32. The Black Dahlia

The Black Dahlia. James Ellroy. 1987.

​The Black Dahlia (Katrina). Another reminder that I have some friends who are really into dark and depressing books! This is an historical fiction about the gruesome unsolved murder of Elizabeth Short in 1940's Hollywood. I had no idea what I was getting into and didn't realize until the afterward that the murder itself was real. The main character was unlikable, getting even more so as the book progresses. There are a lot of graphic details about rape, murder, and, once again, grave robbing/corpse mutilation. This appears to be a theme in this year's list. Who knew that so many of my friends think I would like books with this theme.

This is a murder mystery, with a lot of characters, a twist ending that was not predictable and therefore pretty tough to see coming, even though I knew a twist ending was coming somehow. It was just too much of a set up. Since it was told in the first person, it was easy to "hide" critical facts in the character's blind spots.

I will give it credit for being enthralling, but I have definitely lost sleep over the horrors it detailed. Not recommended (except for those of you who like the dead body genre).

Recommended by Katrina.
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Comments:
Katrina: When I think of great books, I think of books not easily forgotten. I read this book in 1996 in my 20’s, then I read it immediately over. I read it again in my 30’s and again in my 40’s. It’s fresh every time. Although it is a book about a murder, James Elroy never lost compassion for the victim, which stems from his own mother being murdered in LA 1958. Everyone in the book is broken. It’s such a great example of Noir, and the fact that the movie playing when he goes to Boston (Criss Cross-a classic example of Hollywood Noir in itself) is excellent writing. I think the fact the book made you lose sleep is a recommendation after all.
Me: Oh, it was a good read. It sucked me in & was well written. It was just too noir— the gruesome details sometimes felt gratuitous. And the incestuous twist was just too much.​

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