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failedimitator's review against another edition
2.0
There were bits I liked, but for the most part, this wasn't an enjoyable book. I finished reading it while at the airport, and I just left it there because I didn't need the extra weight.
sparkleboymatty's review against another edition
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
1.0
This was already bad and then there were vampires and it was even worse.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Incest, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicide
litdoes's review against another edition
3.0
A wasteland of the young and disillusioned fill the cast of this nihilistic novel. The landscape is set in LA, the City of Angels, Hollywood, and the time sits squarely in the mid-eighties at the height of MTV, where tanned and synthetic looking blond boys and girls hang. Names of rock stars and actors, movie, music and other pop culture references are generously thrown in for good measure.
Valium is the choice antidote to partied-out hipsters and coke the designer drug used by the early twenty-somethings as well as their parents and stepparents. Rich, privileged and promiscuously bisexual, a main character that is related in some way to the others elsewhere in the book is featured in each chapter . They are callous, even in the face of death and destruction and the party never stops - not for a minute. There is something chillingly familiar yet fantastical about the stories, as one character says near the end of the story, "it's like a movie I've seen before and I know what's going to happen... How the whole thing's going to end."
The stories get decidedly more hopeless and bleak as you read on, like a journey down the abyss of all that's base in human nature. Families are dysfunctional; parents and children have little in common except getting wasted on alcohol or using the same party drugs and getting high, and sleeping with the same partners. For the most part, the stories are realistic and chilling, except when vampires and kidnappers/murderers join this cast. While still in keeping with the decadence of the other stories, I felt that the narrative in these segments spiralled into a kind of gore and violence that seem a little misaligned with the rest of the novel. I felt the same way with the author's other novel, "Lunar Park", when supernatural elements appeared in the story and took over the rest of the narrative.
That said, the tone of the novel is consistently detached and matter of fact, which is something that the writer excels in, making the appalling events and the characters' responses to them all the more chilling.
Valium is the choice antidote to partied-out hipsters and coke the designer drug used by the early twenty-somethings as well as their parents and stepparents. Rich, privileged and promiscuously bisexual, a main character that is related in some way to the others elsewhere in the book is featured in each chapter . They are callous, even in the face of death and destruction and the party never stops - not for a minute. There is something chillingly familiar yet fantastical about the stories, as one character says near the end of the story, "it's like a movie I've seen before and I know what's going to happen... How the whole thing's going to end."
The stories get decidedly more hopeless and bleak as you read on, like a journey down the abyss of all that's base in human nature. Families are dysfunctional; parents and children have little in common except getting wasted on alcohol or using the same party drugs and getting high, and sleeping with the same partners. For the most part, the stories are realistic and chilling, except when vampires and kidnappers/murderers join this cast. While still in keeping with the decadence of the other stories, I felt that the narrative in these segments spiralled into a kind of gore and violence that seem a little misaligned with the rest of the novel. I felt the same way with the author's other novel, "Lunar Park", when supernatural elements appeared in the story and took over the rest of the narrative.
That said, the tone of the novel is consistently detached and matter of fact, which is something that the writer excels in, making the appalling events and the characters' responses to them all the more chilling.
buddhafish's review against another edition
2.0
Pretty disappointing. My fourth BEE novel, and definitely the worst one yet. This was the first book published after American Psycho and that must have drained him, because this is nowhere near his normal standards. Definitely not a good example of Ellis at his top form. Some of the chapters were okay, some were damn right awful; the vampires chapter, for example, can just have a big 1 star label slapped onto it. There were, that I could see, two references to his previous books though. There was a DISAPPEAR HERE sign, like from Less Than Zero and in the final chapter in the zoo the protagonist says something about it being so quiet, someone could be murdered there. I am pretty sure Bateman kills a kid in a zoo in AP, so I guess he is referencing that, unless it's a happy coincidence.
I did, however, play Bret Easton Ellis bingo whilst reading this. I saw on Goodreads somewhere Murakami bingo and thought it was pretty funny, there are many writers who you could play the game with. So, this was everything in this book that I've seen before, that is ticked off the BEE Bingo:
- L.A.
- Valium
- Trump Tower
- Armani
- Psychiatrists
- Dead Animals
- MTV
- Affairs
- Bisexual Flirting
- Sex with Minors
- Killing Women
- GQ
- Cocaine
I did, however, play Bret Easton Ellis bingo whilst reading this. I saw on Goodreads somewhere Murakami bingo and thought it was pretty funny, there are many writers who you could play the game with. So, this was everything in this book that I've seen before, that is ticked off the BEE Bingo:
- L.A.
- Valium
- Trump Tower
- Armani
- Psychiatrists
- Dead Animals
- MTV
- Affairs
- Bisexual Flirting
- Sex with Minors
- Killing Women
- GQ
- Cocaine
georgkps's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
marzbookshelf's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
earsore's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This book made me realize that BEE really only suceeds when given enough time & space to flesh out his characters. The shortest stories in this bunch suffer not just by being utterly vapid, but because you don't get more than a flash in the pan glimpse of their personalities and characters. They're less fully formed short stories and more unfinished chapters of a bigger picture.
Of these 12 stories, maybe only half are actually worth reading ("The Secrets of Summer" with its shockingly macabre yet fresh take on contemporary vampires- which I wish could've been a full novel; "The Fifth Wheel", a disturbing crime/horror novella that actually delivers; and "Discovering Japan", which feels like a natural precursor to what BEE would explore further in both American Psycho & Imperial Bedrooms). But as for the rest, save for the mild amusement I got from "In The Islands" and "Letters From L.A.", these stories are entirely skippable.
You can definitely see him working up his style and craft, since these are all apparently pre-Zero. And the inklings of future works are there. But unless you're a completionist or diehard fan like I am, stick to the highlights I singled out, you'll save a lot of time.
Of these 12 stories, maybe only half are actually worth reading ("The Secrets of Summer" with its shockingly macabre yet fresh take on contemporary vampires- which I wish could've been a full novel; "The Fifth Wheel", a disturbing crime/horror novella that actually delivers; and "Discovering Japan", which feels like a natural precursor to what BEE would explore further in both American Psycho & Imperial Bedrooms). But as for the rest, save for the mild amusement I got from "In The Islands" and "Letters From L.A.", these stories are entirely skippable.
You can definitely see him working up his style and craft, since these are all apparently pre-Zero. And the inklings of future works are there. But unless you're a completionist or diehard fan like I am, stick to the highlights I singled out, you'll save a lot of time.
jayishino's review against another edition
3.0
So I pretty much couldn't put it down until "The Fifth Wheel" chapter when I wanted to put the book down to throw up.
I love BEE's style and the fact that none of his characters are particularly likable. Informers is no different and it's a compelling read.
I can't wait to see the movie...
I love BEE's style and the fact that none of his characters are particularly likable. Informers is no different and it's a compelling read.
I can't wait to see the movie...
sirlancelot2021's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
bookwormlukas's review against another edition
5.0
Less a novel and more a collection of extremely loosely connected short stories set in L.A. The movie based from the book is pretty terrible, but from watching that it makes certain aspects of the connectivity between characters more easy to see and understand, especially in comparison to my first attempt reading it years ago. Glad I gave it the re-read, I've always enjoyed Ellis yet this was the only one of his i felt I didn't really 'get'. Happy to see my understanding has changed.