QUESTIONS REGARDING THE BLACK ECHO BY MICHAEL CONNELLY

[Andy]

Michael Connelly

Hey, everyone.

So the questions regarding this book might be a bit different than you're used to with other books. Anyway, here we go.

With writes,

-Andy Ruffett

Question 1: What did you think of Harry Bosch and Eleanor Wish's relationship?

Question 2: Do you agree with Bosch on the whole Nighthawks analogy? Is he the guy alone or is he the guy with the girl?

Question 3: What did you think of the writing? Please note that this is Michael Connelly's first book so if you have read the rest of the series, what did you think of it? If you didn't, does this book stand alone or does it need other books to back it up?

Question 4: Bosch enjoys working nights and doesn't sleep very much. How do you think this impacts his mental ability to work on cases as a detective?

Question 5: The Black Echo is all about lost light, but Bosch's lost light in the book. Who or what is Bosch's lost light?

[Mak]

Hi Damage,

First, thanks to Andy for selecting this book for discussion. It was quite fun reading through, so much so that I read the second book in the series shortly thereafter!

1. Bosch and Wish's relationship had a sense of tragedy all throughout, identical to a noir/femme fatale type of romance. They would be perfect complements for one another, if it weren't for the fact that their careers and actions put them on opposite sides. Bosch is uncompromising in his pursuit for justice and not even love can get him to change.

2. I think the Nighthawks analogy is what Bosch needs to believe in order to be fine with his lonesome lifestyle. If it's his nature to be alone, then it isn't a problem to solve. In actuality, he's more like the guy with the girl in the sense he is attractive to and and attracted by a certain kind of woman.

3. I liked the writing so much that I read another right after! But I kind of understand the feeling of the story not being complete with only the first book. Bosch is definitely a mystery to the reader. It's difficult to understand what exactly it is that drives him so hard or keeps him from really connecting with others outside of a professional relationship.

4. Best I can figure is that maybe it affects his mood. Bosch is a very serious individual both on and off the clock. His idea of fun is listening to a sorrowful saxophone solo. Maybe he'd have a more cheery disposition with more exposure to the light side of life.

5. Perhaps his mother? Although I feel that maybe a cheap answer because that's what the television series based on the books focuses on. It seems there is something that calls Bosch to investigate the dark and to do it alone. The mystery of the loss of Bosch's mother is lightly touched on in the book, but like any good mystery, there must be more to it than what is on the surface.

[Andy]

I'm glad you enjoyed the book. And I love your answers. Soon, I'll be writing mine.

With writes,

-Andy Ruffett

[Andy]

Are you going to continue the series given the fact that you've already finished the second book?

WIth writes,

-Andy Ruffett

[Andy]

Question 1: I think it was doomed from the start. Bosch and Wish are such vastly different characters. Bosch is this solo one-man show whereas Wish wants to follow by the rules even if she sometimes breaks them. At the beginning of the book, you can tell that Bosch and Wish aren't going to get along. In the end, they do but that's because circumstances change. Besides, by the end of the book, Bosch wants Wish to turn herself in. If the man really loved her, wouldn't he spare her the embarrassment? Not Bosch. He's a man who goes by the book and his own code which is basically that no criminal goes free. "Everybody counts or nobody counts".

Question 2: Obviously Bosch is the guy alone, but I still agree with Mak: he could be "the guy with the girl" but only if he cleaned up his act. Whether Bosch likes it or not, he's alone. And only he can change that.

Question 3: I'm a huge Connelly fan and I've read almost the entire Bosch series so far so obviously I love Connelly's writing. He's so descriptive with regards to cop work. He's the most detailed detective writer I've ever read and I hope one day to be able to write crime novels as detailed as his.

Question 4: As the books progress, you soon learn that Bosch eats usually quite unhealthily (almost always takeout) but is still fit for a man his age. Connelly explains that Bosch is still in shape due to his mission which basically is Bosch finding justice for the victims of the criminals he puts away. Whether that helps with his diet, I don't know but the man never seems to make himself food from his own kitchen unless he really doesn't want to order takeout.

Plus, Bosch makes mistakes so the lack of sleep, in the end, does hurt him. But Bosch is a night owl and he seems to always have been this way. The man cares more about solving a case than sleep. Obviously, he sleeps but he ends up normally crashing so much so that's he been caught sleeping in his suit probably more than a few times by someone in the squad room.

Question 5: I know the answer to this question but I don't want to spoil the series for anyone so I'll try to answer it differently. Bosch's lost light so far in The Black Echo is hope. Hope for the victims. Bosch is constantly chasing lost light so he can provide justice for the victims of the murderers who took away their lives. Hope is what he is chasing but never hope for himself. The true lost light in the book is light from the Vietnam tunnels which Bosch wanted to figure out where the light actually came from. In that analogy, Bosch is chasing his own lost light. But to him, his lost light isn't the light that should be chased. It's the victims'.

[Mak]

Andy wrote: "Are you going to continue the series given the fact that you've already finished the second book?

WIth writes,

-Andy Ruffett"

Started the third book just yesterday!

[Andy]

Awesome.

[Allie]

1) I thought their relationship was a little forced at first, as though it accelerated at a rapid pace for what they really knew of each other, but I did enjoy their dynamics for sure. They seemed to complement one another in their personalities.

2) Definitely the guy alone. I like the analogy though as it's another piece of artwork (he's already named after a famous painter!)

3) This was the first book I've read by Michael Connelly so I have to say that it went by rather quickly. I do think it stands alone and is easy to digest so I would be open to reading others in this series or other books by him!

4) I don't think it impacts his ability or mental capacity to resolve a case, but if anything he could only get better with more sleep!

[Andy]

Response to the questions:

1) Yeah, there relationship was pretty forced. I agree.

2) I agree.

3) Cool. That's how Connelly tried to write the series so points to him.

4) True.

5) What happened to this answer?

With writes,

-Andy Ruffett