RARA-AVIS: Re: My Ellroy boredom

From: jacquesdebierue ( jacquesdebierue@yahoo.com)
Date: 12 Dec 2007


--- In rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, BaxDeal@... wrote:
>

> I'd agree. The Big Nowhere is very compelling. I got in trouble
with my
> wife when we were on vacation when the book came out, because I
refused to
> budge from the hammock where I was reading it and go sight-seeing
with her. by
> the time Ellroy got to American Tabloid, all his gifts and
obsessions seemed to
> finally cohere. but trying to top himself with The Cold Six
Thousand, the
> plotting had taken a backseat to the prose
>

The Big Nowhere and Clandestine are my favorite Ellroy novels. I am also a fan of the Dick Contino's Blues novella and stories and his nonfiction book My Dark Places. I found American Tabloid very disagreeable, not compelling. The Cold Six Thousand seemed better, but no great shakes either. Ellroy's writing has enormous power (there's a volcano inside of him) but it works best when he restrains it a bit.

Best,

mrt



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