Detective Writer Chandler’s L.A.

Chandler’s L.A. was a city of unvarnished truth, unfiltered cigarettes and unmixed drinks. It was a city where men and women were dangerous, and a man was as likely to be beaten bloody as kissed. Chandler’s L.A. was an uncomfortable place, and the discomfort was described viscerally in prose which is unique to literature.

Today we have yuppies and health clubs and high finance and as much or more corruption and violence as existed then. But the violence we have now is more vicious, and the corruption is no longer based on the quest for power, but on a quest for material wealth.

If he were alive today, he’d think we’re a bunch of patsies.

RICHARD WINN

Silverado