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Bribery, corruption, extortion, the Mafia, all of part of the Los Angeles way of life during the 1950s a time where the city was making a name for itself as the largest criminal hotspot and home to the infamous Cosa Nostre, otherwise known as the Italian Mafia. In his writing of L.A. Confidential, James Ellroy is described as perfectly capturing one of the most criminal cities in North America, not as any one person would see it either, but more for its true image, the side of L.A. that most of the world doesn’t see. By American crime literature standards, L.A. confidential is said by critics to be one of the more complicated on the literary spectrum, mainly due to the fact that Ellroy juggles three main characters, their friends, love interested, and their foes, throughout the entire book without having the reader lose sight of the plot. Each of these three main characters in turn, is thrust into the underground life of being a police detective in Los Angeles. These three protagonists: the quick fisted enforcer Bud White; the narcotics sergeant and Badge of Honour T.V. series star, Jack Vincennes; and the up and coming officer, Ed Exley, are all at ends with themselves and each other at the beginning of the story, making their working together all the more difficult.
For muscle man turned undercover cop Bud White, the words of Henry David Thoreau: “Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves”, are lost on Bud. For a man that has spent his whole career as a police officer, Bud has perpetrated many crimes with the alleged gangsters and criminals that he brings to justice, Bud has never really been too deep and to helpless to truly find his inner self. He’s become so de-sensitized to the mob killing and drug ring brouhaha, that many fear that he’s in so deep, he doesn’t know which way is up. On a different note, Vice and action series show star, Jack Vincennes doesn’t even know right from wrong. He’s become so involved in the world of...