tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4101176263274175183.post26970262571735992..comments2023-10-31T09:31:03.483-04:00Comments on Dave's Fiction Warehouse: James Ellroy unleashed -- and unfinishedDave Knadlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03775398291411783228noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4101176263274175183.post-52482663281949825972007-08-09T18:59:00.000-04:002007-08-09T18:59:00.000-04:00That's an interesting comment, Daphne. I have't re...That's an interesting comment, Daphne. I have't read Woodrell, but his crime fiction has been praised for the very qualities you criticize. Perhaps crime-fiction readers are suckers for the stylistic flourish.<BR/>===================<BR/>Detectives Beyond Borders<BR/>"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"<BR/>http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/Peter Rozovskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09977933481463759162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4101176263274175183.post-1102443023977867952007-08-09T18:14:00.000-04:002007-08-09T18:14:00.000-04:00Where's a good editor when he needed on?My own dis...Where's a good editor when he needed on?<BR/><BR/>My own disappointment was Daniel Woodrell. I was enmeshed in his excellent Civil War era novel "Woe to Live On" (made into the underappreciated Ang Lee film "Ride With the Devil," and then rereleased under that title).<BR/>But when I tried his contemporary crime fiction, (Tomato Red, Muscle for the Wing), I thought he over-relied on his talent for evoking Ozark idioms, etc.<BR/><BR/>'Nuff said<BR/><BR/>DaphneAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4101176263274175183.post-19814694606600055942007-08-09T01:58:00.000-04:002007-08-09T01:58:00.000-04:00I couldn't cite any examples for you, but I don't ...I couldn't cite any examples for you, but I don't think you were the only one put off by it. I seem to recall several caustic critical comments about its "style."<BR/>===================<BR/>Detectives Beyond Borders<BR/>"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"<BR/>http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/Peter Rozovskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09977933481463759162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4101176263274175183.post-9011152056277787052007-08-08T22:42:00.000-04:002007-08-08T22:42:00.000-04:00Maybe you've put your finger on it. As I mentioned...Maybe you've put your finger on it. As I mentioned, I seem to be one of the few who was really put off by it.<BR/><BR/>I also enjoyed <I>L.A. Confidential,</I> despite the scenery-chewing at the get-go. Ellroy is a hell of a writer; I just wish someone could have hosed him down a little while he was writing <I>The Cold Six Thousand.</I>Dave Knadlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03775398291411783228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4101176263274175183.post-66287020291514566782007-08-08T22:33:00.000-04:002007-08-08T22:33:00.000-04:00Well, I won't plan to read it, but one day I could...Well, I won't plan to read it, but one day I could find myself in a secondhand bookshop with a couple of dollars yearning to leap out of my pocket.<BR/><BR/>As it happens, I've been thinking a bit about Ellroy recently. After I posted my comment about good opening lines, Jerome Weeks of the BookDaddy blog offered his own thoughts on the subject along with some good examples and one bad one -- from <I>L.A. Confidential</I>. The opening really does look bad, even thought I liked the novel. <BR/><BR/>I remarked that Ellroy must have stopped hyperventilating after the opening, because no author could keep up that rat-tat-tat for five hundred pages, and if he had, I'd never have read it.<BR/><BR/>I guess <I>The Cold Six Thousand</I> never lets up with its particular stylistic affectation. I can imagine that a few readers in this world might be able to use Ellroy's prose as a kind of incantation, its rhythms lulling them into a trancelike state.<BR/>===================<BR/>Detectives Beyond Borders<BR/>"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"<BR/>http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/Peter Rozovskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09977933481463759162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4101176263274175183.post-2895702102398942582007-08-08T22:16:00.000-04:002007-08-08T22:16:00.000-04:00On the other hand, why bother? It's not like there...On the other hand, why bother? It's not like there's a shortage of good books out there.Dave Knadlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03775398291411783228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4101176263274175183.post-64837926119926082572007-08-08T20:25:00.000-04:002007-08-08T20:25:00.000-04:00I dunno, I guess some people take unreadability as...I dunno, I guess some people take unreadability as a sign of integrity. One of these days, the staccato monotony might hypnotize me into reading the novel. I wouldn't count out the possibility. I wouldn't count on it, either.<BR/>===================<BR/> Detectives Beyond Borders<BR/>"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"<BR/> http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/Peter Rozovskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09977933481463759162noreply@blogger.com