Review: L.A. Confidential — James Ellroy
Verdict : Half brilliant.
An oldie, and definitely a goodie.
L.A. Confidential is a big old book. A gazillion pages of corruption, vice, ambition, and bad men doing bad things in 1950s Los Angeles.
It is very genre-heavy. Full noir. And within that genre, it is one of the best.
That said, this is one of the very few times I preferred the movie over the book.
Ellroy was a pioneer, and you can feel that. But noir has kept evolving. Stories like True Detective and other modern crime fiction have added layers of nuance and texture that make L.A. Confidential feel a little more foundational than fresh.
Still, I really enjoyed it.
If you love noir, you’ll love this book.
If you’re interested in writing noir, you should absolutely read it, or at the very least watch the movie, because the film is bloody brilliant.
L.A. Confidential by James Ellroy.
Half brilliant.
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Our police are vile, what is happening to our country manhandling a five year boy, while his dad is getting pepper sprayed on the ground. And then pushing a mother holding a baby who is trying to comfort her son. I don't recognise this country under Labour. 🥺
Another great location. Another chapter! Spoke with @ginapanettieri yesterday and she has me in a deadline !! I’m aiming for mid July to get this manuscript ready for her.
This guy turned every single text his HOA president sent him into a song.
Over the past year and a half, she’s been texting him nonstop about fines, videos he’s posting, eggs in the yard, signs on his lawn, his driveway, and even threatening to put a lien on his house. So instead of arguing with her, he had AI turn all her messages into a full song.
It’s honestly one of the most creative ways I’ve seen someone get back at an over-the-top HOA.
Be honest… would you turn your HOA president’s texts into a song?