A RAGE IN HARLEM (Chester Himes, 1957)
Last week being the week of better-late-than-never first exposures to late 50’s-on NYC luminaries: first, John Cassavetes and SHADOWS; and now, Chester Himes and A RAGE IN HARLEM. By the end of the first chapter, Himes made it to my "favorite authors" list: character, rhythm, fury, life, hope, horror, love, hate ripping from every page. Everything I hope for from crime fiction and then some, another body of work to be devoured.
THE ENCHANTERS (James Ellroy, 2023)
Haven't read the first Otash book, WIDESPREAD PANIC (heard I'm not missing much) but I far prefer THE ENCHANTERS to his current LA Quartet (or is it Quintet? the "also by" here says Quintet now): the characters (many fever dream versions of actual people) the early-60s milleux, the smaller, less epic scope. It's Ellroy as if he appeared in Black Mask magazine – or at least his interpretation of it. That being said, I can't tell you what his fictional postulation of Marilyn Monroe's death amounts to (now that I think of it, the narrative reminds me quite a bit of THE BLACK DAHLIA – still, along with AMERICAN TABLOID, my favorite Ellroy novel) but, like the plot itself, I'm not certain that it matters: these are fascinating characters in a depraved, fascinating world. Definitely recommended for those who, like me, were disappointed by both PERFIDIA and THIS STORM: while Ellroy may be missing a step there, here he proves there's still an angry, fuck-you-all spring to it. More please.
sat/20221203
Finished Pelecanos's THE TURNAROUND last night: so very, very good. For some reason, in spite of my passion for crime fiction and THE WIRE, and having had Pelecanos on my radar for years and years, this was only the second of his books I've read (the other being the second Spero Lucas novel, THE DOUBLE); it will not be the last – nor will it take me as long to turn the pages.
Loved this, from the backmatter:
As a result, perhaps – of both the emotional pull and tug of THE TURNAROUND and of Pelecanos's remarks above, I'm redoubling my efforts to break through the brick wall of the MainFictionThing, which is most definitely in the crime fiction mold – though via my own "chamber writing" (Principle 07) interpretation of said mold.
