> There were several things I liked about
Ellroy's
> BLACK
> DAHLIA. I thought the characters were layered
and
> complex. I liked the way the dark side
was
> portrayed.
> It wasn't just "the bad guys." It permeated
almost
> everyone. I thought it superbly ironic that
Bucky's
> struggle to bring the Dahlia's murderer to
justice
> becomes an obsession that almost does him in.
I
> liked
> the scenes. The story was compelling and
> spectacular.
>
> My guess is that you were pretty much disgusted
with
> the scumbag characters (including Bucky) and
thought
> the plot sordid and trashy. I imagine the
> difference
> between your experience of the book and mine
is
> empathy. You didn't give a damn and I did.
Note
> that
> I'm not saying you should have felt different
about
> the book. To each his own.
>
> miker
No, not at all. Actually, my take on it (in brief, and
without including spoilers) is that a lot of it read like
hand-me-down Wambaugh ("the worst thing about being a cop is
the spiritual damage") and that, to be general about it, it's
not very well constructed. Basically it felt/feels to me like
two seperate stories kind of shoehorned in together: one is
"let's see who killed the black dahlia" and the other
is
"hey, being a cop really sucks, doesn't it".
I don't think Ellroy really has full control of the material
here. He does a better job with BIG NOWHERE, and I will check
out the other books in the Quartet. I just think it's strange
that DAHLIA is so well-regarded; NOWHERE is IMO a much better
book. Maybe because it's the first in the series?
Anyway, opinions vary, of course. And I'm well aware that
this is a minority POV.
doug
===== Doug Bassett
dj_bassett@yahoo.com
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