WHITE JAZZ (Ellroy, 1992)

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(read: 20220809->17; my complete reading list, from 2013 to the present, lives here. )

Another one that's been in the to-read stacks for awhile, but now that my first complete reading of Ellroy's first LA Quartet (all in first editions, I'm proud to say) – I'd read BLACK DAHLIA and LA CONFIDENTIAL previously; this was my first time with both THE BIG NOWHERE (excellent) and WHITE JAZZ – is done, I'm awash with a sense of accomplishing something: what that something is, I haven't a clue – a chance to start over with a re-read, perhaps: age and mileage do, if nothing else, add perspective.

That being said, I remain both tepid (similar to my reaction to each of Ellroy's in-progress Second LA QUARTET offerings – though mercifully devoid of the utter scorn I hold for the second in the series, THIS STORM) and somewhat confused because – in spite of some brilliant moments weaving in and out of this rare (for Ellroy) first-person account by an unfamiliar though nonetheless excellent protagonist (whom I hope Ellroy revisits sometime: it's a shame Klein's been out to pasture for 30 years and never appeared in prior works – though please correct me if I’m wrong) at the center of the machinations of two forces of LAPD nature, I can't figure – other than acting as a coda to the tales of Exley (who's far more of a shit in the books than in Guy Pearce's excellent film portrayal) and Dudley (Cromwell was perfect), and a pivot between the first LA Quartet and the Underworld, USA trilogy (JAZZ features the debut of my favorite of Ellroy's characters, Pete Bondurant, one of the three protagonists of my favorite of Ellroy's works – and one of my favorite books of all time, AMERICAN TABLOID) – why WHITE JAZZ needed to exist in the first place.

Then again, I might have answered my own (long-winded) question. Wouldn't be the first time.

THE CANDY HOUSE (Egan, 2022)

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(read: 20220803->09): a brief recording of initial thoughts / combining of shards upon finishing Egan's latest this morning (and the first attempt at an honest effort of keeping a record of my readings here beyond the list: huge fan of Egan's work, but CANDY HOUSE left me - on first impression, and even though I adore (and always will) her voice and rhythm and her characters/story populace - a little cold: I can't silence the overarching sensation of having missed something; what that something is I haven't a clue – but it's definitely something. Will update this as/if I think about it more. Adding GOON SQUAD to the re-read pile. (FTW, her recent conversation with Jaron Lanier on CITY ARTS LECTURES is definitely worth a listen.)

(re)read month -> (re)read practice

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Though I just finished (re)reading Calvino’s INVISIBLE CITIES – loved it and, as with McCullers’s THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER, it’s now on the favorites list) – I'm woefully behind on my intended (re)reads so I did the only thing I could think of doing: added more to the list.

But I've also decided to shift it, (re)read month, from being a semiannual event (June and December, I think, was the original plan) and into a more regular practice: I've enjoyed it that much.

Thinking: for every three to five (probably three - or make it four, middle way and all) new books I read, I (re)read one; my complete reading list, from 2013 to the present, lives here.

“we’ve already been there and nobody paid any attention”

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"It’s harder to imagine the past that went away than it is to imagine the future. What we were prior to our latest batch of technology is, in a way, unknowable. It would be harder to accurately imagine what New York City was like the day before the advent of broadcast television than to imagine what it will be like after life-size broadcast holography comes online. But actually the New York without the television is more mysterious, because we’ve already been there and nobody paid any attention. That world is gone."

THE BODY ARTIST, revisited

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First (re)reading of the month complete, DeLillo's THE BODY ARTIST, and wanted to record first, immediate, visceral thoughts in the 18 minutes left in my reading time: an unsettling snapshot of grief and shock – the grief of shock, the shock of grief – and the unmooring that ensues, the loss of identity, of self, the pressure of finding a new one, of grasping for one...

Is reality too powerful for you? 

Take the risk. Believe what you see and hear. It's the pulse of every secret intimation you've ever felt around the edges of your life.

… that ranks still – as it has since my first reading in 2014 (has it really been eight years? reality reality) – among my favorite books, probably my favorite of his; followed quickly by UNDERWORLD and LIBRA (the other two contenders for the favorite DeLillo title), my first recommendation to anyone seeking to dive into DeLillo's work.

Next up on the (re)read list: Carson McCullers’s THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER; my complete reading list, from 2013 to the present, lives here.

(re)reading/202206

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Given that I've never set time aside to actually re-read things, I've declared June and December to be my re-read months (also useful way to catch up on Paris Review and Laphams stuff) moving forward. Currently on the probably overly-ambitious list for June (but will make the move to December should I not get them all done):

  • Calvino's INVISIBLE CITIES

  • DeLillo's THE BODY ARTIST (complete, 2020603)

  • McCullers's THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER

  • Pynchon's V

  • Krasznahorkai's SATANTANGO

  • Garcia-Marquez's CHRONICLE OF A DEATH FORETOLD

  • Spark's MEMENTO MORI

  • Morselli's DISSIPATIO, H.G

  • Sorokin's THE BLIZZARD

  • McCarthy's CHILD OF GOD

  • Murakami's AFTER DARK

May the (re)reading commence; my complete reading list, from 2013 to the present, lives here.