Less Than Zero - Bret Easton Ellis

I have never lived in America and the only place I have visited in America is Florida when I was young and then the only part of America I saw was the bright lights of Disneyland and the other surrounding theme parks that populate that corner of America. I also am not of the same generation as Ellis, so I don't connect with the nostalgic elements of the book that it may hold dear for many people. So I can't say that I understand the context of the book, and so cannot connect to it in that way. But I am the same age as Clay, the lead character of the novel, so I understand the nihilism and consumerism that runs throughout the book. ...  Read the complete review

Ellis' debut novel is a glance into the life of America's young, rich, and disaffected youth. Drugs are so freely available that thier usage is prolific yet nochelant, one's own life is seen as that of a leaf in the wind - everyone is blown around without any notion of self-determination, and other people's lives, even friend's lives, are only important when directly connected to one's own. Clay, the protagonist, is young, rich, good looking, blonde, tanned, and so is everyone else in the novel. He has returned during University holidays to his family home. During this brief spell we see that he is a boy surrounded by people, yet totally ...  Read the complete review

Set in the early eighties (and therefore preceding American Psycho), this book has the glamorous setting of Los Angeles, Hollywood style. The cast of characters includes wannabe actors, coke snorting rent boys, rich kids and more. The great thing about the book is how despite seemingly glamorising the lifestyle of those involved we ultimately see them all as being tragic, shallow and soulless. Whilst it avoids the violence of his later works this is still a powerful and often eye opening book, the only criticism of which is that it now seems a little dated. ...  Read the complete review

'Less Than Zero' is the particularly accomplished debut novel from Bret Easton Ellis, hailed as a Jack Kerouac for the morally barren 1980s, and most famous for his controversial novel 'American Psycho'. Set in affluent Los Angeles, this novel portrays a young nihilistic generation desensitized to sex, drugs and disaffection. The vision is seen through a narrator, Clay, who has returned home for Christmas. There is no distinct plot, but instead it follows Clay through parties, bars, clubs and bedrooms. The characters are all washed with disillusionment, and yet one rarely senses emotions, even in Clay, who speaks almost as a ...  Read the complete review