# Bret Easton Ellis (1 Viewer)



## iceguy303 (Sep 6, 2008)

Has anyone read any of his books?  What are your thoughts with his writings?  

So far I have read American Pyscho and The Rules of Attraction.  I am half-finished with Glamorama.  For some reason, I continuely ask myself why I am reading _this _book, until about 70 pages in. I am hooked.  Even though I find his characters nothing but superficial and without color, I can't help but to keep reading.  I am a fan and will continue reading, but his works leave me thinking why I continue to replay these characters in my mind.


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## Dr. Malone (Sep 6, 2008)

Best American writer alive.  The styles he uses in Glamorama are just mind blowing.  Towards the end, he really starts to use the movie camera thing more and more, and it impressed me to no end.
Psycho and Rules of Attraction are brilliant as well.  The Rules of Attraction movie is great, surprisingly.
His newest one features a fictionalized version of himself as the MC (not gay, married with a family, alter-ego kind of thing).  I'm looking forward to picking it up as soon as I find it in the library or a local book store.  Or free as an eBook.

This thread probably belongs in the "Books and Authors" area, not the Lounge.


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## Linton Robinson (Sep 7, 2008)

He and Jay McInnery were an eighties fad.   He's a superficial glam-whore who uses schoolboy razzle-dazzle to cover his lack of anything to say.

They are both pretty totally over.


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## spider8 (Sep 8, 2008)

I found American Psycho refreshing at first because it was different. But then the novelty wore off and I was bored. I finished the book though, after a struggle.I much preferred the film.


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## iceguy303 (Sep 12, 2008)

I initially thought that too, but in Glamorama, just before I considered to lay the book down, it changed paths.  I have been paying attention to the way he writes his mannerisms and his dialogue.  I find many lines of dialogue or action to be very easy to see with my mental eye.  

The downside of Glamorama is, he took too long to get to the good parts.  Not finished yet, but I can't wait to get off work to begin reading again.


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## alanmt (Sep 12, 2008)

The only book I read was Rules of Attraction, which I liked.  I thought the movie was a well-done version, although I disliked the elimination of the main character's bisexuality.

As far as movies go, I also like Less than Zero, which was somewhat prophetic about Robert Downey Junior.


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## Dr. Malone (Sep 12, 2008)

I completely forgot about the bisexual thing.  I guess it's still confusing to most movie watchers.  Definitely lots of it in Glamorama.  Whole shower scene with two guys and girl.  Ew.


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## Linton Robinson (Sep 12, 2008)

He's running low on shock value and doesn't have much else going for him.


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## Linton Robinson (Sep 12, 2008)

Okay, brand names.


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## strangedaze (Sep 12, 2008)

apparently he took whole sections of fashion mags in the 80s and transcribed them for American Psycho.


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## Dan (Sep 16, 2008)

<---agrees with Lin.


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## johnnycruger (Jul 12, 2009)

iceguy303 said:


> The downside of Glamorama is, he took too long to get to the good parts.  Not finished yet, but I can't wait to get off work to begin reading again.



Yeah I got bored with it maybe a little less than halfway through, which, from what I understand is where it actually picks up.


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## Tom88 (Aug 8, 2009)

I've only read Less Than Zero, which really threw me out with its first person present tense delivery. It was pretty bleak. I like flawed characters, but (and this goes for Chuck Palaniuk too) can't really stomach reading entire novels with a cast that revel in their own flaws. There's nothing relatable about them, and I find myself with no sympathies towards them. Clay and crew were just apathetic and unlikeable for 85% of the book.

Less Than Zero was written when he was 19 though, so I guess I can't fairly critique him. American Psycho does look interesting, and I enjoyed the movie quite abit.


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## GraysonMoran (Aug 8, 2009)

A gimmick is what he has always been. He and Jay McInnery, another flash in the pan of the X-gens. It's like reading something sung by Pat Benatar.


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## Dr. Malone (Aug 8, 2009)

American Psycho is brilliant.  Definitely read it.  Just be prepared for a bit of the old ultra violence.  If you liked the movie, though, I have no doubt you'll love the book.

Ellis is one of the few writers who can really pull off first person present.  It's inspiring.

And it's a bit insulting to mention Ellis and Palahniuk as if they're comparable.


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## Jones (Aug 8, 2009)

I'll have to read American Psycho.  I've passed it up a hundred times in the bookstore -- not sure why


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## GraysonMoran (Aug 9, 2009)

I agree with that last.   I don't really read Palahniuk, but he's for real.   



> Ellis is one of the few writers who can really pull off first person present.


 
That is an amazing statement


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## Tom88 (Aug 10, 2009)

I'm not being cute, but how are they not comparable? Which out of Ellis and Palahniuk is supposed to be the literary god? I've only read one book by each, and both failed to rock my world for similar reasons. That, plus I've heard both authors garner some pretty high praise.

So, which is unanimously considered to 'have the goods'?


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## Dr. Malone (Aug 10, 2009)

To me, Ellis.  Palahniuk is more of a study in style, while Ellis is much more enduring.  Ellis is doing the neo-Joyce thing too, which makes him much more interesting to me.


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## Heid (Sep 7, 2009)

I've read "American Psycho" which I thought was great. It did seem to prattle on in stages (particularly the chapters devoted to 80's artists and his descriptions of what people were wearing) but I reminded myself that that was the whole idea of Patrick Bateman: that he was obsessed with superficiality and status.

It did beg the question of how a despicable character like Bateman could be so intriguing as a protagonist. But I guess it seemed to satiate a curiosity in me: getting into the mind of a killer.


I recently got hold of "Less Than Zero" which I'm looking forward to reading...


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## Bad Craziness (Oct 8, 2009)

Personally I think Less than Zero is his best work. I love how he presents the world in this completely laconic way, so that even these terrible acts that most normal people would consider horrifying are just run of the mill. You can definitely see the progression through this novel to American Psycho (which did get a better movie adaptation).

I feel that its a pretty decent attempt at echoing the apathy that existed in the 80's. Which is easy to say in hindsight, and just plain impressive when you take into account how young he was when he wrote it.

Its really decent black humour, I thought Clay was the best narrating character I'd read since old Catcher in the Rye...


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## Fleurdelis (Dec 19, 2009)

I've read every Ellis except Glamorama.

American Psycho and Lunar Park are both books I would suggest reading.  Lunar Park is my favorite, actually.  He really pared down his style on that one to make it very accessible.  

It sort of came out around the same time as No Country For Old Men.  They were released about a month apart.  McCarthy did the same thing with that book.  

Maybe there was something the air that made these two heavily stylistic writers choose simplicity.


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## Dr. Malone (Dec 19, 2009)

His style in Glamorama is inspiring.  I'd suggest you check that one out.  The story is kinda weird, but the overall read is quite enjoyable/interesting, especially for a writer.

EDIT: He also uses two of the main characters from the college book.  The main girl and the guy who goes to Europe.


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## Fleurdelis (Dec 20, 2009)

Dr. Malone said:


> His style in Glamorama is inspiring.  I'd suggest you check that one out.



I intend to read that book.  The problem is that I intend to read about 500 other books, too. 

:smile:


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## jnimri (Oct 29, 2010)

Glamorama was my first B.E.E. novel to read, and the only to this date.  I originally read about 200 pages of the book and just couldn't do it so I put it down for almost a year.  Then I got bored one day and started it again,  this time within a week I finished it.  I admit, the first half is absolutely a beating to get through.  But, when you finish the entire novel, you look back on the first part in complete awe and admiration.  Without that long long setup, there is no appreciation for the end.  I loved it and a week after finishing it, I could not stop thinking about it.  It truly blew my mind.


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## Tom88 (Oct 30, 2010)

So, I recently read Imperial Bedrooms, and am not entirely sure what to make of it. The continuation on LTZ's principal characters was great, and I even found the self-referential world-in-a-world explanation was quite an interesting ploy. Apparently the narrator in Less Than Zero, the one we come to know as Clay, is actually just a depiction of the "real Clay" by "the author". Imperial Bedrooms stars the REAL Clay, and he's much far more twisted and paranoid than the apathetic Clay of the past.
It was an unexpected route to take, Ellis got to weave in some commentary about the LTZ film adaption, and even reference The Informers, but I'm just not sure if it was what I wanted. Clay ends up closely resembling Patrick Bateman, and combining that with the fast-paced thriller narrative it didn't really feel like it had much in common with Less Than Zero at all. Anyone else read it? Impressions?


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