Because the Night [Import] [Paperback]

James Ellroy (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Arrow Books Ltd; New Ed edition (March 17, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0099497905
• ISBN-13: 978-0099497905
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

More About the Author

James Ellroy was born in Los Angeles in 1948. He is the author of the acclaimed L.A. Qurtet - The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, LA Confidential and White Jazz, as well as the Underworld USA trilogy: American Tabloid, The Cold Six Thousand and Blood's a Rover. He is the author of one work of non-fiction, The Hilliker Curse: My Pursuit of Women. Ellroy lives in Los Angeles.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars OPUS FOUR, September 4, 2001

By 

Daniel S. "Daniel" (Geneva, Switzerland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Because the Night (Paperback)

Second novel of the Lloyd Hopkins saga, BECAUSE OF THE NIGHT has been published in 1984. Like in BLOOD ON THE MOON, James Ellroy has adopted in this book two points of view, Lloyd's and John Havilland's, the killer.

Even if the twists of BECAUSE OF THE NIGHT are highly improbable, the novel still stays as intense as it was when I first read it seventeen years ago (gasp!). Ellroy was then one of the first writers to introduce serial killers in his books and was already a master in describing the psychology of his characters.

What strikes me the most now is the evident relation between the mad psychiatrist Havilland and the writer Ellroy. The symptoms of Havilland's madness are very similar to the creative process of the writer. Havilland tries to recreate traumatic scenes of his childhood by directing "live" the poor souls that have fallen in his trap. How not to recognize here the endless efforts of James Ellroy in order to exorcize his mother's murder books after books ?

So if you have the curiosity to go beyond the main argument of BECAUSE OF THE NIGHT, you will soon find out that this book is not only a unique opportunity given to the reader to analyze Lloyd Hopkins thanks John Havilland's psychological skill but is also a terrifying trip through James Ellroy's own obsessions.

A book to rediscover.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A pretty good novel . .. but not Ellroy's best., April 24, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Tacoma, WA.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Because The Night (Paperback)

This is a pretty decent mystery, but not nearly as engaging as Ellroy's other works. If you enjoy Ellroy's writing, then by all means, read it, but if you're just getting acquainted with him and want a recommendation, then skip to the L.A. Quartet novels... Then if you find that you enjoy Ellroy's style, you can come back to this one later. As an aside, I've put up a James Ellroy message board which you can visit via Inside the Web. Please visit if you're an Ellroy fan!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing and unbelievable, June 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Because the Night (Hardcover)

Sometimes a story is only as good as its villan, and in "Because the Night" the villan is totally unbelievable: A renowned criminal psychiatrist, who is also a psychotic, a talented thief, a drug dealer and a cult leader/manipulator. His motive: the acquisition of data? Please.

I still enjoyed Hopkins as a character, but the whole premis of the book was strained, and there was no opportunity for the main character to really shine. Overall, a weak sister to Ellroy's other Hopkins stories, which are in turn pale comparisons to his other works like "LA Confidential" and "Black Dahlia."