Windmill £8.99 (203pp) from the Independent Bookshop: 08430 600 030
The Hilliker Curse, By James Ellroy
Friday 06 May 2011
Related articles
Compared to the Nick Hornby brand of cosy British male confessional, crime writer Ellroy's hectic memoir of "my pursuit of women" comes on like a triple tequila next to half of mild. It all goes back to Ma – of course.
Sulphurously close to his divorced mother, Jean Hilliker, ten-year-old James had to endure her murder and the gaping wound it left. The frenzied quest for the ladies that ensued will leave even the most avid Don Juan hankering for a milky drink and an early night.
Ellroy's chase after bedroom affirmation and his endless "dumb-ass liaisons" are captured in the choppy, gutsy, turbo-charged prose of his noir novels. Yet (no surprise) a hunt for flesh becomes the pursuit of a love to "cut through my fear and rage". Which, at length, arrives.
Arts & Ents blogs
The Fall ‘Darkness Visible’ – Series 1, episode 2
There is a good many moments in the second episode of this psychological thriller that deserve refle...
‘Vicious’ – Series 1, episode 4
The opening titles squeal ‘Never Can Say Goodbye…’. Oh Lord how I wish I could heave this series off...
Game of Thrones ‘Second Sons’ – Season 3, episode 8
Even though there was a complete absence of our favourite odd couple Brienne and Jaime, we got anoth...
-
Coronation Street triumphs over EastEnders at British Soap Awards 2013
-
Man Of Tai Chi: Keanu Reeves' directorial debut 'a contemporary Kung Fu film' snapped up at Cannes
-
Hollywood practices random acts of red-carpet kindness
-
The Freemasons' Code: Dan Brown reveals the message that told him the door to the lodge is open
-
Cannes Film Festival 2013: And why exactly are vous here?
- 1 'Sickening, deluded and unforgivable': Horrific attack brings terror to London’s streets
- 2 Mothers' diets may harm IQs in two-thirds of babies
- 3 Far-right French historian, 78-year-old Dominique Venner, commits suicide in Notre Dame in protest against gay marriage
- 4 Ingrid Loyau-Kennett, the mother-of-two hailed as a hero for confronting Woolwich attackers, thought: 'better me than a child'
- 5 Woolwich attack: The EDL will seek to exploit this evil crime for their own evil ends
Get your summer started with British Military Fitness
BMF is the UK’s biggest and best loved outdoor fitness classes
Visit York
Find out what The Independent's resident travel expert has to say about one of the most beautiful small cities in the world
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them
Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness
Not secure any more: G4S boss heads for exit at last
How to say ‘I’m a sellout’


Comments