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Liked It “This book was different from many. Because of this, it kept me interested. although it was kind of repetitive at points, I kept reading because I was afraid of what I might miss, and it kept me wondering how it would end. All and all I liked it.” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It2 of 2 members found this review helpful “I had to read this book for one of my classes. Dr. Murphy kept telling us about how popular this book was and that Bret Easton Ellis was supposed to be the next F. Scott Fitzgerald. While I am not a huge fan of The Great Gatsby, I do think that comparing these two books is a major insult to...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Newest Reviews
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“the most disturbing book i have ever read. characters' lives, both adults (parents) and teens, are totally empty, cruel, meaningless. at least protagonist seems to grow (a smidge) and reject this lifestyle by returning to college in the East. but STILL! ugh. wish i could erase this book from my memory. however, author did an excellent job of painting a vivid LA, surrounding desert, various settings. writing style (stream of consciousness, with little apparent structure to novel) well-matched for directionless lives of characters.”
Tara W wrote this review 5 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I liked it, but there are some very disturbing images--including the main character knowing that someone is/was raped and not doing anything about”
Meredith M wrote this review Monday, November 16 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Not my favorite of Easton's books. I dont remember much of it, and then i saw the movie distorting my view of it.”
Matthew C wrote this review Sunday, November 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“This book was different from many. Because of this, it kept me interested. although it was kind of repetitive at points, I kept reading because I was afraid of what I might miss, and it kept me wondering how it would end. All and all I liked it. ”
Taylor T wrote this review 11 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Synopsis: Privileged LA teen returns to the West Coast on holiday from his East Coast University. The protagonist attempts to confront the emotional emptiness of his casually amoral life the only was he knows how – through sex, drugs and pointless consumption.
Tim W wrote this review Thursday, September 17 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
My Take: In my first year at university I went through a bit of a nihilistic phase in my reading. I started devouring authors like Chuck Palahniuk, Irvine Welsh, J. D. Salinger and above all, Bret Easton Ellis. I can’t say I really know what precipitated this phase – maybe it was just the first time I had had the opportunity to access literature like this having just left small town Queensland for the (relative) retail literary diversity of the Gold Coast (you mean there are alternatives to Dymocks??). My own outlook on life wasn’t particularly grim at the time and I certainly wasn’t some kind of Goth/Emo morbidly luxuriating in the negativity of it all. But I do recall feeling that experiencing the darkest perspectives of literature would enrich my appreciation of the more uplifting things in life. In this sense, I can certainly say that having worked through the Brett Easton Ellis cannon, I felt much more optimistic about my experience of the human condition.
“Less Than Zero” is a relatively brief, very tightly written debut novel that Ellis published at the obscene age of 19(!). While it’s not as rich or layered as his later works (in particular “American Psycho”) it’s fair to say it was spectacularly successful, becoming a best-seller and being adapted as a movie starring Robert Downey Jr. Appropriately described by one Amazon reviewer as being “like The Catcher in the Rye on Crack”, “Less Than Zero” is a harrowing exploration of the alienation and disconnection of the children of the wealthy elite of LA in the 1980s. Given Ellis’ own privileged LA upbringing, it’s difficult not to see him writing from personal experience here.
While I can’t say I’m too sympathetic to “Poor Rich Boy” literature in general, “Less Than Zero” is notable for its extremism if nothing else. Amidst the pages of this thin novel, the protagonist and his fellow travellers manage to confront or engage in endemic drug use, forced prostitution, anorexia, rape, paedophilia and a snuff film. It’s seriously full-on stuff and ultimately no surprise that a novelist that could produce a debut like this would ultimately go on to pen something like “American Psycho”. However, despite its grotesque extremity, the most striking aspect of the book is the all encompassing numbness of its characters. While the protagonist has a vague conception that he should be disturbed by what he is confronting, he is unable to feel anything beyond the generalised anxiety he feels about life as a whole. I guess this is kind of the point of nihilistic literature and I remember appreciating its import at the time, but in retrospect I can’t really see the appeal.”
“i wanted to read this because Bret Easton Ellis was around my age when he wrote it. Maybe at 42 I'll be half the writer he is.”
Daniel H wrote this review Saturday, November 7 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“ Depressed for many many days after reading it. Still does, I cannot understand such people or the forces that make them. But I try.”
Jennifer D wrote this review Monday, September 14 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“As good as the movie.”
Dawn B wrote this review Friday, September 11 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Ellis' first book, portraying the nihilistic of out modern times and what it does to society - creating a depraved mind-set where nothing shocks or matters anymore. Published when Ellis was 21 one could see that this was not his best work and he had not fulyl progressed to the master of writing he has become today. Good story, with dislikeable characters.”
James wrote this review Sunday, July 12 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“A disturbing look at L.A. life in only the way Ellis can describe it. Simple yet extremely complex.”
Megan the movie freak wrote this review Saturday, July 4 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
