a.n.smith (ansmith@netdoor.com)
Thu, 30 Dec 1999 20:59:13 -0600
> It's very hard for me to like a a book whose
protagonists and most
> major characters are morally bereft.
I find it surprising to see so much anti-Ellroy sentiment on
the HB list, and some of that even from people who put him on
the top 5! Personally, I think he's doing something very
unique and interesting with the writing, which beats the
standard detective yarn by a long shot. Anything to break up
the formulas and stretch beyond genre (I love genre, but my
love comes from seeing the edges pushed a lot, seeing how
much it can take). But I can allow for different tastes and
thoughts--sure, but being that's he "saved" crime fiction for
me when I wasn't finding good stuff (just luck led me to the
book, and that led me to dive into the HB pool completely), I
like to keep his flag flying. I like the style, the shady
characters, the convoluted plots.
Now, here's my beef with him: After MY DARK PLACES (great,
powerful, unusual), he started doing all this GQ stuff that
ended up in CRIMEWAVE, and I see it as dreck written for the
cash. The non-fiction stuff is ok, but the fiction with the
rag sheet editor, and all that awful alliteration. So, I'm
hoping the next book shows me the Ellroy that I admired in WJ
and AT.
NS
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