Ellroy has become known for a telegrammatic prose style in his most recent work, wherein he frequently omits connecting words and uses only short, staccato sentences, and in particular for the novels the black dahlia 1987, the big nowhere 1988, l. Trilogy american tabloid, the cold six thousand and bloods a rover and the l. Every mystery or crime novel ive read since has been chasing the dragon of l. Confidential story by james ellroy, film directed by curtis hanson. Easy is drinking in a friends bar, wondering how hell meet his mortgage, when a white man in a linen suit walks in, offering good money if easy will simply locate miss daphne money, a. Nov 06, 2014 the book takes these cops on a sprawling epic of brutal violence and the murderous seedy side of hollywood. Equally high is the chance of, when in conversation with others about such a movie, some motherfucker opening their mouth and saying, it wasnt as good as the book. Confidential is filmnoir crime fiction akin to chinatown, hollywood babylon, raymond chandler, dashiell hammett, and. The epigraph is a glory that costs everything and means nothing steve erickson. That misses his strength as a novelist steeped in the past and a nonpareil historical muckraker. His novel american tabloid was time magazines best book fiction of 1995. Ellroys own losses and demons no doubt fueled this seedy world of fiction that he, to this day, continues to craft. Six prisoners are beaten senseless in their cells by cops crazed on alcohol. Chosen by dan jones, an awardwinning historian of the middle ages.
The ending goes completely off the rails, but who cares. Confidential is filmnoir crime fiction akin to chinatown. Confidential, and white jazz, two of which were adapted into movies. Confirming my fascination for american crime fiction, curtis hansons l. American tabloid, the cold six thousand and bloods a rover. Confidential marked the halfway point in myers career, who has since gone on to earn an oscar nomination for emma 1996 and work on projects as varied as the painted veil and the golden. Ellroy is a master of crime, seamlessly weaving three narratives in his deliciously dark. In the aftermath of the bloody christmas, the lives of three cops are forever entwined.
With so many cops making deals and doublecross deals with cops, and murderers making deals and doublecross deals with murderers, and ditto the former with the latter, the whole thing becomes far too complex. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading l. I read it for the first time at 16 and its the book that really got me interested in reading. The book contains circumstantial evidence of cyclist lance armstrong having used performanceenhancing drugs. Confidential, covering maybe % of the book and roughly four of the novels 14 fully developed plotlines, is now 20 years old, and people cant stop talking about it. This book shows how damaging internet shaming can be and the consequences it has. Sign up for news about books, authors, and more from penguin random house. Quartet novelsthe black dahlia, the big nowhere, l.
Confidential 1990 is a neonoir novel by james ellroy and the third of his l. His most recent novel, bloods a rover, completes the magisterial underworld usa trilogy the first two volumes of which american tabloid and the cold six thousand were both sunday. If youre looking for help with a personal book recommendation, consult our weekly recommendation thread, suggested reading page, or ask in rsuggestmeabook. Confidential by james ellroy grand central publishing. By contrast, james ellroys far more cinematic novel turned 20 in june, 2010, and no one, save for ellroy himself, and maybe the demon dogs. Confidential serves as a perfect example of how to a change and adapt a book into a film with great effect, b produce and script an authentic and evocative motion picture, capturing the times, and c keep the books author happy. Confidential the likelihood of a given movie these days being based on a book or a short story or some other extracinematic source is pretty high these days. Jun 06, 20 1950s hardboiled detective noir that goes deeper and darker than any other book in the genre, l. Easy rawlins is a black war veteran just fired from his job at a defense plant. Confidential the movie20 years later the venetian vase. D ed exley, the cleancut cop who lives shivering in the shadow of his dad, a legendary cop in the same department. Original boards refers to cardboardlike front and back boards, from about 1700 to 1840, used as temporary protection for books before their.
A horrific mass murder invades the lives of victims and victimizers on both sides of the law. James ellroy is an american crime writer known for his distinctive, staccato writing style. Confidential is one of my favourite books of all time, and my favourite james ellroy book. Easy is drinking in a friends bar, wondering how hell meet his mortgage, when a white man in a linen suit walks in, offering good money if easy will simply locate miss daphne money, a blonde beauty known to frequent black jazz clubs. In the incontinent mayhem that masquerades as a james ellroy novel, the line between the quick and the dead is fine.
American tabloid, the cold six thousand, and bloods a rover, and the l. He said the novel was as deep as tortilla, while also noting he did not care for the the majority of the performances and even considered that the. Ed exley, the by the book cop who is forever in his fathers shadow, glory. It won oscars and accolades as the best film of 1997, but the crime writer james ellroy has a different recollection of the adaptation of his novel. Quartet novels, the black dahlia, the big nowhere, l. Lee earle james ellroy born march 4, 1948 is an american crime fiction writer and essayist. Officer bud white, on the other hand, is brutal, violent, vengeful and jack trashcan vincennes, formerly of the narco. Trilogy american tabloid, the cold six thousand and bloods a. Confidential is filmnoir crime fiction akin to chinatown, hollywood babylon, raymond chandler, dashiell hammett, and jim s about three tortured souls in the s l. If you have any question about this novel, please dont hesitate to contact us or translate team. It is our intent and purpose to foster and encourage indepth discussion about all things related to books, authors, genres, or publishing in a safe, supportive environment. Ed exley, a patrician who venerates his herocop father, presumably holds high ideals and unassailable standards. Association copy copy that belonged to someone connected with the author or the contents of a book.
See more ideas about kim basinger, james ellroy, movies. Come visit sometime to read the latest chapter of l. Confidential, and white jazzwere international best sellers. Lance armstrongs secrets is a book by sports journalist pierre ballester and the sunday times sports correspondent david walsh. Book club picks are 10% off during the month of the discussion. You will definitely want to read the rest after finishing it though. About the author the winner of numerous awards and accolades, lee earle james ellroy is one of the most acclaimed mystery authors writing today. James ellroy on his nervous breakdown, tv adaptations and. Confidential by james ellroy, read by craig wasson. Simply let your cashier know youre buying the book for book club, or type book club in the comments field during checkout. Energetic, sprawling and often stylistically irritating police procedural that follows three lapd members over a tenyear period, beginning in 1950. Confidential is epic noir, a crime novel of astonishing detail and scope written by the bestselling author of the black dahlia. He is the author of one work of nonfiction, the hilliker curse.
All music movies tv shows books authors games podcasts. The novel takes these cops on a sprawling epic of brutal violence and the murderous seedy side of hollywood. Confidential a neonoir film which takes a new direction starring kim bassinger, kevin spacey, danny devito and russell crowe. As much as i love twitter, even i get hesitant to post certain things due to the fear of what the internet trolls might say. Confidential first edition signed bauman rare books.
69 838 239 15 699 294 385 828 84 1358 715 262 1187 440 94 207 873 1172 1238 1508 374 1012 812 1165 1528 316 1264 229 1488 352 1258 1329 578 1061 685 1044