Less Than Zero

There are way too many covers for this book according to Google, and I couldn't even find the right one. Well, I did, but it had a crappy background that would have been hard to get rid of. I aint got time for that! Anyway the cover of the book I read featured three beautiful 20-somethings dressed up really nice sitting by a pool and it reeked of 80's style. This picture came from the movie they made out of Less Than Zero, which apparently has little to do with the book. I really have no idea how a movie was made from Less Than Zero, but that's neither here nor there. The book is the debut effort from Bret Easton Ellis, aka the guy who wrote American Psycho. And the similarities to that novel are striking. Ellis really paints a shocking picture of materialism in the 80's- rich New York businessmen in Psycho, and spoiled Los Angeles teens in Less Than Zero. The story follows 18 year old Clay, returning home to Los Angeles from college in New Hampshire (Camden, the college that eventually is the setting for The Rules of Attraction) for winter break. During this month or so he does lots of drugs, has lots of sex, and eventually realizes how vapid everyone is and decides to head back to New Hampshire, possibly for good. Ellis's heavy critique of society is demonstrated by nearly every main character participating in some sort of shocking depraved behavior- at first small (Clay's young sister insisting she can "get her own cocaine" in front of her parents, and no one seems to care) to the downright uncomfortable to read bits (Clay's friends are inspired by a snuff film and re-enact scenes with a 12 year old girl). It's not quite as bad as the stuff that goes down in American Psycho, but certainly enough to make you think Bret Easton Ellis is a little messed in the head. Anyway not much else happens here- by the end of the book Clay has barely learnt a lesson, but as with many books the simple plot is no big deal. To me both Psycho and Less Than Zero seem more like creative ways for Ellis to say "die, yuppie scum." And I know not all of his books involve materialistic 80's characters from watching the movie The Rules of Attraction, so I'm willing to check out some more of Ellis's work.