Ellroy resumes examination of violence, greed
JAMES Ellroy, once called “the American Dostoevsky”, is a great writer.
His searing depictions of crime and punishment, corruption and betrayal in the LA police department during and after World War II are, quite simply, masterpieces. Who can forget The Black Dahlia or LA Confidential?
Here’s the second volume of his second LA Quartet, a prequel to his earlier Quartet and with many of the same characters.
It is set in January 1942, just after America was plunged into war following the attack on Pearl Harbour. Japanese-Americans are fair game for corrupt cops, and the appetite for anything criminal is spreading.
Using his sweeping, staccato style, and slang that can take time to penetrate, Ellroy paints a portrait of a city consumed by violence and greed – set against a backdrop of torrential rainstorms that sweep the city. If only the rain could wash away the ugliness, it suggests, but it cannot.
Epic crime writing from a master.
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