Joy asked:
>So, again, what's the best fiction that's not
historical to try?
Suicide Hill is far from being Ellroy's best work, but it was
written in the early eighties and the setting is
contemporary. I reread it for Police Procedural Month and
enjoyed it again the second time. Though it is the third
novel in the Lloyd Hopkins trilogy, it is so much better than
the previous two that having a knowledge of the others is not
neccessary.
Brown's Requiem, Ellroy's first novel, was also contemporary.
It's a pretty good first novel that foreshadows that better
novels will follow. (A Firing Offense by Pelecanos struck me
the same way the first time I read it. The difference being
that I read Brown's Requiem after reading most everythign
else by Ellroy). But if Brown's Requiem and Suicide Hill are
all you read of Ellroy, Joy, you could easily be left
wondering what the big deal is (of course, some would say you
could read everything by the man and still wonder what the
big deal is).
All that aside, The Black Dahlia (though set in the 50s) is
the best introduction to Ellroy.
Thanks to everyone who's weighed in so far on Ellroy. He's
definitely one of the more polarizing authors discussed
'round these parts and I've enjoyed reading everyone's
comments.
Chris
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