The opening of Bret Easton Ellis’ latest novel, Lunar Park, really drew me in. Ellis is writing from a fictional vantage point with himself as the lead character, something which has been done by such diverse authors as Philip Roth, Martin Amis, and Paul Theroux. However, not with this much aplomb-Bret Easton Ellis is a representation of all his critics and a manifestation of neurosis, addictive, boorish, and selfish behavior. He is a drunk, a drug addict, sexually ambivalent, distant, and barely able to function in society despite his success and the good will of his new wife and enabler the movie star Jayne Dennis, also the mother of his unacknowledged son from their earlier tryst. He has father issues as well, his father died and they had an unresolved relationship, not unlike his estranged relationship with his own progeny. It plays out like a horror story as the author tries to confront all of his issues, as well as dealing with an increasingly hostile world where young boys have gone missing. A murderer is re-creating the murders of Patrick Bateman from American Psycho, and a graduate student writing a thesis on hi swork that he is tryng to bed has gone missing. All the while Ellis is taking drugs and drinking as if his life depended on it-this alter ego clearly has issues. I think the story builds and creates a tension that keeps the reader turning the pages. I think Eliis is misunderstood and is mostly amoral satirist, and in this one the biggest object of satire is himself. I really enjoyed the premise. I feel compelled to read Glamorama as well, since I’ve only read Less Than Zero and The Rules Of Attraction.
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