Bret Easton Ellis... opinions?

[Sawyer]

I'm thinking about reading Less Than Zero and I wanted to see what those of you who have read his works think about his stuff.

Thoughts?

 

[Sawyer]

No one?

 

[StrainedEyes]

I've read American Psycho and Rules of Attraction and really liked both of them. I started Less Than Zero and was enjoying it but stopped reading it for some reason (I don't remember why, but it wasn't because of the book).

I like his writing style and his darker perspective on things. I say go for it.

 

[ross2287]

I've wanted to read "American Psycho" for long time now, but just haven't gotten around to it.

 

[StrainedEyes]

I've wanted to read "American Psycho" for long time now, but just haven't gotten around to it.

It is a strange, extremely graphic novel.

 

[Eggyman]

I'm a big fan. Ross, get round to it

I've read American Psycho, Less Than Zero, and Glamorama.

Glamorama is a headfu** of a book. Don't expect it to make sense - Ellis stretches the satire to breaking point.

 

[ross2287]

I'm about 120-some pages into "American Psycho" and so far Bateman's only killed the homeless man and his dog. What I mean is that this is the only incident that isn't referenced as happening earlier.

 

[chamber-music]

I've read Glamorama and Rules of Attraction. They where ok.

 

[Ghostvirus]

I'm about 120-some pages into "American Psycho" and so far Bateman's only killed the homeless man and his dog. What I mean is that this is the only incident that isn't referenced as happening earlier.

It takes a lot of patience to get into that book. It doesn't really get going until like 200 pages in.

 

[david icke]

I've read 'American Psycho' and 'Glamorama', tried to read 'Rules of attraction' but couldn't get into it.

The woman I borrowed AP from said to me that she had to stop reading it as there were passages she just could not handle. I thought to myslef, ' yeah right, they're only words, pshh', but then some of the later passages in the book, yep, I had a hard time reading them. The only time I can recall having this kind of problem reading a book, but I forced myself through them.
When it's funny it's very funny, I recall pissing myself laughing up the back of a bus reading it and getting a funny look from someone when they looked at what I was reading. I mean, I really had to hold back the laughter, pretty sure it was that bit with the tramp, yeah I know I'm sick. But it's just that the character was so matter of fact, they really got that part down well in the movie.

Glamorama was pretty enjoyable because of the character Victor, the plot is alright I suppose. Shame Avery didn't get to do the movie adaption after ROA, a movie I enjoyed a great deal.

there's an interesting funny story on the dvd commentary of ROA about how when they were filming 'victor's european vacation' they met up with a woman who was reading Glamorama and she got really confused as whether Kip Pardue was the real Victor she was reading about.

Yeah, I'd read any of his books given the chance and time permitting.

 

[adhokk7]

I'm thinking about reading Less Than Zero and I wanted to see what those of you who have read his works think about his stuff.

Thoughts?

For whatever it's worth, I think Ellis is an absolute gift to American literature. Less Than Zero is, in my opinion, his most understated work. That is to say that it's the work of a writer who hasn't gotten the least bit inflated by success. While I'm a huge fan of all of his other works (American Psycho is my favorite), I think of Less Than Zero as being to Ellis what Carrie and The Shining are to King.

 

[ross2287]

All right, I just finished "American Psycho" last night. It was good after you get past the first 200 or so pages of descriptions of designer clothes.

I hate to say it, but I enjoyed the movie more than the book. Maybe it was because of Bale's performance or because of the quicker pace of the movie.

How did you guys who've read it--or seen the movie--interpret the book?

I'm convinced of two things: One, that the [BLACKOUT]mass murder scene was a hallucination fueled by Xanax and Halcion.[/BLACKOUT] And two that Bateman [BLACKOUT]did not kill Paul Owen/Allen and instead killed someone else. Everyone in the book is always mistaking someone for someone else so that's how I interpret that. [/BLACKOUT]

The only part I don't understand is the part with [BLACKOUT]Owen's apartment. Did Bateman also mistake the apartment as someone else's? And if he did, why was the realtor acting so shady?[/BLACKOUT]

 

[adhokk7]

All right, I just finished "American Psycho" last night. It was good after you get past the first 200 or so pages of descriptions of designer clothes.

I hate to say it, but I enjoyed the movie more than the book. Maybe it was because of Bale's performance or because of the quicker pace of the movie.

How did you guys who've read it--or seen the movie--interpret the book?

I took the book, the narrative, at face value. I assumed the inconsistencies were due to Bateman's insanity and drug use. The more frantic he became, the more likely he was to become confused.
Because of this, foremost among many reasons, I hated the movie.