Jay Gertzman wrote:
> Aren't there at least one too many historical
references [in "White Jazz"]?
Surely that's Ellroy's specialty, the fabrication of "one too
many."
I actually like Ellroy, although Ellroy annoys me at least as
much as he appeals to me. I haven't read "White Jazz," so
I'll refrain from making comments. I will, however, pass on
the joke that I traditionally repeat concerning author
Ellroy's quirky notion of composing a sentence.
The Ellroys that I've read -- and also "White Jazz"? -- have
this tendency to lapse into telegraph-ese, into stacatto
little sentence fragments whenever the action gets
particularly fervid. I suppose that the intention is to
convey "More Vivid Than Vivid" in these verbal outbursts that
surpass mere phrase-making. To me, though, it's merely
annoying. Rather than draw me in closer, all it does is get
me angry at the guy who wrote 'em.
So, basing my phrase on a line from Joe Orton's 'What The
Butler Saw," I find myself repeating: "Subject! Verb! Object!
It's a *fine* old tradition, and I *won't* be a party to its
destruction ..."
Chris
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