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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Brett Easton Ellis has a fantastic way of exploring the vapid, dark underbelly of extravagant nepotism. He unfolds the cyclical cycles that addicts can become trapped in, and the complicity of the bystanders that allow depravity to continue, against their own intuition. Despite the fact that the characters in this book are a lot less enjoyable than his other books, I will always enjoy his writing style and the normality he presents. While contemporary fiction isn’t my favourite, he never writes too far into becoming aged. I believe his work will continue to be relatable and relevant for many years to come.
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Super rich kids with nothing but fake friends.
Malaise, paranoia, coke-fuelled ramblings, apathy. Start of thinking this is boredom, progress to believing it’s limbo, finish the book and realise it’s been hell all along
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Listen it’s still really good. It’s just the worst one I’ve read so far by him. He was 19 and that both explains some of the poorer parts and makes the great parts all the more impressive. Oscillates between the latter and some technical faults that make me wince. Not always in love with the dialogue which was the same problem I had with The Shards. Occasionally falls short of believable.
Having said all that, his ability to unwrap a story and create something so readable whilst unbearably grim is unrivalled. His plotting is his strongest thing for me. Also I’ve never been to LA in real life but after 2 of his books set there I not only feel like I’ve been but I’m tired of it and would like to never visit again.
Having said all that, his ability to unwrap a story and create something so readable whilst unbearably grim is unrivalled. His plotting is his strongest thing for me. Also I’ve never been to LA in real life but after 2 of his books set there I not only feel like I’ve been but I’m tired of it and would like to never visit again.
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“But you don’t need anything. You have everything … what don’t you have?”
“I don’t have anything to lose”
Southern California has never felt this Gothic. A look at how wealth and satisfaction don’t directly correlate. Easton writes with such abysmal disdain, but in a completely apathetic manner. Almost like he’s shrugging at the reader, forcing us to bear witness to this absolute car crash of his view of the LA 80s experience. It’s a contemporary interpretation of a classic ghost story. Clay moves through the city aimlessly, seeing the same people he’s always known and is a witness to chaos and unable to interfere. A bold and impressive debut, it is still astounding the cynicism and tact Easton wrote at the ripe age of 20!
“I don’t have anything to lose”
Southern California has never felt this Gothic. A look at how wealth and satisfaction don’t directly correlate. Easton writes with such abysmal disdain, but in a completely apathetic manner. Almost like he’s shrugging at the reader, forcing us to bear witness to this absolute car crash of his view of the LA 80s experience. It’s a contemporary interpretation of a classic ghost story. Clay moves through the city aimlessly, seeing the same people he’s always known and is a witness to chaos and unable to interfere. A bold and impressive debut, it is still astounding the cynicism and tact Easton wrote at the ripe age of 20!
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’ve seen coyotes running slowly through the fog with red rags in their mouths and it’s only when I come home that I realize that the red rag is a cat. It’s something one must live with if you live in the hills.
Ennui and depravity, over-indulgence and numbing oneself, this book takes the moment of being a teenager on the cusp of adulthood with all the freedom & money but none of the boundaries, guidelines and restrictions. We see all of this tragically unfold in various ways throughout eventually ratcheting up to unspeakable vile acts because of this. A microcosm on the cusp of a turning point, it accurately depicts what many deal with internally, metaphorically, and literally. A great analogy for the failed grandiose vision of America.