok, a series of riffs, a jam of different instrumental
> styles. But too long for what he's doing! Going through a black humor
> phase, maybe: reading Ishmael Reed (_Mumbo Jumbo_ ), trying to write like
> Thomas Pynchon. Some of it ok, but much of it very thin stream of
> consciousness stuff. Goes through your system fast. Written fast, I'd
> guess. And this is 1/3rd of the book!

I disagree. This is an excellent departure, I think. He was getting the
first person vibe of White Jazz out of his system. Personally, I think
this story worked great! (He's recently done another Contino story in GQ
that I was really disappointed in, for the reasons you mention about
Blues). The rest of the book is a retrospective of older short stories,
tracking a development in style...
Not stream of consciousness, but more of a monologue. Ellroy spoke with
Contino before writing this, even if this is mostly made up.

Wished you could have liked it.

a.smith
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