Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis

Bret Easton Ellis is one of those writers you either love or hate. (I happen to like him.) He writes about people you can’t really like, and many times his plots are convoluted or just vapid, mirroring his characters. Ellis wrote Less Than Zero while his was still in college, and that alone is enough to make you give this book a look. He peel back any attempt at making the world of this book pretty like you would like Los Angeles, the place of dreams to be. It’s an empty, ugly world, with empty, pretty people.

In 1980’s L.A., Clay is home from New Hampshire for Christmas. His ex-girlfriend Blair is still attracted to him, but that doesn’t keep either of them faithful. His friend Julian has become heavily addicted to heroin and is now selling himself for drugs. Clay hardly knows his family and has no clue about who he is. He does drugs and drinks constantly and spends his days and nights partying with people he doesn’t even know.

The end of the book comes, and you are left just as confused as Clay. All of the characters run together. They are all blond and tan, they all have too much money and too much free time. Towards the end, you hope that Clay has reached a point where he wants more from life, especially after seeing Julian reach rock bottom, but you have no guarantee. You hope the phrase that opens the book, “people are afraid to merge,” resonates with him at the end. You hope Clay, having been removed, returned, and leaving again, realizes he can be of some substance. You hope he has redeemed himself, but deep down, you know he hasn’t. Being a Bret Easton Ellis character, you know not to hope for any real change, and that’s the real point of the book. These children are lost souls with no way out and no real will to leave. No one can help them, because they care little about helping themselves.

Rating: 4 Purrs