Cheap Because the Night (Book) (James Ellroy) Price

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Customer Reviews of Because the Night

Even if the twists of BECAUSE OF THE NIGHT are highly improbable, the novel still stays as intense as it was when I first read it seventeen years ago (gasp!). Ellroy was then one of the first writers to introduce serial killers in his books and was already a master in describing the psychology of his characters.

What strikes me the most now is the evident relation between the mad psychiatrist Havilland and the writer Ellroy. The symptoms of Havilland's madness are very similar to the creative process of the writer. Havilland tries to recreate traumatic scenes of his childhood by directing "live" the poor souls that have fallen in his trap. How not to recognize here the endless efforts of James Ellroy in order to exorcize his mother's murder books after books ?

So if you have the curiosity to go beyond the main argument of BECAUSE OF THE NIGHT, you will soon find out that this book is not only a unique opportunity given to the reader to analyze Lloyd Hopkins thanks John Havilland's psychological skill but is also a terrifying trip through James Ellroy's own obsessions.

A book to rediscover.

Disappointing and unbelievable
Sometimes a story is only as good as its villan, and in "Because the Night" the villan is totally unbelievable: A renowned criminal psychiatrist, who is also a psychotic, a talented thief, a drug dealer and a cult leader/manipulator. His motive: the acquisition of data? Please.

I still enjoyed Hopkins as a character, but the whole premis of the book was strained, and there was no opportunity for the main character to really shine. Overall, a weak sister to Ellroy's other Hopkins stories, which are in turn pale comparisons to his other works like "LA Confidential" and "Black Dahlia."

Involving as usual
Probably not the best Ellroy's novel, but certainly you won't have the suspicion of having lose your time. You can't give up reading