The Big Nowhere by James Ellroy
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Book Reviews of The Big Nowhere
Book Review: Compelling Crime Saga
Summary: 5 Stars
This has been the most enjoyable JE story I've read so far (of The Black Dahlia, The Cold Six and American Tabloid.) In terms of structure and narrative this is a tighter novel than The Black Dahlia. The clipped, adjectiveless style of later works is in its developmental stages here. JE writes best in third person, in my opinion.As well as being a top notch murder mystery, TBN is also a meditation on the less savoury aspects of America's law enforcement agencies and post-war political preoccupations. As with other JE novels I've read, the major characters are deeply flawed, have appalling traits and are blind to their own failings, yet you cant help liking them. There is also enough humour to temper the darkness, and this is a dark novel! If you have to rise early for work, make sure you start it on a weekend, as its hard to put down.
Book Review: Come drink from my cup of love.
Summary: 5 Stars
I really liked this crime novel. It's my 2nd Ellroy novel...the 1st being L.A. Confidential. Like that book this is a story about 1950's Los Angeles and about a set of very human LAPD officers. One is a repressed homosexual investigating a series of grisly attacks on gays, another is an overweight hatchet man for Howard Hughes, and the third is an officer burying himself in his work to avoid the problems in his family life. Circling this story is the 1950's Red Scare and the corruption in various parts of the LAPD. I liked seeing Dudley Smith in this story...those who have read L.A. Confidential will recognize him. Ellroy has a unique writing style & uses a lot of language that was commonplace in the 50's but is rather politically incorrect now...this adds to the realism. If you like crime/detective novels then give this one a try.Book Review: Big Nowhere
Summary: 5 Stars
The 2nd novel in Ellroy's L.A. Quartet( The Black Dahlia is the first, L.A. Confidential-third, and White Jazz the conclusion). This one is more complicated than The Black Dahlia, written in the same manner as L.A. Confidential - many subplots and characters woven into the main story. The characters and story are unforgettable like all of Ellroy's novels. It moves you through 50's L.A.: through communism, politics, ganglands, Hollywood, and the police force. Ellroy's style of writing is tough and hard boiled, the best in crime fiction today. No one compares. He ranks among Hammett/Chandler/MacDonald (the masters and creators of the genre) as one of the greatest writers ever...Book Review: How it should be done...
Summary: 5 Stars
Easily the best of the LA Quartet books (Black Dahlia, Big Nowhere, LA Confidential, & White Jazz), although many would argue for LA Confidential. I found this one more readable because he hadn't slipped into his 'machine gun' style of prose that became his staple in the later two books.A wonderful tale full of gritty characters, authentic locations, and an uncanny intermingling of real-life history with fiction. And only Ellroy could get away with one of his most bold plot twists (I won't spoil it here).
If you like gritty detective stories without the dated language of Hammet and Chandler, don't pass on this one.
Book Review: An American contribution
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been reading all of Ellroy's books and The Big Nowhere, alongside White Jazz, are his finest piece of work. The grotesque characters, the short-cut telegrafic pace of words and sentences creates an atmosphere that's unique in modern literature. Ellroy's language is a stereotype of a man and clear references to Hemingway can be made. Imagine Ellroy without the roughness and brutality in the stories and plots, even the intellectual and politicaly correct will then see a candidate for the Nobel Prize. For now, Ellroy is Americas best author.