"Los Angeles Stories is a collection of loosely linked, noir-ish tales that evoke a bygone era in one of America's most iconic cities. In post-World War II Los Angeles, as power was concentrating and fortunes were being made, a do-it-yourself culture of cool cats, outsiders, and oddballs populated the old downtown neighborhoods of Bunker Hill and Chavez Ravine. Ordinary working folks rubbed elbows with petty criminals, grifters, and all sorts of women at foggy end-of-the-line outposts in Venice Beach andSanta Monica. Rich with the essence and character of the times, suffused with the patois of the city's underclass, these are stories about the common people of Los Angeles, "a sunny place for shady people," and the strange things that happen to them. Musicians, gun shop owners, streetwalkers, tailors, door-to-door salesmen, drifters, housewives, dentists, pornographers, new arrivals, and hard-bitten denizens all intersect in cleverly plotted stories that center around some kind of shadowy activity. This quirky love letter to a lost way of life will appeal to fans of hard-boiled fiction and anyone interested in the city itself.
Klappentext
World-famous musician Ry Cooder publishes his first collection of stories, with a nod to Raymond Chandler and Nathanael West.
Biografie
Ry Cooder ist Gitarrist. Schon als Teenager spielte er 1967 in der Band von Captain Beefheart und wirkte auf einigen Alben der Rolling Stones mit. Außerdem ist er Sänger, Komponist und einer der bekanntesten Protagonisten der amerikanischen Rock- und Rootsmusik. Er veröffentlichte an die 30 Platten, wurde aber vor allem bekannt durch seine Zusammenarbeit mit internationalen Musikern, vor allem mit Buena Vista Social Club. Er hat die Soundtracks für mehr als zwanzig Filme komponiert, u.a. auch für 'Paris, Texas' von Wim Wenders.