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| Plot Summary of Brown's Requiem |
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"BROWN'S REQUIEM is the first novel, published in 1981, of the american writer James Ellroy.
Fritz Brown is a private detective. Until now, his life has been a mess : excluded from the Los Angeles Police Department, a former drug and alcohol addict, he works in his spare time for Cal Myers, a car seller, and tries to bring back to his boss cars that haven't been completely paid.
One day, a fat golf caddy pays him to spy on his sister and her old mentor Sol Kupferman. Then begins for Fritz Brown a redemptive trip that will lead him to Mexico and deep into a corrupted Los Angeles.
Recommended."
Daniel Staebler, Resident Scholar
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"Fritz Brown, a burned-out ex-LA cop, makes ends meet by doing car repo's. His "private detective agency" is little more than a tax shelter. When a fat and obnoxious golf caddy who carries a surprising amount of cash hires Brown to investigate his beautiful cello-playing sister's relationship with a wealthy Jewish furrier (an apparent sugar daddy), Brown gradually finds himself mucking through family secrets, Mexican pornography, police corruption, and an 11-year-old arson case that was supposedly solved by a respected senior police officer. This is an admirable debut novel by a writer destined for future greatness. The dialogue is a little too clean and clear, but piquant details include the hero's love of classical German composers, an appreciation of LA golf courses, a good solid look at life in Tijuana and Ensenada, and passing references to Philip Marlowe and Ellroy's ongoing obsession, the Black Dahlia."
David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Brown's Requiem |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of story
- Dry-cynical
How difficult to spot villain?
- Somewhat obvious
Time/era of story:
- 1980's-1999
- 1960's-1970's
Spying/Terrorism Thriller
Yes
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 60%
Special suspect?
- chronically deranged person
Murder of certain profession?
- criminals
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- "All in the family" murder
Kind of investigator
- hard boiled/private eye
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- searching for $$$/treasure
Crime Thriller
Yes
Crime plotlets:
- escape/rescue from kidnappers
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
General Crime (including known murderer)
Yes
Who's the criminal enemy here?
- drug dealers
- finding a known killer
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- private investigator
Age:
- 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use?
- a significant amount
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- druggie/wino disease
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- police/lawman
- police
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a little/some
Motive of antagonist
- power
The antagonists are:
- radical right wingers
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- California
The Americas (not US):
Yes
The Americas:
- Mexico
Desert?
Yes
Misc setting
- resort/hotel
- fancy mansion
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- very gorey references to deaths/dead bodies and torture
How many deaths?
- 5-7
Sex
Yes
What kind of sex:
- actual description of sex
- descript. of breasts
- descript. of other female areas
Unusual forms of death
- perforation--bullets
- perforation--swords/knives
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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