Hollywood Nocturnes is a 1994

1994 in literature

The year 1994 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Kevin J. Anderson - Champions of the Force, Dark Apprentice and Jedi Search*Reed Arvin - The Wind in the Wheat*Greg Bear - Songs of Earth and Power...

 collection of short stories

Short story

A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...

 by James Ellroy

James Ellroy

Lee Earle "James" Ellroy is an American crime fiction writer and essayist. Ellroy has become known for a so-called "telegraphic" prose style in his most recent work, wherein he frequently omits connecting words and uses only short, staccato sentences, and in particular for the novels The Black...

. Like many of Ellroy's novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

s, the majority of the stories are set in 1940s and 1950s. The collection was inspired by Ellroy's having seen the film Daddy-O

Daddy-O

Daddy-O is a 1958 B-movie starring Dick Contino. It was directed by Lou Place and written by David Moessinger. The film is notable for its soundtrack as being the debut film score for composer John Williams...

 and finding cosmic significance in the image of Dick Contino

Dick Contino

Dick Contino is an American accordionist and singer.Contino studied accordion primarily with San Francisco-based Angelo Cognazzo, and occasionally with Los Angeles-based Guido Deiro. Early on he exhibited great virtuosity on the instrument...

, whom Ellroy tracked down to interview for the book. The first segment of the book, "Dick Contino's Blues," is a novella about Contino tacking down a serial killer while trying to repair his public image after being labeled a draft-dodger. Several other stories resurrect deceased Ellroy protagonists, recalling major events in their lives as they near death.

Contents

• "Out of the Past"
• "Dick Contino's Blues"
• "High Darktown"
• "Dial Axminster 6-400"
• "Since I Don't Have You"
• "Gravy Train"
• "Torch Number"

Alternate versions

The collection was also published outside the USA as Dick Contino's Blues and other stories. "Out of the Past" is the first piece in the collection, but is included as an "Introduction" by the author, rather than as a short story.

A version of Dick Contino's Blues appeared in issue number 46 of Granta

Granta

Granta is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centers on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make real." In 2007, The Observer stated, "In its blend of...

magazine (Winter 1994) along with several photographs of Contino and the author.