Anybody read Bret Easton Ellis?

[CruelHandLuke]

I've read American Psycho, The Rules of Attraction, and Glamorama. A lot of people bash his stuff for being too graphic or disgusting or even 'sexist'(pertaining to American Psycho; it was banned in many bookstores). I would find myself laughing out loud at some parts of his novels that others would find downright rude. Anyone?

[strange]

I've never read his work though he's on my hit list of writers to check out, the idea of American Pschyo and his style of writing do appeal to me because at the core its pure satire. Though is American Psycho the better of his works, what about his others?

[Bryan James]

I liked the movie of "Less Than Zero," but probably only for the Jami Gertz factor. I don't remember reading anything other than his 'Psycho.'

~BJS

[O!Discordia]

I have "American Psycho", but haven't read it yet, although I plan to. My son read it while we were on vacation last year, and kept putting it down, and looking at me, and telling me how disturbing it was. We both have the same twisted and warped sense of humor, so it made me curious... I saw the movie a few times, but according to him, the book is still worth reading.

[fljoe0]

The one I really liked was "Lunar Park". I can't even describe it here without giving away what makes it so good. You need to read it without knowing anything about it except that you need to see the American Physco movie before you read it.

As far as American Psycho, I absolutely loved the movie but I could not get through the book. I only got through 70 or 80 pages. I'm going to try again someday. Sometimes I'm just not in the right frame of mind for a certain book and have to try again later.

I think the reason there is such a "love him or hate him" feeling about him is that his books are not overflowing with likable characters. He tells his stories with self centered characters that are very unlikable. People who read him and understand where he is coming from and what he is commenting on love him and people who read him looking for characters they can relate too hate him.

[Alexandra19]

Hi !
I'm just discovering this thread about Ellis, who's a very talented writer IMO.
I've read all his books, starting with Less than zero and ending with Imperial Rooms and it's amazing to see how his writing has become more and more efficient since he first was published.
I managed to finish all his books (I have to admit I've skimmed through a lot of descriptions in American Psycho : I got what the intentions were, nothing's more important to Patrick Bateman than his role in society, so he pays attention to his looks, he only listens to the music he should listen... --> I got it. And allowed myself to skip some parts of the Genesis biography Ellis inflicts on his readers) and enjoyed most of them.
I remember how lost and almost sick I felt while reading Glamorama, but I couldn't sum it up to anyone as it's as twisted as a David Lynch movie (I like to compare both of them because of their (absence of ?) structure).
Ellis is definitely worth being read, and like fljoe0, I loved Lunar Park - which is a real experiment.

I'm also glad he revitalized his work in his last published novel, where he experiences some kind of roman noir intrigue.
It's great because until then, he's always pointed how people were shallow and didn't know themselves and each other, and even though he's been doing a great job, it became a bit redundant :
Less than zero : we're in high school and we're selfish, desperate and hopelessely void.
Rules of attraction : we're at college and we're selfish, desperate and hopelessely void.
American Psycho : we're yuppies and we're ...
Glamorama was about show business, Zombies about everyday lives of people crossing each other (another theme Ellis seems to like, as his characters often travel from a book to another) and Lunar Park about himself.
I think the situation has become a little less hopeless in Imperial Rooms. Maybe in the next one we'll be able to breathe while reading :-)

I hate the movie (except the Christian Bale naked parts) but I would recommend to do exactly what fljoe0 said : watch it and then read Lunar Park to have an idea what Ellis' universe is about.
If you find yourself caught, you'll probably want to read his whole work and if you're patient enough, you'll take advantage of the huge and scary amount of advice Patrick Bateman gives you on how to dress up in American Psycho. :-D