My son was born just over a year ago, Feb. 15/01. I just
caught up on my Rara-Avis this morning. I cut off my other
lists and haven't kept up with some favourite magazines and
websites, but, dammit, I've read all my Rara-Avis for the
past three or four years. I figured I'd join the hordes of
lurkers jumping on to the list lately and contribute a few
thoughts.
Recent reads
BECAUSE THE NIGHT by James ELLROY - My, what big words you
have, Grandpa Ellroy! The vocabulary, the complex sentences
were impressive, but a little distracting at times, taking me
out of the story. Does Ellroy stand alone with this kind of
wordplay overkill? I can't think of anyone who does it quite
to this degree. Another minor annoyance: I found the
switching POV between the cop and his quarry jarring.
Everytime it switched, I'd be annoyed for the first few
paragraphs cause I wanted to keep going with the previous
character. But then I'd get absorbed in the new POV, and
carry on until the next switch. Minor annoyance #3: I knew
what the bad guy was up to because of the POV switch, but had
to rehash it all as the cop figured it out. I suppose this is
the intended fun part of a POV switch, but it was just
redundant. Overall, I liked the book. At first I figured the
bad guy was another super psycho baddie who was just evil
through and through and always was and will be, but I
should've known better (this was my 6th or 7th Ellroy,
although 1st one in a couple years); the baddie's background
is explored later in the book, and all the characters are
shown to be severely flawed. All grey; no black and white.
That's what I like. I think this really stood out for me
because I went from Robert Crais' Voodoo River straight into
this one, and good/evil is much more clearly defined in that
book. Voodoo River is a simpler enjoyable read with more of a
by-the-numbers approach. I enjoy _and_ appreciate an Ellroy
much more.
Jordan in Winnipeg
(not to be confused with Kent from Winnipeg or Funkmaster
Jordan)
Who says it's cold in Canada? I haven't worn my longjohns in
over a week. BTW, I really don't like hockey.
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Yahoo!? Yahoo! Sports - Coverage of the 2002 Olympic Games http://sports.yahoo.com
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