Ellroy brings 'Crime Wave'

Candid is the perfect word to describe James Ellroy. The infamous author wrote his memoir "My Dark Places" so he could be honest not only with himself, but also with his readers. And this carries over to much of Ellroy's other work. The author of many grisly crime novels and the new collection of "reportage and fiction from the underside of Los Angeles," "Crime Wave," Ellroy takes a no holds barred approach to his writing.

Scribing stories that he peppers with sharp, concise sentences and real people, Ellroy has managed to create a social history of Los Angeles in his novels, short stories and non-fiction. And this comes from his relationship to the city itself.

"Well, I'm from there," Ellroy told the Daily in a recent interview. "And my mother's murder (took place) in L.A. when I was 10 years old, and it sparked my full obsession with L.A. crime and L.A. mystery."

Courtesy of Vintage Books Author James Ellroy. Now that's intimidation.

This resulted in Ellroy's "L.A. Quartet," the novels "The Black Dahlia," "The Big Nowhere," "L.A. Confidential" and "White Jazz." But don't expect Ellroy to write anymore novels about Los Angeles.

"I took burnt out, psycho-sexually driven guys as far as they could go in the 'L.A. Quartet.'" Ellroy says. "And I made a conscious decision that L.A. and I are quits as a fictional town ... What I want to write about is the totality of America."

And though the short fiction in "Crime Wave," which will be in stores March 1, is set in Los Angeles, Ellroy took a large step towards exploring America more with his last novel "American Tabloid," (Time Magazine's novel of the year in 1995).

In that same vein, the untitled novel that Ellroy is working on now is the sequel to "American Tabloid."

The sequel "picks up again five minutes later," from where "American Tabloid" ended, moments before the Kennedy assassination. After Ellroy finishes this novel, he will write the third part of the story, in what will make up "The Underworld U.S.A. Trilogy."

Though Ellroy found inspiration for "American Tabloid" in Don DeLillo's novel "Libra," his past has much to do with the fiction he writes today. And the most important factor in Ellroy's work is his mother's murder. "What my mother's death did was give (rise to) a great many dark curiosities. Understand that the most important event of my life (is my mother's murder), but I didn't get my talent there, I got my obsession there."

In addition to this, Ellroy has also had to deal with prison, drug addiction and alcoholism. Though behind him, Ellroy states "I couldn't have written the books if my life hadn't played out in the manner that it happened."

And this plays a prime role in the work collected in "Crime Wave." Of the three pieces of fiction included, two feature the drugged out, psychotic "Hush-Hush" reporter Danny Getchell on his mad romps through Los Angeles' dark side. And while Ellroy only plans to use Getchell in short fiction, not novels, he has a lot planned for the character. "What I want to do over the next 10 years or so is, through Danny Getchell's eyes time travel back and forth between L.A.'s early 1970s and 1980, and tell the story of Danny Getchell, wildman."

And where will this time period find Getchell? "Danny Getchell running a porno bookstore in the early '70s. Getting into all kinds of shit." Specifically? "How old is Ronald Reagan, 89? What are the odds he'll be around 10 years from now? Not too good ... Well, first 'cause you've got Danny Getchell working on Ronald Reagan's gubernatorial campaign."

Speaking of presidents and controversy, being a crime writer, Ellroy almost wrote a story for GQ about the recently acquitted President Clinton. "I'm thrilled that he's impeached," Ellroy answered when asked about the approach he would have taken to the story. "I think he should be removed. And I think that it's very obvious that he obstructed justice and lied. I also think that he's an absolute, fucked up (guy). An absolute cocksucking, bug-eating cockroach."

James Ellroy brings his candid self to Ann Arbor tonight, and will read at Rackham Amphitheater at 5 p.m., courtesy of Shaman Drum.

02-19-99