"Nemesis" and "The Black Dahlia." Reissues of Nesbø and Ellroy

Jo Nesbo and James Ellroy in Barcelona. San Jordi, 2015.

Jo Nesbø and James Ellroy in Barcelona. San Jordi, 2015.

Dark November with this pair of titles that release reissues. The Black Dahlia, James Ellroy's classic, the Mad Dog of American black literature, It is reissued with a new translation in Spanish and the author's foreword.. Precisely next year will mark 30 years since its first publication.

And from Jo Nesbø, possibly the most recognized writer of the black genre of the cold Nordic lands, it is reissued Nemesis. It is the fourth novel in the series by your sympathetic inspector Harry Hole.. For those who are getting her in this new Red and Black collection, there you have it. Both are now edited by the Random House publishing group.

The Black Dahlia - James Ellroy

Essential title in the extensive and intense work of the Los Angeles writer James Ellroy (1948)It is the first novel of the so-called Los Angeles Quartet, in relation to the other three writings below, set in the 40s and 50s. A quartet that is also one of the great classics of the crime crime genre of the last century.

It encompasses the main and recurring themes of this controversial author, and which always have a deep historical base: corruption at all levels, especially the police and the political, crime, betrayals ... The worst human nature in the universe of a city that has already transcended its reality such as Los Angeles. Never so glamorous and so black as in those 40s and 50s with its most golden Hollywood.

Few have described and told about those years with such determination and digging into their worst guts. And with a language as brutal as it is complex. Yes, there may be fiction, but the feeling of realism prevails. In fact, the gruesome murder of Elizabeth Short in January 1947 was very real.. Ellroy relied on it, and on that of his own mother, to compose one of his best plots with the portrait of a couple of policemen who are one of those who do not forget. And it will not be that portraits of LAPD policemen are lacking in all of Ellroy's work.

I recommend reading it calmly because The Black Dahlia it's not an easy novel. Well, nothing about Ellroy is easy. But for those of us who are very fond of that era and, above all, Ellroy's fierce and gritty style, this is one of his best works.. Of course, let's discard the film version that Brian De Palma signed in 2006. What nonsense compared to the masterpiece that Curtis Hanson (DEP) made of LA Confidential (1997) We will talk another day about the film adaptations that have been made to this writer.

Nemesis - Jo Nesbø

La fourth installment in the series of the disastrous but fascinating and so especially dear (obviously for his fans) inspector harry hole. The huge, self-destructive, brilliant policeman He returns in another of his convoluted cases and with house brand twists. Like his exceptional start, one of the best of all.

From there, once again you have to pay all your attention to follow the investigations and the problems that that incorrigible Harry Hole gets into, or creates himself. In this case, Hole takes over the investigation of a bank robbery where they have also killed one of their employees. The clues lead to a very famous robber who cannot be guilty because he is in jail.

To help him he will have Beate Lønn, a very special investigator of the police force, who has the ability to identify facial features almost automatically, but with problems to maintain social relationships. Beate Lønn is also one of the most beloved characters in the entire series, as those who have already read it will know.

Also, as more robberies happen, Harry gets into trouble. He will be the main suspect in the death of an old girlfriend with which one night remains. But he wakes up in the morning at home with a horrible hangover and without remembering anything. So you will have to do everything you can to find out what happened.

Why read them

Because they are essential of the genre, especially The Black Dahlia. If nothing is known about Ellroy's work, it is a good title to start it. It is of a more classical structure and does not yet have the degree of complexity that the following are acquiring.

And of Nemesis there is little more to say if you are Holeadicto, you are collecting his series in this collection of Red and Black or you have already read or reread it. That you read it again without problems.


3 comments, leave yours

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  1.   nurilau said

    Ugh, two heavyweights Mariola, many years ago I let myself be hooked, with pleasure, in the Ellroy universe, I have read the Los Angeles quartet twice, and I'm still trapped in that Ellroy you describe. Although to be honest I have to say that his next works cost me a lot. The next saga I could not with her and I still remember the reader's discomfort with My dark corners and the story of her murderer.
    And about Nesbo, what to say, since I am a Nesboadicta and very very happy to be one because every day I enjoy Harry Hole and his whole world more.
    This article touched Mariola, thank you very much !!!

    1.    Mariola Diaz-Cano Arevalo said

      What can I tell you that you don't already know about these two ...? Thanks for the comment.

  2.   Mark Heron said

    I find what I think is a bug in Nemesis and would like to comment on it in case anyone sees any sense.

    At the end of the first part there is a chapter entitled "The illusion" where the alleged perpetrator of the robbery speaks in the first person. He says he feels God during the two minutes he gives employees to collect money, talks about how he dresses during the robbery, etc.

    In the penultimate paragraph he says that he saw the Prince and that he gave him the Israeli gun and here is the problem: in the end it is discovered who the robber is and he has no relationship with the Prince. Moreover, at some point it is said that the Prince gives the Israeli pistol to Alf Gunnerud, which has nothing to do with the robberies.

    And to make it more complicated, in the last paragraph he implies that the speaker has something to do with Ana's case and indicates that he laughs when the police consider it a suicide. Neither the robber nor Alf Gunnerud have anything to do with Ana's suicide.