James Ellroy (born Lee Earle Ellroy; March 4, 1948) is an American crime writer and essayist.
Ellroy has become known for a so-called "telegraphic" prose style of his most recent work, wherein he frequently omits connecting words and uses only short, staccato sentences. For instance:
They sent him to Dallas to kill a nigger pimp named Wendell Durfee. He wasn't sure he could do it. The Casino Operators Council flew him. They supplied first-class f...
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James Ellroy (born Lee Earle Ellroy; March 4, 1948) is an American crime writer and essayist.
Ellroy has become known for a so-called "telegraphic" prose style of his most recent work, wherein he frequently omits connecting words and uses only short, staccato sentences. For instance:
They sent him to Dallas to kill a nigger pimp named Wendell Durfee. He wasn't sure he could do it. The Casino Operators Council flew him. They supplied first-class fare. They tapped their slush fund. They greased him. They fed him six cold.
Other hallmarks of his work include dense plotting and a relentlessly pessimistic—albeit moral—worldview. His work has earned Ellroy the nickname the "Demon Dog of American crime fiction."
Ellroy was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Geneva Odelia (née Hilliker), a nurse, and Armand Ellroy. After his parents' divorce, Ellroy and his mother relocated to El Monte, California. In 1958, Ellroy's mother was murdered. The police never arrested the perpetrator, and...
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