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3.22 AVERAGE
3.22 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
medium-paced
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
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:
Complicated
dark
funny
reflective
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 decided to write a new, updated review of this book since I had an extended discussion about it with my teacher.
The critics in 1994 were very negative about this book and not having read American Psycho, I didn't know what to expect from Ellis' style I just started reading. Before you start reading, realise that in every chapter a new protagonist appears and his or her name isn't always obvious or even known. In the beginning, the people are shallow. L.A. Glamour including the Valium that's richly taken and the empty lives of most successful people. It made me think of The Catcher in the Rye, no explicit climax. And then you end it, remember the funnily absurd sex scenes & maybe smile a little and you put it back on your bookshelf. Was it worth 5€? Yes. I still think about i now and then, wonder why they made such bad decisions. Is this book shallow? No! Would a shallow book contain a boy thinking about death? And murder? And vampires? That's what all the teens are obsessed with. A vain Edward Cullen and a older Violet from AHS. This book was a progressive collection of story and if you are a human of your time, you will at least like a few (and it's okay to not like them all, because you don't like all the characters of a book either way?). I already read a story unknowingly in an English class years ago & I guess more teachers will let their youngsters read Ellis.
The critics in 1994 were very negative about this book and not having read American Psycho, I didn't know what to expect from Ellis' style I just started reading. Before you start reading, realise that in every chapter a new protagonist appears and his or her name isn't always obvious or even known. In the beginning, the people are shallow. L.A. Glamour including the Valium that's richly taken and the empty lives of most successful people. It made me think of The Catcher in the Rye, no explicit climax. And then you end it, remember the funnily absurd sex scenes & maybe smile a little and you put it back on your bookshelf. Was it worth 5€? Yes. I still think about i now and then, wonder why they made such bad decisions. Is this book shallow? No! Would a shallow book contain a boy thinking about death? And murder? And vampires? That's what all the teens are obsessed with. A vain Edward Cullen and a older Violet from AHS. This book was a progressive collection of story and if you are a human of your time, you will at least like a few (and it's okay to not like them all, because you don't like all the characters of a book either way?). I already read a story unknowingly in an English class years ago & I guess more teachers will let their youngsters read Ellis.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
tense
medium-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
Collection of vignettes that start off strong but has a lackluster middle section. At it’s best, this collection is reminiscent of Ellis’ other works, but fails to capture the same feeling Less Than Zero or American Psycho brought.
So much of these narratives are plagued with inaction that they didn’t read like stories, just some sort of sick voyeuristic pleasure. Stories boiled down to “X character is a cold distant person and loses themself into drugs and lust.” I mean, that’s Ellis’ works in a nutshell, but he fails to make it interesting. Anne’s section “Letters from L.A.” is one of the dullest things I’ve read from a published collection.
Check this book out if you *really* want more Bret Easton Ellis, but my recommendation would be to re-read one of his other works.
So much of these narratives are plagued with inaction that they didn’t read like stories, just some sort of sick voyeuristic pleasure. Stories boiled down to “X character is a cold distant person and loses themself into drugs and lust.” I mean, that’s Ellis’ works in a nutshell, but he fails to make it interesting. Anne’s section “Letters from L.A.” is one of the dullest things I’ve read from a published collection.
Check this book out if you *really* want more Bret Easton Ellis, but my recommendation would be to re-read one of his other works.
Not my favorite b.e.e. book so far, but I still enjoy his writing and concepts. A good collection of loosely connected stories.