A Little Yellow Dog (1996)

Having never read a Mosley book, but having seen Devil In A Blue Dress, I thought I would give an Easy Rawlins mystery a try.

While the book was very well written, I had problems keeping up with all of the characters. This might be a personable problem of mine OR it might be that the characters weren't delineated enough for me to keep them straight. That's why I rated it 3 stars instead of 4. ( )

I came to this (the fifth) installment in the series first, and liked that there was so much weight behind the protagonist, Easy Rawlins, and seemingly such a sea change in his character and place in life compared to what it was in previous books. Curious how much is literally explained in the previous novels, how much is Mosley's writing that lends it this weight.

I knew nothing of the series, and found it intriguing that it was a third of the way in before the date was made clear. On page 155 Easy makes reference to it being "early in the sixties". Up to that point, there were references to 1961 and such, but it wasn't clear whether that was a year, 10 years, 20 years prior to the current situation. (Later it's made explicit: JFK is assasinated on the last day of the novel's action, and the book jacket clearly states 1963.) Are race relations really not that much different that for much of the plot, it wasn't certain whether the events were unfolding in 1963, 1983, or 2003? Similar to Pulp Fiction in that respect, at least for me: could not tell if it took place in the 80s, 90s, or ... when.

The story is a mystery, sure, but I was propelled by my interest in what would be revealed about life in LA, and in Mosley's spare prose, hardboiled dialogue, and occasional turns of phrase. He also reveals a wicked if deadpan sense of humour, noting about the gardening and horticulture of a daughter and father he visits at home: "Their house was small but impeccably well kept. The mums and honeysuckle made me jealous. The oranges were the pride of their race." (100) But the people to whom he's referring are Italian-Chinese. What race is that, exactly? ( )

Sarjan 5. osa. ( )

This is the first Rawlins mystery I've read, after seeing "Devil in a Blue Dress" movie a few years ago. I am excited to read more, because the language is stylish but street-smart for the 1950s. Easy is trying hard to keep a good job as a school maintenance supervisor but he gets pulled into a crime investigation when a body is found behind the school. Some teachers had some extra-curricular activities he did not know about. Easy struggles with his former life of crime and you hope for him to succeed. ( )

The best of the Easy Rawlins books. This gives you the feel of living in LA as an African-American and gives you a context to understand why OJ was found not guilty. Hint: keep a list of characters as you read to keep them all straight. ( )