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Bezig met laden... Widespread Panicdoor James Ellroy
Books Read in 2021 (961) Entertainment (1) Bezig met laden...
Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden. Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek. Freddy Otash existed, and he's turned up in fictional form in a several of Ellroy's previous works. Here, we see 1950s Hollywood through his eyes, working mainly as an investigator for Confidential magazine - which also, really existed. Ellroy likes taking characters from 1950s Los Angeles and elsewhere and inserting them into his stories; Senator Jack Kennedy has appeared frequently for example. This time, Ellroy really lets rip, as Otash libels everyone in the entertainment business you've ever heard of, and quite a few that you haven't. These include, but are certainly not limited to, Liz Taylor, Rock Hudson, Joi Lansing, Kennedy again, Steve Cochrane, James Dean and the entire cast and crew of "Rebel Without A Cause", the entire West Coast jazz scene (Art Pepper - really, did you have to?) and many more. And much like Confidential, there's a scintilla of truth to much of it; yes, its possible Barbara Payton did some call girl work. Yes, Nicholas Ray and Natalie Wood did have an affair on the set of "Rebel Without A Cause", yes James Dean may have been bisexual For the Ellroy fan, like me, its a pure thrill. Running at 100 mph, written as an amphetamine fuelled, booze soaked alliterative toboggan ride, with a storyline around possible communist cells - a perennial Ellroy trope - and the Red Light Bandid, Carryl Chessman. Its unputdownable. But if you haven't read any Ellroy before, don't start here. This is great fun, but its for the initiated Un superconcentrato di Ellroy ovvero un Ellroy che si fa il verso: chi apprezza la 'maniera' dello scrittore si fa travolgere dal ritmo e dalle allitterazioni, chi non la sopporta rischia di fuggire a gambe levate. Io faccio parte del primo gruppo, ma va detto che qui alla forma spesso non va dietro la sostanza: il cattiiivo Otash protagonista è divertente (anche se a volte si ripete), ma la vicenda soffre di troppi binari morti e svolte tanto improvvise quanto ingiustificate. “Widespread Panic” by James Ellroy describes Hollywood of the very late 1940s and 50s through the eyes of Freddy Otash, a sleazy cop and source for the schlock tabloid “Confidential”. This is an exceptionally entertaining, laugh a minute look at the ugly side of Hollywood. It's not his best work, but Ellroy’s marvellous use of language and alliteration makes for an amusing, Hollywood Babylon style read. Short sharp chapters make it a good read for public transport rides and holiday snippets. geen besprekingen | voeg een bespreking toe
Erelijsten
"Freddy Otash is the man in the know and the man to know in Tinseltown. He operates with two simple rules--he'll do anything but murder, and he'll never work with commies. Freddy is a corrupt L.A. cop on the skids. He executed a cop killer named Horvath and it gores him. So Captain "Whiskey" Bill Parker cans him. Now, Freddy dons an array of new hats--sleazoid private eye, shakedown artist, matchmaker for Rock Hudson, pimp for President John F. Kennedy--and, most notably--the lead tipster and head strongarm goon for Confidential magazine. Confidential presaged the idiot internet--and delivered the dirt, the dish, the insidious ink and the scurrilous skank on the feckless foibles of misanthropic movie stars, sex-soiled socialites, and putzo politicians. Freaky Freddy outs them all! In Widespread Panic we traverse the depths of '50s L.A. and internalize the inner workings of Confidential. Dig: You'll go to Burt Lancaster's lushly appointed torture den. . . You'll gas on overhyped legend James Dean as Freddy's chief stooge. . . You'll be there for Freddy's ring-a-ding rendezvous with Liz Taylor. . . You'll be front and center as Freddy runs roughshod over the stars of the silver screen and the demimonde of the Hollywood hills"-- Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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Google Books — Bezig met laden... GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde:
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It’s told from Freddy’s point of view and is definitely different it also has some serious issues with use of some of the characters in the book.
That said I did enjoy it but I do not think I’ll be reading it again. ( )