Re: RARA-AVIS: Ellroy's style (was Movies better than books)

From: Mario Taboada ( matrxtech@yahoo.com)
Date: 19 May 2002


<<I made it to page fifty. It amazes me that Ellroy enjoys

such commercial success when a number of people who read a lot (as we obviously do, or we wouldn't be members of this list) find his style inaccessible.>>

He has become increasingly mannered. Enamored of himself, I think.

<<I think he's a tremendous writer.>>

Unquestionably. The Big Nowhere alone would prove it.

Just like some writers resort to telling their stories in dialogue --an easy way to coast if you know how to do it-- in order to save themselves the trouble of organizing their material, Ellroy has taken to including his preliminary notes (mere jottings, sometimes) instead of developing the material. That's lazy. You can tell everybody how great you are, but nobody cares what the writer thinks. The proof is in the pudding, in every book. The last three by Ellroy have not convinced me. In fact, I found The Cold Six Thousand barely readable and generally disagreeable.

Best,

MrT

=====
"Don't just do something, sit there!" Thich Nhat Hanh

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