I was a WASP kid going to a high school that was 99 percent Jewish and I wanted attention and I wanted to make a spectacle of myself because I couldn't stand to be ignored.

Quote by James Ellroy

Topics: James Ellroy Quotes

I would like to provoke ambiguous responses in my readers.

I would like to provoke ambiguous responses in my readers.

As a kid, I sensed history going on all around me, but the basic thrust...

As a kid, I sensed history going on all around me, but the basic thrust...

I want to see these bad, bad, bad, bad men come to grips with their...

I want to see these bad, bad, bad, bad men come to grips with their...

I am a writer. I could not afford to take 15 months off from my...

I am a writer. I could not afford to take 15 months off from my...

I am the most well-adjusted human being I know. I started out this investigation as...

I am the most well-adjusted human being I know. I started out this investigation as...

I've been tremendously moved by a bunch of odd books. Ross McDonald is very important...

I've been tremendously moved by a bunch of odd books. Ross McDonald is very important...

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

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

My mother and I will continue on some level that I haven't determined yet. I...

My mother and I will continue on some level that I haven't determined yet. I...

I have a very intense marriage.

I have a very intense marriage.

The truth of the matter is, you lose a parent to murder when you're 10...

The truth of the matter is, you lose a parent to murder when you're 10...

As much as I transferred my mother to Elizabeth Shore of The Black Dahlia, as...

As much as I transferred my mother to Elizabeth Shore of The Black Dahlia, as...

I like to be alone so I can write. But focus can hurt you. I...

I like to be alone so I can write. But focus can hurt you. I...

As critical acclaim and response has built up, every interview I give is a chance...

As critical acclaim and response has built up, every interview I give is a chance...

Raymond Chandler once wrote that Dashiell Hammett gave murder back to the people who really...

Raymond Chandler once wrote that Dashiell Hammett gave murder back to the people who really...

Anybody who doesn't know that politics is crime has got a few screws loose.

Anybody who doesn't know that politics is crime has got a few screws loose.

I'm getting a wider circle of fans now. More women, more middle class people.

I'm getting a wider circle of fans now. More women, more middle class people.

Every one of my books is written from the viewpoint of cops, with the exception...

Every one of my books is written from the viewpoint of cops, with the exception...

When I was a kid, Eisenhower had been President forever, and all of a sudden,...

When I was a kid, Eisenhower had been President forever, and all of a sudden,...

I don't know anybody in the underworld. I make this stuff up. I don't know...

I don't know anybody in the underworld. I make this stuff up. I don't know...

I'm clenched down, I'm locked in on it, which is my general approach to life.

I'm clenched down, I'm locked in on it, which is my general approach to life.