By the age of 21, Bret Easton Ellis had penned his first novel, Less Than Zero, and was wining over critics who likened him to such literary icons as Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. While his ancestors may have written about the disaffection of the "Lost Generation," Ellis clearly articulates the existential dilemmas of the "MTV Generation."
Set in 1980's Los Angeles, Less Than Zero centers around Clay, a college freshman who returns home from his east coast university for the winter holidays. Immersed in a depraved world of expensive cars and drug abuse, Clay finds himself, as well as those around him, spiraling out of control in their respective attempts to find self-respect and validation. In his dizzying efforts to save his relationships with ex-girlfriends, old friends and family, Clay slowly begins to find an eerie comfort in his downward spiral.
Using a coarse, terse prose, Ellis constructs a novel that seamlessly ties together narrative exposition and stylized interpretation. Cultural depravity and spiritual emptiness -- themes central to the story -- are perfectly elucidated by Ellis' spare language. It thus makes for both a captivating story and a stunning literary accomplishment.
Ultimately, the most subtle and interesting aspect of Less Than Zero is the tension embedded within it: between the driven Ellis who wrote a daringly brilliant novel by the time he was legal and the apathetic Clay who determines that substance abuse and general neglect are necessary precursors to doing something that is meaningful. After reading the novel several times, I have yet to resolve this inherent conflict, but rest assured I'll be thinking about it all summer while I'm sipping margaritas on the beach. - Leigh Wasserstrom
