Thursday 23 October 2014

One Man's Opinion: SHAKEDOWN by JAMES ELLROY



Freddy Otash is in purgatory. To earn a ticket out he needs to tell all. What follows is a list of sleazy Hollywood tales behind Otash’s Confidential magazine. As well as encounters with the stars, Otash also meets up with James Ellroy to pass on his life story.

The whole thing seems to have its tongue firmly in its cheek. Though there are some nice moments and a sprinkling of stunning phrases, there isn’t really a strong centre. It spins from low life act to exposé like a machine gun turret gone wild and because of this it never really finds traction.

There’s also a very deliberate and slightly irritating alliteration that I could have done without entirely.

It may well be that I missed the point of all this. That the book has a meaning or a subtext that I’ve not been able to grasp. For that reason, I’d suggest you read a range of reviews. That way, you might catch the opinions of someone who has the inside line on the jokes and references.


Not really for me. 

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