Perfidia, by James Ellroy

James Ellroy. Perfidia. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2014. 695 pages. ISBN 9780307956996.

Ever since seeing L.A. Confidential and reading an interview with James Ellroy I've wanted to read one of his books, so I was pleased to be given an advance reading copy of his latest, Perfidia, at the 2014 BEA, held at the Javits Convention Center last May.

Ellroy is most known for his L.A. Quartet, which includes The Black Dahlia, The Big Forever, L.A. Confidential, and White Jazz, and which is set from 1946 to 1958. Perfidia is the first book in The Second L.A. Quartet, which is set during World War II and which includes many of the characters from the original series.

Perfidia begins with the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the discovery of the murder of a Japanese family. The events and hysteria that surrounded the start of war are described in great detail. Men and women line up to volunteer for armed service, and Japanese citizens become immediate targets of suspicion and violence. The four main characters in Perfidia are embroiled in both the war preparation and the murder investigation. Hideo Ashida is a Japanese-American scientist who works as a crime scene investigator for the LAPD. William Parker is an alcoholic police captain hoping to become Police Chief some day. Kay Lake is a young woman who's looking for any kind of excitement she can find. Dudley Smith is a detective who's hoping to cash in on some shady deals enabled by the wartime confiscation of Japanese property.

Perfidia is dense with plot and characters. It was difficult at time too keep track of all of the characters, almost none of whom had any redeeming characteristics. All of the policemen, without exception, are portrayed as being willing to lie and cheat to get ahead. They cover up crimes, arrest people for crimes they didn't commit, kill people for crimes that they can't prove but whom they're convinced are guilty. They betray each other, make promises that they can't keep, and throw their loyalty to whomever they think will come out on top. All of the characters abuse alcohol and many abuse drugs, such as terpin hydrate, Benzedrine, and opium. Most sleep with anyone and everyone who crosses their paths, although this is explained away as the prevailing attitude at the beginning of the war. There is a casual and virulent use of racist epithets that would be shocking today. Violence is a consistent theme throughout the book with people shot, stabbed, poisoned, drugged, blown up, and beaten up.

Much has been written about Ellroy's staccato-style prose. He writes short sentences, many just fragments. I found it difficult to get used to, but after a few hundred pages of this, I adjusted. One objection I have is that many of his characters' dialog sounds indistinguishable from each other. Their utterances are unnatural; no one really speaks the way his characters do in his books. I assume this is intentional on Ellroy's part, but it still takes some getting used to.

Nevertheless, the book kept my interest, and I would like to read some of his other books. His descriptions of wartime L.A. are unforgettable; I will probably always think of this book when I think of that time and place.