Paris (AFP)

Do not question him about the news, on pain of seeing him leave the room. For the master of the black novel, James Ellroy, "only history matters", in this case that of Los Angeles, he revived in 1942 in a new fresco testosterone high flying.

"It's always history that has counted for me, the present, I do not know," says the famous writer of the "Black Dahlia" and "LA Confidential", as well known for its provocative formulas as for its cobblestones. deep blackness.

"I'm not talking about the present and I'm not answering any questions about the present, I'm not interested in it: I do not want to write about it, I do not want to talk about it, and I do not want to answer anything other than questions about the Second World War, "he said, in an interview with AFP, similar to a sport of combat.

Nothing surprising when you know that Ellroy is a boxing enthusiast, one of the only television programs that he finds in his eyes.

Finished so the reactionary flights for the man of 71 years, "in good health", he confides, for the exit in French of "The Storm which comes" (Shorelines). "People expect me to share my opinions, but no."

- Provocateur -

On the other hand, the provocation is never far for the amateur of shirts with flowers which plunges since the 80s in the darkest recesses of America.

Starting with this quote from Benito Mussolini ("only the blood makes the wheels of history spin"), highlighted in the book, 2nd part of a new "quartet of Los Angeles" started with "Perfidia" in 2015.

"I'm not saying he's an admirable human being, but he's saying something real," he says of the Italian dictator. And "like me, he is bald".

Once the ranting past, Ellroy is ready to talk about his new opus (700 pages), which starts December 30, 1941, a little less than a month after the attack on Pearl Harbor. As a result, raids occur against Americans of Japanese descent.

As always at home, it's about alcoholic cops, obsessions, corruption, racism, crime and extreme violence. Some characters from previous books make their reappearance, such as Dudley Smith, LAPD Irish policeman, brutal and shameless.

For Ellroy, who defines himself as a historical novelist rather than a writer of black novels, it is about creating a great work by taking characters from his first quartet taking place in the 50s, and imagining them younger. Taking into account his trilogy "Underworld USA" (on the 60s), he aims to achieve a gigantic fresco of America over 31 years (from 1941 to 1972).

- "I invented a genre" -

"I still have two books to write in this quartet, we'll see later if I can still write a second trilogy + Underworld + I'll be old and I do not want to be like Philip Roth who wrote at the end of the books more and shorter".

"What I want is to write fucking big blocks, with an epic vision and beautiful blankets," he says, estimating, a bit megalomaniac, having "created a genre" all by itself.

For "The coming storm," five years of work were needed, hundreds of notes and the structure of the book summarized ... over 500 pages. "I know all the characters, all the historical patterns, all the love stories, I write until it's perfect," says one who works without a computer, dictating to his assistant.

"I tell him that historical truth means nothing to me". Once the main historical facts are verified, there is room for imagination and fiction.

"I'm a novelist," says the great (1.90 m) Ellroy, who turned the page of autobiographical works, like "My part of shadow", where he was naked while telling the story of his mother's murder when he was still a child.

© 2019 AFP