L.A.: Come on vacation, go home on probation.

- James Ellroy

I love thinking about American history, thinking about LA history. I love brooding on crime.

- James Ellroy

Closure is a preposterous concept worthy of the worst aspects of American daytime TV.

- James Ellroy

The lunatic populism that preceded the Pearl Harbor bombing is astonishing in its permutations, its crisscrossings. Guys like [Catholic priest and co…

- James Ellroy

I always cringe when a male friend of mine, who's very fixated on women, puts "compatibility" at the top of his list of attributes that he would be l…

- James Ellroy

Dead people belong to the live people who claim them most obsessively.

- James Ellroy

I learn things late-and only the hard way.

- James Ellroy

The 1950s to me is darkness, hidden history, perversion behind most doors waiting to creep out. The 1950s to most people is kitsch and Mickey Mouse w…

- James Ellroy

How did I change my life? I wanted things. I wanted women and I wanted to write books.

- James Ellroy