Jazz Blanco (Paperback)

from TheAmpersand

I'd be tough to call the seedy, lurid dime novels that probably influenced James Ellroy great literature, and, honestly, I think I'd also be pretty tough to call the stuff he produces great literature, too, though some people have certainly tried. As with most Ellroy books, everything's a bit too...

from ChrisNorbury

My first read of James Ellroy. I loved the movie L.A. Confidential, so came into this book thinking the story would be told in a "normal" manner. But if this is his style (and I understand it is) I'll say he's an acquired taste and I'll need a few more samples before I know if I like it a lot or ...

from jonfaith

Even burning the dross off of prose leaves something haunted. The menace in Ellroy's streets is a puzzling presence, certainly along the likes of Mieville and Sinclair as it detours into origins and auras, Merleau-Ponty's flux made manifest in gridded streets and contained populations and vices. ...

from swl

I hated this book, and it was a real struggle to get through on many levels, including an annoying prose style, density of prose, crazy meandering plot, and a surfeit of characters. And none of these are even the book's greatest flaw. However, there is enough of a compelling sense of style, histo...

from

This was the final book in the L.A Quartet. I believe, ultimately, it was his weakest in the trilogy. While the action skips along, the prose becomes a little disjointed and sloppy. We are kept in the sphere of the general plot-line, but the details become muddled and the ideas not as great as th...