Like why does everyone refer to Franklin Roosevelt as Franklin Roseveld?
It's a historical reference, I think, Franklin Rosenfeld, that the name was probably used as a derogatory anti-Semitic thing since, I think, back then, and in the book, some believed World War II was Jewish peoples' fault. I remember the fictionalized version of the real life Gerald L. K. Smith calls him that (Franklin "Double-Cross" Rosenfeld), and Hideo Ashida's mother, Mariko Ashida, call Franklin Roosevelt that in the book.
GreenGoblinsOckVenom86, did you finish Perfidia? I think it's another awesome book by James Ellroy. If the swearing is annoying, read the book form instead. It's worth it to finish Perfidia. I still re-read James Ellroy's books because of how much I enjoy them and how good they are. Here's some links below I think might help:
https://www.google.com/search?q=franklin+rosenfeld&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#q=why+call+Franklin+Roosevelt+Franklin+Rosenfeld
http://wais.stanford.edu/Individuals/wasfranklinroosevelt.htm
https://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en&ictx=2&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjSgontu9POAhXJ5SYKHbsyAL8QPQgD#hl=en&q=Gerald+L.+K.+smith
https://www.google.com/search?q=franklin+rosenfeld&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#q=Franklin+Roosevelt
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I started reading it and thought some of it didn't make much sense. Like why does everyone refer to Franklin Roosevelt as Franklin Roseveld? Also there was some comment in it that made me LOL. It said some guy displayed a 2 foot penis. How is that even possible!? LOL! Other than that so far it's okay. I had to turn it back to the library though before finishing it. Though I was doing it as an audio book anyway so I'll know right where I am at. I find the cussing in it annoying. Like someone saying, "We're gonna beep make these beep japs beep pay for what they beep did!" Talk about overdoing it.
Green Goblin is great!

Sure, someone does.
Perhaps the OP just wants to reach out for some sense of community.

Green is the traditional, Gaelic Ireland? What is Orange?
The Orange Order is a loyalist, Protestant fraternal organization in Ireland.
Someone who wears Orange on St. Patrick's Day is stating their support for Protestant, English rule over Ireland.
To this day, the Orange Order stages marches, often through Catholic neighborhoods in Northern Ireland, creating all manner of conflict, usually big riots.

For the uninitiated,
Perfidia
constitutes a rather precious and daunting introduction to Ellroys literary domain. For those who have already crossed the threshold, the novel is a bit problematic. Im loathe to hold its length against it, but at seven-hundred pages, Im not completely convinced it has the momentum to sustain itself.
Im also rather weary of Ellroys recent employment of the personal diary to move his novels forward. These diaries are written by people who write surprise! just like Ellroy. Moreover, they write like Ellroy at his most ponderous and long-winded, and are so fixated on their own personalities, quirks, motivations that their failure to arrive at meaningful insight about their own existences is befuddling in itself. Or, since Ellroy is so blunt, maybe the opposite is true: characters write about their own lives with such penetrating forthrightness that its amazing they bother to keep writing. Kay Lake is an even more egregious example of this than her predecessor in
Bloods a Rover
.
As I said, its a precious book, perhaps a sign that the devil dog of crime fiction is, dare I say it, mellowing or settling down. By precious, I dont mean to suggest that the book lacks the sudden bursts of ultraviolence or hardboiled characters that weve come to expect; rather, it trots out stock Ellroy characters from previous novels, along with the usual historical figures, allows them to rub elbows a bit, and go on their merry way. The whole enterprise begins to feel like some pop culture rag covering a costume party on the deck of the Titanic Oh, look! Its
American Tabloid
s Ward Littell! And theres Preston Exley! And Elizabeth Short, the Black Dahlia herself! and an awareness of each characters eventual fate is, at turns, elating and defeating.
If theres one reason to read
Perfidia
, its Dudley Smith. When he acts or speaks, I dont get the sense that Ellroy is finished figuring out this guy. To a lesser degree, this is also true of his portrayal of the historical Whisky Bill Parker, who is established as a countervailing force for the Dudster technically his superior, yet outmanoeuvred at just about every turn.
When these men command the page, the book is impossible to put down.
And fortunately, they get quite a bit of space to do their thing.
However, I dont have any memory of Dudley Smith being crazy in the other books; villainous, yes, and many years have done nothing to obscure the vivid memory of my feeling of satisfaction at one particular moment in
White Jazz
, but more methodical and cunning than crazy.
Im probably being too hard on the book. I read the damned thing in short order, so it certainly held my attention. Furthermore, the first time I heard that Ellroy was going to write another series that would feature already established characters, I actually let out a whoop! At the end of the day, I think its just a matter of measuring up to earlier achievements, and how difficult that must be for an author like Ellroy, whose Underworld U.S.A. trilogy is positively stifling in its brilliance, and likewise his L.A. Quartet.
Now that Ellroys gotten his feet wet and dusted off some of these characters, I have high hopes for the next three books. As it stands though,
Perfidia
is an oddball a prequel reunion observed from the future, and not entirely satisfying, since so much of what makes Ellroy Ellroy is his willingness to burn down the world, to devastate his reader with an unexpected turn. Theres only so much of that thats possible in his previously-established 1941 Los Angeles.

Read a little about the Irish War of Independence. andrewmcdonaldgloucester, I'm sure you know more on the topic, would it be fair/accurate to say it was another war fought for freedom from imperialism? Sort of Ireland's version of the American Revolutionary War? It's like what I've heard and read, while we have Free Will, Freedom isn't always Free.
I also finished
Pefidia
. I actually, finished it a while ago, but I'm rereading it.
As far as Dudley goes, maybe being alive during that war, experiencing those events and things before and after the war, and doing the things he did turned him into who he is. And this is this time period where it seems Dudley isn't entirely crazy yet, or this is when Dudley begins to turn into who he in The L.A. Quartet.
Bill Parker seemed like
he had Edmund Exley's ambition and motivation, but had sort of Jack Vincennes's struggle with alcoholism. While he does have a dark side it seems, he is religious and has morality and tries to do the right thing.
Hideo Ashida seemed to represent the common Japanese American and the internment. I think the book states most of the Japanese were "pathetically loyal" to America, and America First. He is caught in the middle of everything it seems.
I can't really speak or understand Kay Lake yet. Maybe she was Ellroy's most complex character, kind of.
Also, I kind of understand what Scotty Bennett and Dudley Smith were talking about when Scotty asks Dudley whether he is Green or Orange. And Dudley replies, "Green everlastingly, lad." Green is the traditional, Gaelic Ireland? What is Orange? Because Scotty says he's Orange and he wears the color on St. Patrick's Day, but he's got no grudge with the Green. When Scotty asks if Dudley thinks less of him 'cause of that, Dudley says on the contrary.
On two side notes, I loved seeing a lot of prior historical and fictional characters return from Ellroy's previous works. Other than the main characters: Ward Littell, Bucky Bleichert, Lee Blanchard, Buzz Meeks, J. Edgar Hoover, Preston Exley, and Pierce Patchett, to name a few. The new historical and fictional characters were great as well. The other note, I think if Ward Littell had worked with Bill Parker and the LAPD and instead of J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI, he wouldn't have become who he is and what he does in The Underworld U.S.A. Trilogy.
I think for the sequel and other books in The Second L.A. Quartet, we might not see the characters who go off to fight the war, including Dudley Smith and Bill Parker, who I think in real life does fight in the war. Others we might not see are Mal Considine, Edmund Exley, Dave Klein, Pete Bondurant, and maybe Scotty ( I think he says he going to enlist at the end of the story.) The next novel might start also with what Hoover said in this novel: A federal investigation into the wiretappings at LA's City Hall.
Ellroy has released another awesome novel. I think it's proof he's an amazing storyteller, and a creative and genius author.
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I feel like I'm going to have to discuss the thread in spoiler black most of the time lol, but I know what you mean about Dudley. I'm only halfway through it.
To the people who have just started reading it, or if you plan on reading Perfidia, I suggest not reading these spoilers. Only read them if you're maybe halfway through or reading it. I don't know but there are big spoilers and new stuff as far as characters go.
but yeah, as far as Dudley Liam Smith goes he:
*
Is smoking opium/ possibly and opium addict and popping Benzedrines
*
His father and brother were killed by the Black and Tans (I don't know much about that war or what was going on between Ireland and England, they were warring I guess?) So he hates the English
*A real big one:
Elizabeth "The Black Dahlia" Short is Dudley's illegitimate sixth daughter! He gets Phoebe Short, Elizabeth Short's real mother pregnant when he was nineteen.
There is just so much else going on that is cool and interesting in this story and not just with Dudley, I love seeing a lot of the important characters from the L.A. Quartet and the Underworld USA Trilogy making an appearance. Just I'm really liking it. The Second L.A. Quartet as he is calling it, is probably going to be amazing.
If you love Jesus, proud of it, copy this and make your signature.
I saw this and I did.

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