“You can have a laugh in Los Angeles, or you can weep in Los Angeles, depending on your attitude towards it.” —Miranda Richardson
The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
If you like your hard-boiled crime novels full of similes with a side of action, look no further than Chandler. A colorful read, The Big Sleep is notable less for its corrupt Los Angeles cops and mobsters and its high-drama plot and more for Chandler's unwavering bent for likening.
Recommended for: People who enjoy their similes like a dirty cop enjoys a bribe.
The People of Paper by Salvador Plascencia
Plascencia introduces us to an El Monte at once grounded in reality and thoroughly enchanted. The novel complicates our understanding of metaphors: Merced de Papel is a woman who's made of paper, and the primary plot involves the rebellion of a gang of carnation pickers against the planet Saturn. With its multiple levels of narration, the book will remind you that the fantastic and the absurd are sometimes the strongest vehicle for truth.
Recommended for: People who are down with magic realism.
City of Quartz by Mike Davis
In his breathtaking book, Davis chronicles the history of Los Angeles as a history of conflict — Los Angeles emerges as a city of haves and have-nots with deeply racist roots. Starting from the 19th century, his sweeping take contextualizes the growth of the city and the problems that continue to plague its people.
Recommended for: Those who’d like an explanation.
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Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi (with Curt Gentry)
If you want to dive into the dark side of late '60s L.A., it doesn't get darker than Helter Skelter. It's a near-700-page tome chronicling Charles Manson, the Tate-LaBianca murders, and the death of the freewheeling California '60s: a fascinating true-crime classic written in part by the prosecuting attorney in the Manson trial Vincent Bugliosi.
Recommended for: Anyone obsessed with the cult of personality.
