brilliant peek into a tangled web
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This was the second book by Easton Ellis that I read (after american psycho) and focuses on the complicated lives of three characters caught up in a nasty love triangle (square? pentagon?) It slowly leaks information regarding the personas and backgrounds of the characters and does a good job of drawing you in, and putting you behind their eyes so to speak. For me the best thing about Ellis' works are the way the characters are linked, for example, one of the three primary characters in the rules of attraction, Sean Bateman, is the the brother of American psycho Pat Bateman (Sean stars in that book, for about 4 lines, and Pat is mentioned in this) Likewise, the love of one of the other leads lives, Victor, is the main character in Glamourama. These links are ingenious and very subtly deployed. From the second I clocked that Sean was Pat Batemans brother, I was hooked, and read all the rest of Easton Ellis' novels. I havent been dissapointed with a single one of them. Whilst this isnt as good as American Psycho, it stands alongside Glamorama, and above less than zero. A worthy read!
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Great insight
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This was the first Bret Easton Ellis book I'd read, so I wasn't sure on what to expect, but the book didn't disappoint. In fact it has made me stick a few more of his books in my Amazon wish list.
The start of the book sets the tone for the characters. It starts mid-sentence like your just dropping in on the book, and it ends mid-sentence, as if you just drift off not really caring about what has happened. This juxtaposition works very well and helps show the characters true essence.
Are money and drugs ruining the world? After reading "The Rules of Attraction" you will certainly believe so. The wild times, out-of-control students and disregard for anything other than oneself, doesn't paint a very pretty picture.
The story revolves around three main characters, Sean, Paul and Lauren. All rich, beautiful and delusional. Which attribute describes them best is hard to tell. As you go deeper the characters become entangled in various situations, some more serious than others. But all with the same terrible, depressing & soul-less attitude.
As the old cliche goes, after I started I didn't want to stop. A great read.
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"The Rules of Attraction"
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Having been dragged to the movie in the first instance I found it - confusing. Following a movie with very little plot, enough cocaine to bring down a herd of elephants and a twisted concept of love in the teenage world I became intruiged. So, I bought the book. I found that the book contains much of the missing information that causes the movie to lack substance. Although there is still no plot, per say, one has to acknowledge that the writer is exploring the concept that events in ones' life have no precise start and end - like a nice fairytale. This daily journal of student life from the characters' varying points of view had me heart-broken as I watched Paul read deep into a non-existent relationship. Mary's suicide over being unable to communicate her affection for Sean and what little humanity he has being quashed by Lauren all caused this novel to hold my attention. I agree, it's not the ideal book for someone who likes a strict plot and all the usual ingredients which make a 'classic' novel but if you can respect it for what it truly it (as well as the concept of the writer and the fact it's an exploratory piece of writing) then you should fully appreciate "The Rules of Attraction".
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Good but not the best from Easton-Ellis
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I am a self titled Bret Easton Ellis Fan having read all of his books more than once. But while this one has some really great dark comedy moments - I laughed out loud at Sean's ill-fated suicide attempt to the 'Monster Mash' - to me this comes across as Bret doing Less Than Zero again but without it's overall coherence, poetry and impact. As an Easton Ellis fan I am dissapointed at it's poetic bluntness. Maybe that is not the point, not the intention, but I still think that Ellis is at his best when seeing significance in small details and in the sureal. Here there is none of the deftly poetic prose as in for example Less Than Zero that puts the meaningless lives of the protagonists into perspective.
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A Very Good novel
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The Rules Of Attraction by Bret Easton Ellis, is his second novel, and definitely one of my favourites (the other being American Psycho). The story evolves around Sean Bateman, (Patrick Bateman's brother, the sick and demented character in American Psycho) Lauren, a girl who changes boyfriends as she changes majors, Paul, a bi-sexual who has the hots for Sean, and other guys around the college. It is set in New England during the Regan 80's. They spend their time getting drunk, doing drugs, and having sex. Yet, these characters are unlikable, they dont have a clue what they want to do in their future, or the present. They barely go to class, and that is all they do. What makes this book so good? The writing that Bret Easton Ellis does in this novel. This novel brings back the 80's; full of drugs, sex, and music, and it pokes fun at it. The novel is very entertaining, and yet very unique in many ways. The novel tells us about these slackers who rather have sex and get drunk, and yet they dont have a single clue of what they want to do with their lives. One of the thing that Ellis does not make us feel sorry for them, which is very different from other writers out there; James Patterson, Stephen King, John Grisham, Tom Clancy, and the list goes on. A very unique novel by one of the finest modern writers of our time. Sure the novel does not have a plot, but that is not what makes this book good; what makes it good is the story being told by Ellis about these people who rather do drugs than go to class most of the time, and have sex also, but did American Psycho have a plot? No. Most of Bret Easton Ellis's novels dont, they just show the people as they are, and you take it as it is. If you are looking for a book that has a plot, dont read this, but if you like Ellis's work (or you have never heard of him), then buy it or get it from your local library.
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