Sarah Fenske*Read all of first-round matchups in the Best L.A. Novel Ever tournament.
*Read the essay kicking off the tournament and see the complete brackets.
We read Evelyn Waugh and James M. Cain. We plowed through Dominick Dunne and gave the unjustly neglected Kate Braverman a chance. We learned What Makes Sammy Run and finally figured out why They Shoot Horses, Don't They?.
It's taken us four months, but we finally finished the first round of our tournament seeking the Best L.A. Novel Ever. There were some major upsets: Managing Editor Jill Stewart declared that Michael Connelly's Black Echo is better than Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep. Sacrebleu! F. Scott Fitzgerald got knocked out in Round 1. So did T. Coraghessan Boyle, John Gregory Dunne and Charles Bukowski.
All the action continues next week, when we'll attempt the impossible and choose a winner between The Loved One and Play It As It Lays. 'Til then, here are the updated brackets — let us know in the comments section your prediction for the book that'll go all the way.
And make sure to check out any match-ups you've missed; we've provided a complete list below.
The Hollywood Region
The Rebels & Outcasts Region
The Lost Souls Region
The Noir Region
Round 1 match-ups:
HOLLYWOOD
The Last Tycoon vs. The Loved One
What Makes Sammy Run? vs. The Player
An Inconvenient Woman vs. Play It As It Lays
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? vs. The Day of the Locust
REBELS & OUTCASTS
Oil! vs. The Revolt of the Cockroach People
If He Hollers Let Him Go vs. Locas
The Tortilla Curtain vs. The Tattooed Soldier
Tropic of Orange vs. A Single Man
LOST SOULS
Less Than Zero vs. City of Night
White Oleander vs. Lithium for Medea
NOIR
The Monkey's Raincoat vs. Devil in a Blue Dress
True Confessions vs. L.A. Confidential
The Black Echo vs. The Big Sleep
Double Indemnity vs. Inherent Vice
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