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JAMES ELLROY'S NOIR AS SOCIAL HISTORY

James Ellroy's American Tabloid (Random House 1995) is a brilliant 'docudrama' set in the Kennedy era in which the historical icons of the times are woven into the seedy noir world of desperadoes on the make. The novel follows the careers of three 'operatives', all with a background in law enforcement which seems to have been their training ground for criminal activity. The twists and developments make it one of the cleverest books I have ever read. Packed with huge bite, it makes other noir fiction seem tame and weak.

Inter alia , American Tabloid is a study in motivation. One character becomes a quadruple agent, compartmentalising his loyalty until he loses track of reality, while another turns 180 degrees - a victory of self-seeking function over any ethical direction or aim. And Ellroy cleverly manipulates our feelings towards these characters, so we don't actually feel very sorry for them when they dip to the bottom on fortune's wheel.

But although there are no good guys, this doesn't mean to say that the novel is amoral. Indeed, it goes beyond the self-righteous Christian and post-Christian utopianism which so presumptiously views the world as good and evil, to recognise that we are all flawed.

This pessimism is no doubt fuelled by the rather sad circumstances of Ellroy's own life, following the murder of his mother by an unknown assailant when he was ten. In his teens and twenties he degenerated into an alcoholic, drug addict and petty-thief. One of his specialities was breaking into the houses of the rich and famous to sniff womens' panties!

What is remarkable in Ellroy's case is that at the age of 31 he hauled himself out of this dead-end self-destructiveness to become the most celebrated contemporary writer of noir prose. Although the life of a successful writer has to be disciplined and is often boringly solitary, Ellroy lives up to his 'Mad Dog' image in interviews and talks. His work is an icon of contemporary culture and should not be missed.

Rik - 13 February 1997

INTERNAL LINKS

• THE MADHOUSE OF THE SKULL - James Ellroy's 'LA Quartet' (Alex Cutter)
  Reproduced from ON - THE WORLD AND EVERYTHING IN IT magazine with the kind permission of Tony Wakeford of Tursa/Sol Invictus.

EXTERNAL LINKS

• THE RICHMOND REVIEW (Steven Kelly)
  Literary webzine run by novelist Steven Kelly containing a number of Ellroy resources.
• RANDOM HOUSE

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