false 36061 11 James Ellroy's trademark is his language: it is sometimes caustically funny and always brazen. When he's hitting on all cylinders, as he is in <i> My Dark Places</i>, his style makes punchy rhythms out of short sentences using lingo such as "scoot" (dollar), "trim" (sex), and "brace" (to interrogate). But the premise for <i>My Dark Places</i> is what makes it especially compelling: Ellroy goes back to his own childhood to investigate the central mystery behind his obsession with violence against women--the death of his mother when he was 10 years old. It's hard to imagine a more psychologically treacherous, more self-exposing way in which to write about true crime. The <i>New York Times</i> calls it a "strenuously involving book.... Early on, Mr. Ellroy makes a promise to his dead mother that seems maudlin at first: 'I want to give you breath.' But he's done just that and--on occasion--taken ours away." 1121999 1996 My Dark Places total:941|5:282|4:374|3:230|2:44|1:11| 941 3695 1220 92 4 40 false false Mon Oct 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 13 23:17:30 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 13 22:05:26 -0700 2009
-Eat a chicken wing.
-Talk to my dad about my sex life.
-Read true crime.

Goodreads, however, has caused me to do a great many things that I'd have thought unlikely prior to my booknerd social network addiction, such as:

-Date peo...more...]]> 4 22 false false Tue Apr 29 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 25 11:28:13 -0700 2007 Wed Apr 30 17:50:15 -0700 2008
Ellroy really ...more...]]> 4 36 false false Sun Jul 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 19 16:38:16 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 19 18:12:02 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 5 false false Thu Apr 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 27 09:22:00 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 17 10:48:49 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 20 false false Tue Sep 11 20:33:06 -0700 2007 Sun Oct 18 09:55:13 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Sep 06 07:02:39 -0700 2007 Thu Sep 06 14:51:56 -0700 2007 ...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Oct 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 27 14:36:01 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 04 20:10:18 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jul 14 08:58:33 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 14 09:04:49 -0700 2009
This book relates the tale of his life following the murder of his mother. It is the tale of an unsuccessful murder investigation.

The book is written in an unemotional manner that forces the reader to feel the emotions rather than read them on th...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 08 04:52:51 -0700 2009 Tue Nov 03 04:05:07 -0800 2009
Before I re-read all Ellroy's books, I thought I'd give this one a spin again, to set the scene, so to speak.

This certainly does that, and Ellroy pulls no punches in what he reveals here. At times it fel...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Dec 05 14:19:06 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 04 13:06:04 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Nov 03 21:19:51 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 03 21:30:26 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 19 false false Fri Sep 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 20 05:44:35 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 11 10:41:55 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 6 false false Mon Apr 20 00:53:08 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 10 08:56:39 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon May 05 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Mar 29 08:56:37 -0700 2008 Mon May 05 21:22:50 -0700 2008 The Black Dahlia and the noir bestseller L.A. Confidential. In this disturbing memoir, he turns his crime fixation on himself and explains why he is the way he is: completely screwed up. Ellroy’s mother Geneva (Jean) Hilliker was strangled to death, possibl...more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Feb 15 03:38:02 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 20 17:08:26 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Feb 10 09:12:08 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 10 09:32:20 -0800 2008 Is it possible for a book to be too dark, to sick, too disturbing, even for me? The answer, apparently, is yes.

This book is certainly compelling, in the manner of car crashes and cripples; once you start looking, you will have trouble looking away despite your best efforts. And i...more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 17 18:42:44 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 25 17:25:39 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Tue Aug 18 14:02:57 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 18 14:10:19 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Jun 04 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon May 26 13:39:48 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 04 00:39:52 -0700 2008
The midsection of the book consists of an autobiographical account of Ellroy's turbid early years and totally blew my mind. From stealing steaks to living in parks and drinking Thunderbird to binging on...more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed May 06 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 28 19:02:52 -0700 2009 Wed May 06 16:39:27 -0700 2009
Finished, and my midway-point assessment hasn't changed. There's some sincerity th...more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=36061