His Dark Places (James Ellroy in general)

Member Name: salgirl

Product:	James Ellroy in general
Date:	12/05/01 (54 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Compelling and intriguing author

Disadvantages: May be too up front for some

James Ellroy is a foul-mouthed, arrogant, cynical, clever, funny and compelling author. Looking like Alf Garnett's younger and more handsome brother, his attitude doesn't detract from the image. This is a hard man.

LA Confidential is one of his works. This was a highly successful film. He was stopped by a fan who complimented him on how wonderful it was. He asked if she was talking about the film, she replied with a yes. He asked her if she'd read his book, she uhm-ed and ahh-ed and then said no. His reply was "Well, what the f*** use are you to me?"

I don't know precisely why, but this endeared him to me.

James Ellroy was born in Los Angeles in 1948. He had a difficult childhood in as much as his parents had split, and being closer to his father than his mother, his relationship with her was strained to breaking point. This abruptly changed when in 1958, his mother was murdered. It went unsolved.

He became insular and drew closer to his dad, believing his father's tales about his mother and learning to hate her even more than he had done. He grew into a disruptive and disturbed youth, house-breaking being a speciality of his. In a recent documentary (Arena BBC2) he professed to breaking into the homes of girls that he fantasised about, wandering round and rummaging through personal things.

His writing credits in later life are varied, mixing factual and fictional work and producing books like:-

White Jazz
LA Confidential
The Big Nowhere
The Black Dahlia
Silent Terror (Killer On The Road)
Suicide Hill
Blood On The Moon
Dick Contino's Blues and other stories
American Tabloid
Brown's Requiem
Clandestine
and my personal favourite
My Dark Places.

His fascination for the Black Dahlia murder case is almost obsessive. Maybe he sees some parallels between Elizabeth Short (the Black Dahlia - her nickname because she was always d
ressed in black) and his mother's murder. Both went unsolved. Both women had an alleged reputation for promiscuity. Both were young and beautiful. Whatever his connection, his fascination is undimmed and his book is widely viewed as an authorative look at the case itself.

My Dark Places was my introduction to the brilliantly distorted world of James Ellroy. This book charts his attempts to find the killer of his mother nearly 30 years after she'd been strangled.

His writing style is passionate and full of barely supressed explosive emotions. Often written with short sentences, this makes the writing appear to be even more hard hitting than it already is. The structure and descriptions are almost poetic in a sledgehammer-between-the-eyes type way. He conveys a uniquely chilling atmosphere, wringing threatening situations out of every page, really making you feel whatever he damn well pleases. And he enjoys the manipulation. He enjoys the sense of power. Better than rifling through panty drawers, James, shame the idea didn't occur to you back then.

My Dark Places in particular shows his vulnerable yet in-your-face style off brilliantly. Through the investigations into his mother's death, there was a distinct change in his attitude towards her. He fell in love with her. It was an extremely moving read.

I'll close this opinion with a quote, written for his mother, Geneva Hilliker, from My Dark Places, just to give you a flavour of the man:-

"I'm with you now. You ran and hid and I found you. Your secrets were not safe with me. You earned my devotion. You paid for it in public disclosure.

I robbed your grave. I revealed you. I showed you in shameful moments. I learned things about you. Everything I learned made me love you more dearly.

I'll learn more. I'll follow your tracks and invade your hidden time. I'll uncover your lies. I'll rewrite your history and revise
my judgment as your old secrets explode. I will justify it all in the name of the obsessive life you gave me.

I can't hear your voice. I can smell you and taste your breath. I can feel you. You're brushing against me. You're gone and I want more of you."

James Ellroy isn't just a well respected crime writer, he is a fantastic allrounder, and probably one of the most important authors in America today.

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