Washington Post Book Club: Lost Light
Patrick Anderson
Washington Post Book World Staff
Thursday, March 25, 2004; 3:00 p.m ET
Michael Connelly's ninth Harry Bosch novel, "Lost Light," was published a year ago and is one of the most interesting chapters in this important American crime series. At 52, Harry has quit the Los Angeles Police Department in frustration. He still believes in "the blue religion," still sees himself as a crusader in the unending war against crime, but he has no badge now, no direction, and he is at first at loose ends. Then he gets a call from a former colleague, now paralyzed and confined to his home, asking him to reopen a three-year-old case that involved the theft of $2 million from a movie set.
Welcome to the online meeting of The Washington Post Book Club, a monthly program presented by the editors and writers of Washington Post Book World.
Special guest Patrick Anderson will be online Thursday, March 25 at 3 p.m. ET to discuss this month's selection, "Lost Light" by Michael Connelly.
Submit your questions and comments before or during the discussion.
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Patrick Anderson: Good afternoon. We’re going to be discussing Michael Connelly’s most recent novel, “Lost Light” and his work in general. If you’ve read my reviews, you know I’m an admirer of Connelly and particularly of his nine Harry Bosch novels. (I think some of the four non-Bosch books are very good, like “The Poet,” and some are weak, like the recent “Chasing the Dime.”) But at a time when a lot of talented people are writing crime series I think the Bosch series is possibly the best one going. In my view, Connelly ranks with Dennis Lehane, Thomas Harris and George Pelecanos at the very top of today’s crime fiction.
I admire the series because Connelly writes so well, he had a deep understanding of police work and he has made Harry Bosch, with all his demons and weaknesses, one of the most fascinating protagonists in crime fiction. (And I should say that I consider what we call thrillers or crime fiction to be the mainstream of American popular fiction today.) There is, I think, a spiritual level to the Bosch novels. Harry believes in what he calls The Blue Religion, the brotherhood of cops who see their work as a crusade against evil. In “Lost Light” he describes the hands of the dead woman as like “the hands of the damned reaching heavenward for forgiveness.” And there have been many indications that Harry, by fighting crime, has been trying to save his own soul.
“Lost Light” strikes me as a transitional novel. The crime plot – the missing $2 million, the missing FBI agent – is perfectly good but I was ultimately more interested in what’s happening in his personal life. He’s left the LAPD and he’s at loose ends without his badge. He got a PI’s license but apparently never used it. He’s bought a $55,000 SUV of all things. He’s quit smoking and is studying the saxophone (although he’ll never be as good as Art Pepper.) Without a badge, he gets roughed up by the FBI anti-terrorism squad. Ultimately we have the unexpected ending when he meets with his ex-wife and learns he has a four-year-old daughter he’s never known about. I found this very moving. After all his pain and suffering, there is the hope that this child (and her mother) will enable Harry finally to gain peace.
But of course it won’t be easy. Connelly has a new novel coming out soon and he has let it be known that “the Poet” – the serial killer from the early novel of that name, who was never caught – is going to return in the new novel. And you don’t have to be a genius to figure out that the Poet, a very nasty fellow, is going to threaten Harry’s newfound domestic bliss.
Please give us your thoughts on Connelly and send in questions that we can discuss. Thanks for joining us.
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Crofton, Md.:
Thanks for introducing Michael Connelly to me. I enjoyed his novel Lost light. Interesting how he unraveled the plot and fingered his friend Lawton Cross as the bad guy. That bothered me. Did you find this plot twist credible? washingtonpost.com:
March: The Washington Post Book Club
(Post, March 7)
Patrick Anderson: Hello out there. I didn't anticipate that Lawton Cross would be the guilty party, but it didn't really surprise me. If you read the Harry Bosch books, there are a lot of crooks in the LAPD, along with the dedicated cops like Harry. His efforts to solve cases are often squelched by corrupt higher ups. That's one reason he left the LAPD.
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Crofton, Md.:
What other Harry Bosch novel would you recommend? Trunk Music for example
Patrick Anderson: You could do worse than to start with "The Poet," his fifth novel (and I think his first non-Bosch novel), particularly because "the poet" -- a serial killer with literary pretentions -- is going to return to confront Harry Bosch in Connelly's next novel.
I read "The Poet" first, then went back and read most of the others. You could skip "Void Moon" and "Chasing the Dime," two non-Bosch novels, but you won't go wrong with the others.
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Huntly, Va.:
Could the final showdown with Simonson and his cronies have benefitted by a little less violence and maybe a little help for Harry? He is 52 after all. It was the one part I didn't enjoy in an otherwise excellent book. The scene in which Harry meets Maddie is beautifully written.
Thank you.
Patrick Anderson: I see what you mean. Harry needed a lot of luck to get out of that one alive. He literally had to dodge bullets at one point. But I pretty much accept that in a series the hero is going to survive one way or another. Maybe Connelly went a bit too far here, with the four to one odds, but I forgave him.
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Lenexa, Kan.:
Mr. Anderson: Knew "Void Moon" and "Blood Work"--nice to get introduced to Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch. Some reactions and questions (Your comments? Thanks much.) follow:
o Connelly with his ingenious plots/characters claims Chandler as the reason he's a writer and does have a great feel for LA and Hollywood: the West Coast sound, cute references to smog, Marilyn Monroe sex, the relentless pursuits of money, fame, love.
o I especially liked the Lawton-Danielle Cross construct: the paralytic hopelessness, his craving for Bushmills, the clever clock plot device, Danny's tender and giving love scene following the oxygen tubes abuse by FBI's "Parenting Today"/Milton.
o The flashback to little Harry watching the cake frosting baker with Harry's sad-whenever-wedding-cakes mother was moving. You mentioned her dying young. What is known about his father? Who selected the name (love the name--the artist for that matter)?
o Didn't you think the love/pain part of the novel excellent? Harry's "single bullet" notion of love, the poem (Ezra Pound?) line "There is no end of things in the heart.", the haunting memories, the ex doing fabulously in Las Vegas, the Melissa Royal character?
Patrick Anderson: You've touched on a lot of nice points in "Lost Light" and I agree with them.
I know that Connelly says he was inspired by Raymond Chandler, and that's fine, but I never thought they were much alike except that the books are set in LA. I much prefer Connelly as a writer.
Harry's mother came to a tragic end, murdered I believe, maybe in an alley, but my memory is fuzzy. Maybe someone can remind me. I don't recall about his father.
In a sense, naming the character after Hieronymus Bosch, the artist, was a bit heavy-handed, but the symbolism has a point. Bosch's paintings, as I recall them, often showed landscapes filled with monsters, and maybe with one saint moving about somewhere. Harry's LA is certainly filled with monsters and Harry is the good guy trying to deal with them.
Perhaps someone who knows more about art than I can comment.
Yes, I liked the love/pain choice at the end. The red and green lights, he called them. It made me think (and this is pretty obscure) of the line in Robert Johnson's blues song Love in Vain where he says the blue light was my blues and the red light was my mind. (The Stones covered it.)
And, yes, I agree with whoever said the scene where Harry meets his daughter is very well written and very moving, particularly if you've read several novels about alll the suffering he has gone through.
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Washington, D.C.:
How was this book chosen for book club?
Patrick Anderson: I chose it. Why? Because I think Connelly is a very fine writer and a lot of people know his work, so I hoped that even a fine afternoon like this we might find a few people who wanted to talk about him. Certainly there are other writers who would also be interesting -- I mentioned Lehane, Harris and Pelecanos, and there are others.
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Huntly, Va.:
Do you think Connelly is one of the best at developing characters, even minor ones? I really enjoy knowing Eleanor Wish. I even feel familiar with characters that don't stay for too long in the story.
Patrick Anderson: Yes, I think that's one of his strengths. He doesn't overpower us with long descriptions of people or their backgrounds, but he has the ability to make them real with just a few sentences and through their dialogue.
Does anyone have any comment about my suggestion that these books have a spiritual level and are about a man trying to save his soul by fighting the evil of the world?
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Bethesda, Md.:
I have yet to read the book. First, how did the author come up with the title? And what other works has he written? Any news on speaking arrangements?
Patrick Anderson: I don't know of any plans for him to speak here, although he might come to town and do a reading when his next novel comes out, in May I believe. Check Book World's listings.
I believe the title "Lost Light" has a couple of meanings. In Vietnam Harry worked in tunnels, seeking the Viet Cong, and I think the title in part refers to the light, or lack of it, in the tunnels. But at the end of the novel, when something wonderful happens to Harry, he speaks of "lost light" in a spiritual sense, as if a light was shining on him that promised salvation.
Connelly has written I believe 13 novels. As indicated, I think all the Harry Bosch novels are about as good as any crime fiction being written today.
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Tacoma, Wash.:
I was going to comment on Harry's mother. She was a prostitute and was murdered when Harry was 11. Harry's father has never been a part of his life. The father was his mother's attorney. This part of Harry's life is touched on in THE BLACK ICE. Harry lived in foster homes and an orphanage after his mother died.
Patrick Anderson: Thanks for the info. Your memory is better than mine.
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Lenexa, Kan.:
Thank you. Some excerpts follow: "We don't need any steenking badges." "REACT is a BAM squad, Bosch. By Any Means. There are no rules with these guys." "The country sat back and watched it happen. They were watching the war in Afghanistan when they were changing all the rules here." Poor "Mouse" Aziz.
Poor America. Timely questions? Also, what's your take on the mystery writing genre as a vehicle of influence? Thanks again.
Patrick Anderson: Yes, in Lost Light Connelly makes clear his concerns that in the post-9/11 world the FBI and maybe the government in general are running roughshod over civil liberties. In my review I said that I didn't recall Connelly being political before, and a reader pointed out at least one example of when he had been. For Connelly, it was dramatic to show how the FBI agents would rough up Harry and pursue their "by any means" philosophy. It's Harry's fate to challenge the powers that be, and this is just another example.
I believe you asked about the influence of crime fiction. If you mean political, I think most people read it for entertainment not politics. One thing I admire about Sara Paretsky is that her books are very out front about her liberal political views.
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Washington, D.C.:
Any advice for myster crime writer beginners? Are there any writers workshop in the area that I could attend?
Patrick Anderson: There are some workshops and writing classes but I can't tell you where. Check local universities or maybe the Mystery Writers of America. Advice for aspiring writers? You could do worse than to read someone like Connelly, whose writing is so straightforward and yet very sophisticated. Mainly, I think you have to just sit down and do some writing. I was talking to a young aspiring write recently and I told her that the people who really want to write, and who have the talent, will get that first novel written one way or another. People ask how to get a book published. The real challenge is to write a good book, if you do that you'll get it published. I say this as someone who published some novels in years past. But I would always tell aspiring writers that it's a very tough business. Writing comes naturally to some lucky people and for others it is agony at best. Good luck.
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Baltimore, Md.:
I am not familiar with this author but am persuaded to read him. Which one should I start with? Just curious, which of his novels have been made into movies? And who played Bosch?
Patrick Anderson: You could start with Lost Light. Or you could go back to The Poet, which would prepare you for the one that comes out soon. Or you could read one of the early Bosch novels that are in paperback. As I said, they're all good.
Maybe someone can correct me on this, but I don't think any of the Bosch novels have been filmed. Clint Eastwood directed a movie of "Blood Work" a few years ago but it's not a Bosch novel. And I am absolutely blacking out on who played in it. And who was the aging hippie on the next boat over? Refresh my memory.
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Bethesda, Md.:
Do you have a mailing list for when I could get information of Book World events?
Patrick Anderson: I don't know of any mailing list, but each Sunday Book World has a list of author appearances for the coming week. And when Book World has an event with writers speaking, it is always promoted in Book World, so just check it on Sundays.
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Washington, DC:
According to Connelly's web site, he is going to be in the DC area for signings on May 5th.
Patrick Anderson: Thanks, I should have checked. He was here last fall to speak at the big Book Festival that BW co-sponored with the Library of Congress on the Mall.
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Fairfax, Va.:
I heard Mr. Connelly will be at the Book World event. Is this true and where are the promotions?
Patrick Anderson: As I said, he was at a BW event last fall. And a reader reports that he'll be here on May 5 to promote his new book, probably in a local bookstore. That's all I know about.
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Re: writing:
When you are writing a crime novel, what would be the best approach? It seems more complicated than just writing pure fiction because I'm sure there needs some kind of spinoff or drama to keep the reader guessing.
Patrick Anderson: All novels need a plot. (Well, I guess there are a few that don't have one, but they tend to be pretty dull.) But,yes, crime fiction certainly needs a strong plot. We're dealing with suspense. Someone has been killed or something has been stolen. Someone is investigating. There are many suspects. There should be some surprises. In "Lost Light," for example, someone has already mentioned that the guilty party was a surprise to him. That's good, we like to be surprised. But the writer has to plan all this out in advance. We don't know what's happening but he is planting clues, so that when we learn the butler did it, we realize there were hints toward him all along, if we'd been clever enough to see them. So, yes, plotting is extrmely important. A well plotted, suspenseful story will often hold our interest even if the writing is so-so.
By the way, to the man in Kansas, I agree that those scenes of Lawton Cross in his wheelchair, begging Harry to give him a drink, were very good, and Lawton's relationship with his wife was interesting. She seemed to be the villian but it wasn't that simple.
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Columbia,md:
RE: Blood Work, Eastwood played in it and the neighbor was Jeff Daniels. So that was written by Connelly but Bosch was not in it?
Patrick Anderson: Right. I remembered that Eastwood directed but forgot that he starred -- as the man who'd had a heart transplant. And Jeff Daniels as the sly devil next door. Yes, it's Connelly but doesn't feature Harry Bosch. I think Connelly needs a break from Harry now and then. Those novels are pretty intense. As I said, I would skip Chasing the Dime, but the rest of the non-Bosch books are good to very good.
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Manassas, VA:
For those who don't know, in "Lost Light" when Harry sees the yellow corvette and he recognizes the driver as a local private eye, this is Connelly's "tip of the hat" to fellow mystery writer, Robert Crais and Crais's character, Elvis Cole. The Cole books are excellent, although in a lighter vein than the Bosch books. Elvis has his deeper side, too, but he is not as tortured as Harry.
Patrick Anderson: Thanks, that's interesting. I've only read one or two of the Crais books, and enjoyed them, but didn't remember the yellow Corvette.
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Arlington, Va.:
So, who do you like to read when you're not reading thrillers? Any recommendations?
Patrick Anderson: I'm pretty deep into thrillers right now. The last time I went to the bookstore I bought Larry McMurtry's latest novel and John Updike's collected stories -- the challenge now is to find time to read them.
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Lenexa, Kan.:
Thank you "Tacoma, Wash." for the background info.
You make an interesting point about Connelly not being political before. I think we need that kind of concern and initiative. As to Bosch's spirituality, I certainly see it. He may not be religious but he certainly has a strong spiritual and moral force that I admire in him. I think the fact that it took him about two seconds to discard Alexander Taylor-Eidolon's offer of $100,000 (plus back-end percentages) illustrates it well.
Patrick Anderson: I agree. Harry is stubborn and incorruptable.
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Lenexa, Kan.:
Connelly's wit (both in his descriptions and dialogue--certainly a hallmark of Chandler's) is a lot of fun:
"Big", sporting a shaved head: "I see you traded the Julius for a Jordan, huh?"
"Hollywood was always best viewed at night...a place...of broken sidewalks and dreams." (Connelly is also great on Las Vegas.)
Recognizing Parenting Today, "How are the kids?" I asked. He seemed confused....Later Harry quips to Milton's boss about his ineffectual tail, "Tell him to try Sports Illustrated next time."
Cassie Black ("Void Moon") donning a blonde wig and pink-tinted glasses isn't recognized by her contact until she says, "It's me, Cassie." "A little early for Halloween, isn't it?" he snorts.
Scaggs's "forty-second-floor office...had one of the best views of the city's smog I had ever seen."
Patrick Anderson: Thanks for the quotes. Connelly does indeed have a sense of humor.
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Woodbine, Md:
Clint Eastwood starred in Blood
work. Jim Carey's sidekick in Dumb and
Dumber played the aging hippie. Sorry I
can't remember his name.
Patrick Anderson: Time's up, thanks for tuning in. Keep reading.
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