Amid all the brouhaha surrounding Bret Easton Ellis’ new novel, “Lunar Park,” no one has asked my opinion about it. Since nobody asked, I’m going to tell it anyway.
I haven’t read “Lunar Park,” nor do I intend to. To all of his fans reading this, I admit that I’ve never read a Bret Easton Ellis novel, though I did get through the first five pages of “Bright Lights, Big City.” Oops, wrong writer! I meant “Less Than Zero,” of course. Five pages, front and back.
“Lunar Park” has generated quite a bit of press since its release, most of it negative. (For an excellent review, read Steve Almond’s perspective in the Boston Globe.) A few critics have defended Mr. Ellis, who traffics in graphic sex, gore, and clothing labels. Ellis, who became famous with “Less Than Zero” way back in the 1980s, has (apparently) gotten grosser and nastier with each book, the apex (or nadir) of violence being “American Psycho.”
Now, I could actually do some research, or even read “Lunar Park,” and pretend that I have something substantial to say about the novel. However, there’s precisely 2,395,087 books ahead of “Lunar Park” on the must-read list. I can’t comment if the blood-and-screwing aspect to Ellis’ work is brilliant commentary on social mores or sensationalistic crap. You won’t hear me weighing in on his (reported) obsession with designer names, which (apparently) are meant to say something about our consumption-driven society.
But I am familiar with the man’s career track, and anyone with a passing familiarity with Mr. Ellis can see a clear arc to his work. Note that I don’t have any opinion on any of his books — like I said, I haven’t read them.
His career has been as improbable as it has been successful. Put yourself in his shoes, and you’ll see what I mean.
Start out as a collegian with a modicum of writing talent and lots of ambition. A well-known author teaching an undergraduate class reads your tale of adolescent ennui in Los Angeles. The author helps get the manuscript — christened “Less Than Zero” — published to great fanfare. Critics are generally not moved, but because of your age and inexperience, they cut you some slack. The sensational aspects of the book are praised for their realism and cutting satire.
Unlike Bret, Andrew McCarthy didn’t stay famous
Even the critics who don’t like “Less Than Zero” think you’ve got major potential. Some go as far as saying you could be the new Voice of a Generation; you get lumped in other writers of lurid urban tales, say, Jay McInerney and Tama Janowitz. “Less Than Zero” sells a bazillion books and its wunderkind author gets a whopper movie deal.
So you’re suddenly famous, rich, and barely of legal drinking age. And you write a second book, “The Rules of Attraction,” which is similar to the first, simply moving the action from L.A. to a college campus. And it sells another bazillion copies. However, it doesn’t quite generate the buzz as “Less Than Zero.” Sure, there’s another movie, and lots of dough, but fewer critics are hailing you as the voice of a new generation.
And then, several years later, your contemporaries start to drop out of the literary scene, one by one. Their books aren’t hot anymore. Neither are yours. Suddenly, you’re lumped with them, even if you’re still publishing. No longer are you the Bad Boy of modern fiction. In fact, things are worse than getting bad reviews. People are forgetting about you.
But you’re used to the attention, the partying, the models. So what do you do? Simple. You write “American Psycho,” a book illuminating violence of such a grotesque nature that everyone from Michiko Kakutani to George Will writes about it — they hate it, of course, but they’re writing about it. Your star is shining bright again. “American Psycho” sells a few metric tons, and the producers of the film version cut you a seven-figure check.
Next step: “Glamorama,” which partakes of the same themes as your other books — except you’re supposedly commenting on yourself, really, and the vapid world of models and blow that you’ve inhabited the past decade. The positive reviews are less than zero, but you’re back on your best-seller game. The critics say that you’ve got some talent, sure, but it’s all wasted on rote descriptions of exteriors and lacks any depth; you can spot a pair of $2,000 shoes, but can’t examine the soul. Ms. Kakutani slams “Glamorama” in the N.Y. Times and you call the woman “Bitchiko” in a magazine interview, but never mind.
So there’s your career up until now. What can you do to keep up the big ‘mo? Start “Lunar Park” in the first-person as Bret Easton Ellis, writing a mea culpa for all the nasty sex n’ gore you’ve peddled the past 20 years, then turn the narrative into a suburban phantasmagoria — with all the nasty sex n’ gore you’ve just disowned. You get to “comment” on the vicissitudes of literature and a society obsessed with sex and violence, all in one swipe.
Get a few positive reviews, get many negative ones. Don’t worry about those naysayers. You’ve cracked the formula. Each book needs to be more attention-grabbing than the last, which means more sex, violence, and rhetorical tricks.
Congratulations. You’ve found your voice. Better yet, you’ve got an audience.
Is Bookfraud jealous of a career like that, with best-sellers and loyal readers? You betcha. Does my assessment have the whiff of disdain? All the way. Am I being objective, since I haven’t read Ellis’ work? No way in hell.
But like a friend once told me when I expressed a desire to be rich, in order to have Bill Gates’ money, you have to be Bill Gates. In order to have the kinds of things Mr. Ellis has, you have to be a writer like Mr. Ellis. And that’s just not going happen, even if I tried. I just don’t have that kind of talent.
“I just don’t have that kind of talent.” Har Har! ::wink wink:: To be honest, his books and movies never appealled to me either. Just not my bag. BTW, is Mr. Ellis gay? He sounds gay.
I’m about to have a book review I wrote published in a scholarly journal–shall I expect groupies knocking at my door?
“I just don’t have that kind of talent.” Har Har! ::wink wink:: To be honest, his books and movies never appealled to me either. Just not my bag. BTW, is Mr. Ellis gay? He sounds gay.
“I just don’t have that kind of talent.” Har Har! ::wink wink:: To be honest, his books and movies never appealled to me either. Just not my bag. BTW, is Mr. Ellis gay? He sounds gay.
I’m about to have a book review I wrote published in a scholarly journal–shall I expect groupies knocking at my door?
I’m about to have a book review I wrote published in a scholarly journal–shall I expect groupies knocking at my door?
Never heard of “Ellis” but i have heard of “Bookfraud”!
Damn good article. I can’t say I’ve read any of his work. The subject matter just doesn’t interest me…
Never heard of “Ellis” but i have heard of “Bookfraud”!
Never heard of “Ellis” but i have heard of “Bookfraud”!
bees: he’s not my bag, either. if you couldn’t figure that out.
amy: congrats on the publishing. no groupies for book reviews, sorry.
michelle: you make me proud.
kero: thanks for the compliment. i don’t find the subject matter and style t compelling, either, but to ellis’ credit, he does have loyal readers.
Damn good article. I can’t say I’ve read any of his work. The subject matter just doesn’t interest me…
Damn good article. I can’t say I’ve read any of his work. The subject matter just doesn’t interest me…
bees: he’s not my bag, either. if you couldn’t figure that out.
amy: congrats on the publishing. no groupies for book reviews, sorry.
bees: he’s not my bag, either. if you couldn’t figure that out.
amy: congrats on the publishing. no groupies for book reviews, sorry.
michelle: you make me proud.
kero: thanks for the compliment. i don’t find the subject matter and style t compelling, either, but to ellis’ credit, he does have loyal readers.
michelle: you make me proud.
kero: thanks for the compliment. i don’t find the subject matter and style t compelling, either, but to ellis’ credit, he does have loyal readers.
hmm.
very well put.
ellis hit me like a ton of bricks as a young teen.
quite a thoughtful treatment of his work.
hmm.
very well put.
ellis hit me like a ton of bricks as a young teen.
quite a thoughtful treatment of his work.
hmm.
very well put.
ellis hit me like a ton of bricks as a young teen.
quite a thoughtful treatment of his work.
I must say I’m a fan of Ellis. I haven’t read Glamarama or the new one, but the other books are hilarious. I like his quick wit and how he takes modern culture, products and brands and raises them to such exaggerated heights as to dismiss them.
Am I jealous of Ellis. Well, sure. I’m jealous of most any author with success and a bank account, but I still enjoy his writing.
Why does it matter if he’s gay? Does it rally matter? No.
I must say I’m a fan of Ellis. I haven’t read Glamarama or the new one, but the other books are hilarious. I like his quick wit and how he takes modern culture, products and brands and raises them to such exaggerated heights as to dismiss them.
Am I jealous of Ellis. Well, sure. I’m jealous of most any author with success and a bank account, but I still enjoy his writing.
Why does it matter if he’s gay? Does it rally matter? No.
I must say I’m a fan of Ellis. I haven’t read Glamarama or the new one, but the other books are hilarious. I like his quick wit and how he takes modern culture, products and brands and raises them to such exaggerated heights as to dismiss them.
Am I jealous of Ellis. Well, sure. I’m jealous of most any author with success and a bank account, but I still enjoy his writing.
Why does it matter if he’s gay? Does it rally matter? No.
Doesn’t matter at all if he’s gay. Actually, I might like him more if he were. I love the gays.
Rats. Maybe I can publish a bodice-ripper in my spare time.
Doesn’t matter at all if he’s gay. Actually, I might like him more if he were. I love the gays.
Doesn’t matter at all if he’s gay. Actually, I might like him more if he were. I love the gays.
Rats. Maybe I can publish a bodice-ripper in my spare time.
Rats. Maybe I can publish a bodice-ripper in my spare time.
E.E’s work as always made my skin itch and crawl, and not in a good way. I read two of his books… tried giving him a chance the second time around…I’ve always felt that I’ve wasted my time… but not in a good way. Never again. Then I felt really guilty.
E.E’s work as always made my skin itch and crawl, and not in a good way. I read two of his books… tried giving him a chance the second time around…I’ve always felt that I’ve wasted my time… but not in a good way. Never again. Then I felt really guilty.
E.E’s work as always made my skin itch and crawl, and not in a good way. I read two of his books… tried giving him a chance the second time around…I’ve always felt that I’ve wasted my time… but not in a good way. Never again. Then I felt really guilty.
Have yet to read his work… Very good article, dare I say
Have yet to read his work… Very good article, dare I say
Have yet to read his work… Very good article, dare I say