James Ellroy Quotes

When I was a kid, Eisenhower had been President forever, and all of a sudden, everything in the world was all about Jack Kennedy. I was 12, interested in politics; my father was from Massachusetts, had an accent like Kennedy.

The truth of the matter is, you lose a parent to murder when you’re 10 years old, and in fact at the time of the murder you hate your lost parent, my mother in my case.

Raymond Chandler once wrote that Dashiell Hammett gave murder back to the people who really committed it.

Noir is dead for me because historically, I think it’s a simple view. I’ve taken it as far as it can go. I think I’ve expanded on it a great deal, taken it further than any other American novelist.

My mother and I will continue on some level that I haven’t determined yet. I think my mother’s a great character, and I have to say that giving my mother to the world has to be the biggest thrill of my writing career.

I’ve been tremendously moved by a bunch of odd books. Ross McDonald is very important to me. I love the Lew Archer books.