Ellroy fans post here.

DEMON DOG ! You've made a fine choice, lad.
"White Jazz" is the mystery masterpiece of the XXth century.
And remember you read it first here : off the record, on the QT, and very Hush-hush.

Interesting your from france.

Why are there so many ellroy fans in France?

Hey Wolverine,

I'm sort of obsessed with James Ellroy's work. I've tried, many times, to rally people here on this site to his cause. I even had American Tabloid posted as a "recommended book" on our front page for months. But it never seemed to take.

Either way, check out my recommendations page I made for Ellroy [url=http://www.chuckpalahniuk.net/fan/recommendations/dennis/ellroy.htm]here[/url]!

Yeah me too,
I always loved Ellroy, nobody on this site seems to like his stuff. I just finished American Tabloid. The LA quartet series was pretty good.

For Dennis,
Is there a website for James Ellroy like Chucks?
If so or if not, let me know.
I have an idea...................................

I read American Tabloid because of your recommendation, Dennis. It's not going unnoticed

It's the only one I've read so far. I loved it, there was just so much going on and everything it was like reading five books at once. I dunno why I haven't gotten anymore of his books yet, but I'll get to them.

L.A. Confidential rocked my face and came back for seconds. What's his best/next best book?

The LA quartet (The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, LA Confidential, White Jazz) are a big series, with recurring characters and plots. If you've liked some other books from the Demon Dog, read them in that order. The are a big chunk of reading but they're worth it.
White Jazz is the best, but you need some concentration to read it. To give you a hint, I'll say it's a real test for my English-reading skills.
About the Dog's popularity in France, it's mostly due to the efforts of his publisher, François Guérif.

I liked "The Big Nowhere"........

i'm a fan, i loved big nowhere too.

Not recommended for depressed people, though...

The first book I read of his was "Clandestine"

It was good.

Interestingly enough,a lot of it had to do with the events that took place in his life.

Not exactly what took place in his life, rather an interpretation based on what he thought he knew about his mother's life.

For those not acquointed to James Ellroy's life : please refer to "My dark places" (if you've had enough of self pitying autobiographies, this is the real antidote), you won't regret it.

"Clandestine" is his second book. It is set in the late 50's LA, it includes an orphan boy living with his father, and the mystery is centerd around the boy's mother, who came from Wisconsin (like Ellroy's mother).

At the time, Ellroy's knowledge about his family past was sketchy (he hadn't started the investigation depicted in "My dark places") but the mixture between real elements and literary invention (Dudley Smith appears first here !) is very intriguing.

Ellroy adopted another approach later when he tackled the (real) Black Dahlia case : the subject obsessed him for years because of the obvious similarities with his past, but he then chose to mix true facts from the investigation, and his own creations regarding the solving.

I loved Black Dahlia!

This was one of my favorites,

I loved how the cop gets so obsessed with the girl.

Hey Wolvie, who's your favourite character ?

[QUOTE=franc tireur]Hey Wolvie, who's your favourite character ?[/QUOTE]

In Black Dahlia? BUCKY of course.

In The Cold Six Thousand? Or American Death Trip for you fanatized French Fans. I ferociously favor Pete Bondurant.

In The Big Nowhere-Buzz Meeks

[QUOTE=franc tireur]Hey Wolvie, who's your favourite character ?[/QUOTE]

Who's yours?

Mine's Dave Klein, from "White Jazz".

I have read and Ellroy is one of my fave to re-read.
Black Dahlia was the first I read and I was hooked.

I liked the older stuff too, Killer on the Road, Suicide Hill, Brown's Requiem, it's not nearly as polished as the LA 4, still worth it though.

The confession of the most brilliant and obsessive crime novelist of his generation (6 page article) :

[url]http://www.latimes.com/features/printedition/magazine/la-tm-ellroy31jul30,0,1600869.story?coll=la-home-magazine[/url]

A friend of mine just bought The Black Dahlia. Ellroy sounds really interesting-
Suggestions about which of his books to read first?

It's easy:
The [B]Black Dahlia[/B] and its 3 followers ([B]The big nowhere[/B], [B]LA Confidential[/B], [B]White Jazz[/B]) form a big cycle called The LA Quartet, with recurring characters and linked plots, so you can start from here.
Also, the following novels ([B]American Tabloid[/B], [B]The cold six thousand[/B]) are the first parts of an ongoing trilogy, starting where [B]White Jazz[/B] ends.

If you're just curious about what kind of reading to expect, try one of his three short story collections : [B]Hollywood nocturnes[/B], [B]Crime wave[/B], [B]Destination : morgue[/B].

I have to say Ellroy is fast becoming one of my favorite authors, period.

I've gotten around to reading American Tabloid, LA Confidential and White Jazz, but definitely plan to read the rest soon. He packs enough plot into one of his books to cover a trilogy (at least).