About this title: Bret Easton Ellis's first novel was a publishing sensation when it was published in 1985. The story of disaffected young people in the cold and amoral pop-culture world of Los Angeles, it is told from the point of view of Clay, who begins to question the emptiness of his life. LESS THAN ZERO was published when Ellis was 21 and still in college; ...
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Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Penguin Books
Date Published: 1986
ISBN-13:9780140088946ISBN:0140088946
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 208 p. Contemporary American Fiction. Audience: General/trade. read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. 208 pp.; 20 cm. First published, 1985. Good+. Tight, clean copy. Browning. Gen-X classic. "Set in Los Angeles in the early 1980's, this coolly mesmerizing novel is a raw, powerful portrait of a lost generation who have experienced sex, drugs, and disaffection at too early an age, in a world shaped by casual nihilism, passivity, and too much money a place devoid of feeling or hope. Clay comes home for Christmas vacation from his Eastern college and re-enters a ... read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Penguin Books, New York
Date Published: 1986
ISBN-13:9780140088946ISBN:0140088946
Description: Good. Ex-Libris. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. Wraps are lightly scuffed. Spine is uncreased. Previous owner name atop fep. Pages are clean & text is free from markings. Binding is secure. read more
Description: New. Orders placed after Dec. 7 cannot be guaranteed delivery before Christmas. GREAT BUY. Brand New From US Distributor. WE ARE A 5 STAR SELLER with OVER 3, 500, 000 BOOKS SOLD. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 1998-06-30
ISBN-13:9780679781493ISBN:0679781498
Description: New in None as issued jacket. New, unread copy with soft bend on front cover. We ship 6 days a week, generally within 24 hours; single CDs and DVDs upgraded to 1st class! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Date Published: 1985
ISBN-13:9780671543297ISBN:0671543296
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Trade paperback (US). 208 p. Audience: General/trade. Very minor edge wear. Inscription "Everything is this book is so true-Ethan 1/12/86. "A shocking coming-of-age novel about the casual nihilism that comes with youth and money, Less Tan Zero marks the stunning debut of the first voice of a new generation. Author "is a student at Bennington College in Vermont. He was born and raised in Los Angeles. " read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 1998
ISBN-13:9780679781493ISBN:0679781498
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Description: Fine New in Fine jacket. SOFT COVER, Fine/Fine, Penguin (Non-Classics), 1986, 0.6 in. H x 7.5 in. L x 5 in. W, 6.8 oz. This copy has no signs of use, is in Excellent Condition Overall. Note: expect tanning of any paperback more than a few years old, regardless of condition. read more
Edition: NEW ED
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: PAN MACMILLAN Country = UNITED KINGDOM
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780330447973ISBN:0330447971
Description: BRAND NEW PAPERBACK. 300 pages. (300 pages) clay comes home to la for christmas vacation and re-enters a landscape of limitless privilege and moral entropy. his holiday turns into a dizzying spiral of desperation that takes him through the relentless parties in glitzy mansions, seedy bars, and underground rock clubs. this is a novel about the casual nihilism that comes with youth and money. edition new ed (Paperback) read more
Intellectually it is interesting. Using prose styling and thematic elements (and a haunting billboard) from The Great Gatsby makes an interesting comment on the young rich in Los Angeles during the 1980's. The apathy of these characters is palpable, not to mention the pain inside them that either they are unable to comprehend or unwilling to admit to. They distract themselves with anything physical or external.
However, it is these strengths that cause its primary fault: how difficult it is to feel anything for these people. One can't help but feel some level of frustration and sympathy, but it is more for the idea of this generation than any of the characters specifically. This is not necessarily a bad thing, except that Ellis seems to be asking us to care for Clay (the narrator) and his relationship with Blair which doesn't happen.
The progression of events is nice, though it gets a tad melodramatic at the end. And it is hard to tell if the post-college "I've grown out of my high-school friends/life/hometown" revelation theme in the writing is satirical or the result of a young writer attempting to be profound."
"I'm trying to figure out why people exactly liked this book. It's a very quick read and the main character is very unsympathetic. There weren't really any qualities in him that I could connect to as a reader...a lot of what was described about him seemed to be only put in for shock value and to appear "edgy". I get annoyed hearing 24/7 about Californian brats on TV; I'm really not interested in "getting inside their head" as the author did with Clay.
I can see how critics at the time figured this to be thrilling. There are a lot of disturbing (but not too disturbing) things going on in the novel. It does reflect the Ellis view of an LA teenage lifestyle I guess but all it is, is just a definition. Everything is too blunt to really comprehend as mind-blowing... it was day-to-day kind of scenes... like "Today we did some coke and this, this and this", that's not enthralling that's boring...sure the subject matter is pretty dark but I really gained nothing from reading this besides killing some time on an airplane...
I guess what really made me want to, you know, bite a bullet was the arrogance of the main character, Clay. Sure, it's awesome to have an anti-hero as the main character or just an overall jackass... but he/she/it can't be so negative that the reader is annoyed altogether and can care less about what happens to them. Clay just reminded me of those 16 year old girls who are suddenly "bi" just because it's the "in thing", it's the thing to say that's edgy and controversial. But really, they're just being attention whores and need to be punched in the ovaries.
In any case, I am a Bret Easton Ellis fan but this book is far from my favorite. I sometimes find myself saying "I will set this book on fire", but in Less Than Zero's case... I actually did. It was the most joy I ever got out of that book."
"So far I don't think I'm learning very much about the privileged youth class of LA in the 1980s, but it reads like a breeze. Clay, I'm sure, has been compared to Holden Caufield, and the book's blase ironic tone matches. No great shakes maybe, despite its fame, but I can only say I wish I could write something as good.
So drugs and casual sex and ennui---always with the image industry of Hollywood touching all---lit in the bright So-Cal noir sun.
Not much changed essentially from the days of Nathanael West.
I'm vacillating between a rating of 2 or 3 stars for this. Ennui by nature is repetitive. This is an unbroken chain of aimless moments, skillfully enough rendered, but why do I feel like I've read and seen this all before?
UPDATE: I said this reads like a breeze. That was many pages ago, when I wrote that. Actually, not so many.
It's taking me longer to read this short 200-page book than it did "War and Peace." How many ways can you write about rich kids tooling around in expensive cars, snorting coke, screwing, going to clubs, hanging out in homes, doing and saying very little? This many ways...page after page of sameness.
Ugh. I hope it's over soon.
I know, I know. That's the point of the book. I get it. Really. Wasted potential, wealth without purpose or consideration, the bad parenting in a land of false images, la di da. That doesn't hide the fact that the book is a bit of a bore.
references to MTV seem to show up on every other page. 80s-philes should love this: lots of mention of once-fashionable bands and such.
FINAL UPDATE:
So, snuff films and teen boys pimped out and all manner of debauchery near the end - no spoilers here as I offer not the whos and wherefores...
OK, so, on balance I think I'd recommend this, at least as fodder for debate about the merits of/state of 1980's U.S. fiction.
I finally figured out what was nagging me about the "Disappear Here" billboard motif - it's Ellis either homaging or sponging off Fitgzerald (eg., the eye in "Gatbsy.")
"Similar in writing style to American Psycho, in my opinion. That's a good thing, I guess. I'm only half way through but I already have a friend lined up to read it after me. I enjoy books with plenty of drug references and drug themes too. I wonder if the book is based loosely on the author's own life..."
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