Bret Easton Ellis - 1964
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San Pedro High School in San Pedro, California
I. Biography
Bret Easton Ellis was born in Los Angeles, California on March 7, 1964. As the son of Robert Martin Ellis, a real estate investment analyst, and Dale Ellis, a housewife, this young author grew up amid the divorce of his mother and alcoholic father. Besides writing a few books at the age of sixteen, Ellis played the keyboards for various new wave groups and adapted well to the LA punk scene of the early 1980s—a time period which he used for the setting of several of his books.
Ellis's first published novel, Less Than Zero (1985), a satire of the wealthy youth of Los Angeles, supposedly saved him from falling into depression and exhibited his continuous dissatisfaction with the upper-middle class society of America. Although this novel was rumored to be autobiographical, Ellis claimed that he was writing not of himself but of "a person that [he] found morally bankrupt"(Write Stuff Interviews, 1994). Nevertheless, Ellis's works disclose an ironic and satirical fixation on a culture that revolves its ethics around wealth and social status.
After the publication of Less Than Zero, Ellis escaped LA and became a student at Bennington College at Vermont. He now lives in New York City, where he developed the theme for his gruesome and controversial novel, The American Psycho; which Entertainment Weekly (Jan. 6, 1998 issue), reputed will soon be developed into a film. In addition, Ellis starred in a documentary about his life, titled This Is Not An Exit. Over his career, however, Ellis remains a topic of debate, due to the ambiguous style and the obscure themes of his works. Ellis claims: "I've never searched for controversy...though I have to admit that the controversy surrounding my work has probably, in some ways, given me a broader readership" (Bold Type Editors Interview).
II. Literary Works
Less Than Zero (1985) - A detached narration of a college student whom returns to his glitzy LA life, after four months of attending a college on the East Coast. This "startling and hypnotic" novel as claimed by Interview magazine's David Masello, reflects the disaffection and amorality associated with a generation that abuses its disoriented world of sex, drugs, fame and fortune. Although the book achieves Ellis's shocking message, Less Than Zero, is hardly a pleasurable read. The fragmented and one-dimensional text obviously reflects the shallow and passive attitudes of his characters yet, in the meantime, make the book a very tedious experience. The novel remains fairly static; a continuous account of party after party, disrupted only by a few sporadic passages of crude and repulsive descriptions.
The Rules of Attraction (1987) - A novel of three college students wandering aimlessly through life, only to become entangled in a seamy love triangle. The Rules of Attraction can be seen as another attack at the upper-middle class youth, yet this time, the novel is set in the East coast, rather than West coast.
American Psycho (1991) - A controversial novel of a young and handsome serial killer, who lives amongst the trends and wealth of affluent New York, during the 1980s. The incoherent main character brutally kills masses of people, particularly women, for no apparent reason other than pure pleasure. The American Psycho developed a tremendous amount of complaints, due to Ellis's degrading presentation of women throughout the novel and his depiction of a "yuppie mass murder"; in which the author claims as misunderstandings of the book's true intentions. (Also published in Spanish)
The Informers (1994) - A collaboration of separate stories individually express a certain degree of disgust with the American society. The novel depicts the unattached lives of thirteen unconventional characters, from Los Angeles, who remain as distant from this "fast-lane" city as possible. Described as an boundless novel of "satir[e] and iron[y]", by Phil Baker (book reviewer).
Glamorama (1998) - Declared as one of Ellis's better novels illustrates the life of a celebrity and glamour obsessed young male. Set in Manhattan, the main character becomes "trapped on the other side in a much darker place, where fame and terrorism and family and politics are inextricably linked."-Publisher
III. Los Angeles, California, and Bret Easton Ellis
Bret Easton Ellis, born and raised in Los Angeles, mentions numerous places and streets in his novel Less Than Zero- all revolving around the wealthy and trendy "hotspots" of Southern California.
Melrose Avenue: An endless array of fashionable, yet unique, shops and restaurants in Beverly Hills. This is a continuously popular spot for shopping and socialization by both the celebrity and the public. The characters of Less Than Zero often explain their trip to Melrose to meet with friends and drug dealers.
Sunset Boulevard: The infamous street filled with nightclubs and restaurants that cater to the chic and the famed of Los Angeles. The main character in Ellis's novel constantly finds himself coasting Sunset Blvd. and is shocked by a billboard that reads, "Disappear Here", overlooking this detached and flamboyant setting.
The Valley: A series of cities (also mentioned in Less Than Zero) including: Encino, Tarzana, Woodland Hills, Sherman Oaks, Chatsworth, and Sun Valley. "The valley" is presumably looked down upon by the more elite groups of Beverly Hills.
The Colonies: Refers to a reclusive location in Malibu Beach where many prosperous celebrities live. This gated community is located on the beach and is home only to the extremely wealthy.
Palm Springs: A vacation getaway, a few hours southwest of Los Angeles. This city is filled with well-known golf courses, glistening pools, splendid hotels and extremely sunny weather; which makes it the optimum location for a weekend vacation. Palm Springs is a popular spot for college and high school students during Spring Break and Memorial Day weekend.
KROQ: An alternative radio station popular in Los Angeles
The Florentine Gardens, The ROXY, The Palace, The Edge, The Nowhere Club, The Lands End:
Prevailing nightclubs located in Hollywood. Some, such as The Florentine Gardens, are fairly mainstream dance clubs. Some of the others are more exclusive clubs, featuring popular bands and D.Js.
Spago: A fashionable restaurant in Hollywood that privileges celebrities and those of a high social status. Restaurant customers are seated according to a chart, developed by a person's rank in fame.
IV. Works by Bret Easton Ellis
Less Than Zero (1985)
The Rules of Attraction (1987)
American Psycho (1991)
The Informers (1994)
Glamorama (1998)
VI. Sources
Barnes and Noble: Reviewed by the Publisher, Gale Research, The Publisher Library
Journal, National Review, Phil Baker, David Masello
Bold Type: Bret Easton Ellis: http://www.boldtype.com/0199/ellis/index.html
Ellis, Bret Easton Less Than Zero
Bret Easton Ellis:
http://home.swbell.net/ligurio/breteellis.html
This essay was submitted by a student of Grant Farley, a teacher at San Pedro High School, San Pedro, California.