A review by katokaitlyn
The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Man, I really wanted to like this. At times it’s stylistically brilliant autofiction and at other times it’s boring, long winded, obsessed with its own aesthetic in a way that lacks self awareness. It begs the question around who the psycho in American Psycho might actually be—and, in some sense, does Ellis believe that psycho is a reflection of himself? Or his friends? Or some mysterious other? Which is cool, except the mystery is predictable and could’ve been cut by 300 pages.