A review by jentang
Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis

3.0

i suppose i would have to read more of ellis's works for this to be a fair critique, but he doesn't seem to have very extensive range as a writer- at least not enough to come up with innovative, grabbing ideas unique to every novel of his. this story drags on. while well written, there's this permeating feeling of disconnect and emptiness that stretches beyond hopeless characters and creates an almost meaningless reading experience. this book is made up of deeply unsatisfied, materialistic, never sober college kids coming from old money, some more sadistic than others. it's truly just a drag reading about the same day repeated of partying, sex, and interchangeable interactions for the greater half of a novel. towards the end, things did start to pick up with a solidified storyline - though, while certainly sad, it was nothing spectacular or original - but besides that, i cannot say the sudden interjections of SA scenes and gory violence added up to create a real plot. all in all, i spent a good portion of my night tonight getting through this, and came away with nothing beyond a little irritation. with a deeper exploration into clay himself, perhaps a twinge more into julian, and a great deal less into everyone else, i think i would've liked this book quite a bit more.