L. A. Confidential
A Crime or Detective novel has many characteristics. It can combine mystery, suspense, romance, and maybe even a bit of comedy into an intriguing story that you just can't walk away from. James Ellroy, the self proclaimed Demon Dog of American Literature, has produced a masterpiece in the third book in his L. A. Quartet. L. A. Confidential is a great example of this genre of literature. It combines multiple love stories, multiple crimes, and a slew of characters into a work of art that is as highly dramatic as it is suspenseful. This is a book that will literally change you be affecting your way of speaking and may even cause you lose of sleep in order to get another couple pages in before calling it a night.
"James Ellroy's novel L.A. Confidential is almost five hundred pages long, it has over one hundred characters, it is set over a period of eight years. Mainly the thought processes of the three main characters tell the story. The Plot is so complex and intricate that reading it is the literary equivalent of studying particle physics" (Reder). L. A. Confidential is a so confusing at first that you end up re-reading pages just to make sure you understand what just happened. The story is written from a first person point of view from three different characters and it switches back and fourth each chapter which may only be a couple of pages long. This makes the story move extremely quickly back and fourth between scenes, settings and characters. Although this can be confusing and lead to your flipping back a couple chapters to see where that character popped up in the first place, the story is so fast paced that it hooks you and you can do nothing but keep reading in hopes of solving the endl...
... middle of paper ...
... order to find out who is behind all the organized crime and murders of important figures in the last few years all the way back to the real killers at the Nite Owl so many years ago in a plot twist that ties everyone together and leaves no one as an innocent.
The conclusion of this book is so intense that I spent five hours straight reading just in order to get to the bottom of one of the greatest "who-dun-it's" in history. Ellroy's books combine both creative madman and literary genius into one. Ellroy is known as one of the greatest authors in our country and rightfully so. His novels have won numerous awards and L.A. Confidential was made into a very successful movie that was voted as the third best movie of the 1990's, behind only Schlinder's List and Saving Private Ryan (Edark). Ellroy's novels are the perfect example of the Crime or Detective genre.
Other authors (all of these authors write mystery/thriller novels as well) have praised the book as well. These authors include: Karin Slaughter, Nelson DeMille, Douglas Preston, and James Patterson. This book alone has over a hundred five star reviews on Amazon. Not bad for an author just releasing his first
This book is titled, The Secrets of Harry Bright by Joseph Wambaugh. It was published in 1985. I have read other novels by Joseph Wambaugh. He is a very intriguing author. He has a way of capturing his audience that is paralleled with few authors. In essence, he relates his writings to everyday life woven into crime, drugs and sex. It appeals to a more mature audience, which can appreciate Wambaugh’s rough portrayal of urban life. My first thought of the book was it lacked historical significance. Upon further thought it became apparent to me that history isn’t simply war or catastrophes; it’s an accumulation of everything that has preceded the time we live now. This novel made many references to Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter and even William McKinley. It also viewed America as it was in the 1980’s. A time sometimes forgotten or often neglected to be mentioned. Through this novel you begin to grasp this time period and develop a sense of appreciation for it, because it did take place and is apart of our history. I believe Joseph Wambaugh is one of the forerunners in enlightening the American Public on a period, which deserves more recognition. And I believe strongly that Wambaugh set out to highlight this decade in our history and he most certainly succeeded.
From the beginning, Le introduces intrigue by creating a lengthy, descriptive chapter title. Though it reads as a mouthful,
Central idea: The assassination of our 35th president was an inside job that needs to be exposed.
In the book, The CIA in Hollywood, by Tricia Jenkins, Jenkins explains a brief and clear demonstration on how the CIA has heavily sought to team up with Hollywood to develop certain plans since the 1990s. Jenkins’ intent is to inform the ‘largely hidden history of the CIA in Hollywood’ and to specify how ‘this model of secret influence’ functions (53). Jenkins covers CIA portrayal and involvement, from the Cold War, when it was mostly ‘depicted in a very negative light,’ (133) to the current 9/11 era, as it is ‘trying to circulate whitewashed images of itself through popular media.’ (137).
Professor’s comment: This student perceptively examines the role of the city as a setting and frame for detective fiction. Focusing on two early examples, Poe’s “Murders in the Rue Morgue” and Hoffmann’s “Mademoiselle de Scudery,” both set in Paris, his sophisticated essay illuminates the “cityness” or framed constraint that renders the city a backdrop conducive to murder—such as the city’s crowded, constricted nature, promoting vertical rather than outward movement and increasing hostility and the fact that so much urban life occurs at night, a reversal of the natural order and facilitating illicit activity. He compels us to look in new ways both at the city and at detective fiction.
This essay will examine both "The Speckled Band" by Conan Doyle and "Visitors" by Brian Moon and will look at how each one conforms to or diverges from the conventions of the detective story and also how each story is representative of the century it was written in by how it presents the woman, the hero and the villain.
Secrets are apart of every human being. Even children, in their earliest years in this world, learn how to bury secrets in their hearts. In Susan Griffin's "Our Secret," she explores the subconscious, aiming particularly at the dark secrets that lie in the abyss of the human heart. Griffin claims that the darkest secrets of each person are similar in the sense that these secrets are perverted and prejudiced thoughts. These concealed evils are so deeply imbedded that people forget or choose to forget the existence of these malicious thoughts. However, these are often the thoughts that will encourage a person to take to violence. Griffin believes that people share similar forms of hidden desires, biases, and savageness. The effects of keeping these evil human characteristics deeply buried also have similar effects on the different individuals. Even the way of countering the negative effects caused by these locked up secrets are common among the "family" and the "statesman and bombers."1
The success of “The Briefcase” is based on a reader’s ability to forego detailed description for the thrill
Mysteries have always held great fascination for the human mind, not least because of the aura that surrounds them and the realm of the Unknown into which they delve. Coupled with the human propensity of being particularly curious about aspects which elude the average mind, the layer of intrigue that glosses over such puzzles makes for a heady combination of the literary and the popular. In the canon of detective fiction worldwide, no detective has tickled the curious reader’s imagination and held it in thrall as much as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. The 221-B, Baker Street, London ‘amateur’ detective combines a rare blend of intellectual prowess and sharp wit to crack a series of baffling riddles.
Every individual has a biological influence on their development; two individuals combine their genetic information to create a new organism, carrying biological predispositions that will shape their expressed behaviors and characteristics. However, Susan Griffin, author of the essay “Our Secret,” argues that while genetic influences are significant, they are not the sole contributors to an individual’s development. Throughout her essay, Griffin reveals to her readers that the presence of external, uncontrollable factors from an individual’s environment can be equally influential as they diverge the individual off of the predetermined path of life created by biological factors.
While many authors will typically change tack to write in a different genre due to losing interest or running out of ideas in one, Douglas’s shift to mystery thrillers came by mistake and partly through the need to enter into a new market. Historical fiction typically require a lot of research and having written several historicals, it was a refreshing change to write mystery crime fiction which do not require as much detail or research. Needing to increase his income, he pitched the idea of a second series of historical novels to the editor. Even as the editor absolutely loved the idea he presented, another writer had come up with a very similar idea set in in the period he wanted to set his series in. Instead, the publisher asked him if he would fancy writing a thriller in the mold of a Dan Brown book.
It is very interesting to note how the conventions of 1940’s hardboiled private eye fiction translate into the 1970’s. The low-rent drabness of the genre loses much of its allure. The dark shadows and long nights of urban Los Angeles become the bright lights and warm sunshine of Malibu beaches. The detective’s normally snappy dialogue turns into joking asides. Marlowe’s hardboiled narration becomes the self-conscious mutterings of a lonely man talking to himself. The romantic myth of a man set apart from the city is turned on its head as a pathetic man living alone with his cat.
L.A. Confidential is a movie of cops that are more corrupt than the criminals they arrest. Throughout the movie Bud White is portrayed to have a personal hatred for women abusers despite becoming enraged and hitting Lynn Bracken. At the beginning of the movie, Bud and two other officers are seen sitting in a car, observing a man beating his wife. Officer White gets out of the car, approaches the house, and then pulls the family’s Christmas decorations from the roof. When the man comes outside to see what is making all the noise is about, Bud White immediately begins to beat him. Afterwards, Bud handcuffs the man to a rail.
It seems as if sppome people just can’t get enough of the exploratory tabloids of their favorite celebrities, some people still take an interest in celebrities that aren't even around anymore . Throughout Americas Hollywood History the views of women actresses has changed drastically, two very good examples are Elizabeth Taylor and Lindsay Lohan.The contrast between these two women show a difference in class,culture and time. By researching actresses Elizabeth Taylor and Lindsay Lohan one would discover the tragic and destructive toll Hollywood glamor that would eventually come to overrun their lives.