American Tabloid is a Banger

Submitted by maistb7 t3_10oq00q in books

Recently read American Tabloid seeing as it seemed like a plot up my alley. Never read Ellroy before this with my closest exposure to his work being the LA Confidential film. His writing is crazy sharp all while retaining a strong noir, pulp feel. The structure took a bit getting used to but I was engrossed in the story right away with his 3 character setup being perfectly executed.
My favorite character was Ward although Kemper’s arc was masterfully done.

A vastly entertaining read and a great work of fiction. I recommend it as a book in general but especially for those who are into crime thrillers or historical fiction. I’ve read mixed things about the follow ups in the trilogy, so I’ve decided to start The Black Dahlia, the first of his LA Quarter.

American Tabloid is a complete tour de force. I’m surprised it hasn’t been adapted into an HBO series. Im not sure about it being a movie, but Oliver Stone’s “JFK” might be the closest we’ll get. There are some similarities.

I’ve also been trying to read more and this book was very accessible.

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Comments

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MyOwnRobot t1_j6g8rck wrote

Love Ellroy! The sequels are also amazing. And the LA Quartet is rightfully considered a classic. LA Confidential is waaay more epic than the movie (which I nonetheless love).

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maistb7 OP t1_j6gd6cg wrote

That’s high praise and makes me hyped to read LA Confidential. The movie is fantastic.

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MyOwnRobot t1_j6gdx2c wrote

Great neo-noir that took the characters and a few plot points from the book and made its own thing. But man, the book is sprawling and craaazy, daddy-o!

I did a big re-read of the books recently and it's jarring how conventional his prose style was in the beginning, including the Black Dahlia.

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maistb7 OP t1_j6j7sqj wrote

I’ve just started The Black Dahlia (good so far) but I agree. His writing was def a bit more stylistic with American tabloid.

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Pirate_Queen_of_DC t1_j6gjvmg wrote

I am so happy to see someone getting into Ellroy! He's one of my favorite writers, and the LA Quartet is pure gold. L.A. Confidential is amazing, and The Black Dahlia is a gem too.

He's working on a new quartet right now, set during the war. The first two books, Perfidia and This Storm, are out. I loved Perfidia, but haven't read the other one yet.

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maistb7 OP t1_j6j7kzz wrote

Yes, I love his writing so far. Have begun black dahlia!

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JustAnnesOpinion t1_j6io1jl wrote

Sometimes Elroy’s style gets to be a bit intense for me and I have to put the book down for a while but I do appreciate that he is the closest to what Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain and other early mid century noir writers might have conveyed if they had been less constrained by publishing standards of the time.

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souljasteele37 t1_j6kf67x wrote

The sequels are also bangers, well worth the reads!

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