Review - Less Than Zero

Book Info Box
Title: Less Than Zero
Author: Bret Easton Ellis
Publisher: Picador

First I have to explain what brought me to this book. Like a lot of the last 2 weeks it was that Bloc Party interview in NME, it was mentioned that the first song on the new album (called Song For Clay (Disappear Here)) is written about this book. After reading it I find it hard to believe that the whole album wasn't based on it.

Before watching the first Pokemon movie no film had ever made me cry before. Before hearing the first Billy Talent album no music had ever made me feel genuinely angry before. Before reading this, no book had ever made me stop and wonder if I really wanted to keep reading.

Less Than Zero is the story of Clay, a rich kid who's coming home for a month. Pretty quickly we find out that Clay is social, popular and rather attractive. He's also a cocaine addict. The book reads as he narrates the 4 weeks he spends back in LA after spending a year at college in New Hampshire, the style is odd and takes a little getting used to but after a while it becomes essential to know what Clay's thinking in his head about the people he's seeing and the things he's doing. There's no coherent structure to his routine, the setting constantly jumps from the streets of LA to sitting at home doing coke in his room to a strangers bedroom before and after sex. Clay though isn't really the star of the story, he's just the narrator through most of the book.

The real stars are Clay's 'friends' and the rest of the people who populate his world. These are brilliantly fleshed out and we fairly easily learn of their relationship with Clay. Blair for example is his ex/current girlfriend, Rip the drug dealer, Julian the fellow addict rapidly losing control of his life, Trent the moral-less model, Kay the party girl who only knows where her mother is by reading showbiz magazines. The main point of the story though is Clay trying to decide whether he should stay in LA with his friends or go back to college when the holiday is over.

Initially the issues are fairly simple and clear-cut. Excessive drug use, binge drinking, meaningless sex, eating disorders, family separation etc. As the story progresses though it becomes more serious and disturbing, death from overdose, mental health. What's more disturbing though is the casual way in which these are referred to by the characters as general topics of conversation. The real disturbance though is reserved for those who make it all the way through to the final stages. I won't say what lies in wait for those brave enough to go that far but many scenes brought me close to vomiting from the sheer horror of them. Yet they aren't told in detail, the reader is left to fill in the blanks when the author or even Clay decides that its just too much, this leads to some mental images that won't be removed easily.

Less Than Zero is a disturbing and horrific tale of rich kids in LA, yet at the same time its brilliantly written with a cast of characters that will provoke feeling and opinion from everyone who reads it. Its not for everyone but as a first novel this really shows off what Bret Easton Ellis can do.

In 1 Line
If you've got the stomach then it deserves your time, if not then you're missing out.

Score
Eight (8)