The Rules of Attraction

Daughter loves it

Wow. After having read 'The Rules of Attraction' by Brett Easton Ellis, that word popped into my mind. I have never read anything like this novel. The characters are hardly likable, pretentious and lost. Sean (the brother of Patrick Bateman from 'American Psycho') is hedonistic, apathetic, and coasting through college with drugs as his loyal companion. He's promiscuous, but in love (or at least he thinks he is) with Lauren. Lauren is a girl who can't make her mind up about a major & the affections of her boyfriend Victor, currently backpacking through Europe. Paul completes this triangle. Once the boyfriend of Lauren, he has his eyes set on Sean. The novel chronicles the fall term of 1985 at Camden College: a pseudo-Bohemian, liberal arts college on the East Coast. The novel contains other assorted characters meant to function as playthings for the three main characters. Instead of chapters, we read point of views from Sean, Lauren, and Paul leaving us with unprotected entry into their thoughts. Different P.O.V.s leave some questions unanswered like to what degree are these relationships imaginative or truly real? Ellis has written a funny and shocking story about the "death of romance" and the beginnings of lust and apathy. The story is raw and unflinchng leaving the reader to make its own decisions about what the point of this book may be. In my opinion... It raises questions about not just these select groups of college students, but also about America during the Reagan 80's. Ellis is a moralist, in an indirect way holding up a portrait of ourselves and a decadent 80's America, demanding us to look at it, accept it, and either laugh at its nostalgia and history or cry for its moral vacancy.

I stumbled upon Bret Easton Ellis's work after watching the movie adaptation American Psycho. It is my favourite movie of all time, and one of the only movies I can watch over and over. I was curious about the book, so I purchased it. Ellis has a very unique style of writing, one that took me some getting used to. The only way I can think to describe it is... Nora Roberts on meth. Bad metaphor, I know. I was drawn to how surreal he created his characters and the world they live in, something that appears to be normal on the surface but beneath is warped. After reading American Psycho I was curious about his other works, so I decided to purchase this novel. Again, I experienced the surreal in the seemingly normal setting -- this time at an arts college with three different main characters. I won't get into the plot, because I will probably spoil it. Basically, this book is about three college students who become entangled. Rather than being a typical novel with a plot, setting, characters, introduction, body and conclusion, it plays out like a journal written by a college (or rather three) student/s wired on meth. If you are hoping for character growth and happy endings, then you will be disappointed. The characters are depressing and completely void of emotion, which could be put down to the constant drug abuse. They are also extremely delusional, which could also be put down to that. If you were looking for a heart-felt, emotional journey where the characters overcome obstacles then you would be extremely disappointed with this. The book leads nowhere, and there is no real plot, but rather a documentation of events according to three different points of view. But looking at it from a different perspective, it is actually quite brilliant. Ellis is making a mockery of the young, rich college stereotype -- it isn't a case of poor character creation and poor story planning, it is precisely what it is meant to be. It can be hilarious at times, but it can also be a drag. Though it is a drag, I can guarantee you won't be able to stop reading. If you want to read something real quirky and a little fun, and can look past the lack of personality, the over-usage of drugs, constant partying and sex, then go ahead and read this.. even just to satiate your curiosity. Or you could just check out the movie... either way I'm giving it three stars. Not great, but not exactly garbage either.

Less Than Zero established Ellis as a spokesperson of Generation X. It was a tale of decadence, narcissism, and life in the Reagan '80s. Where Less Than Zero brought us into a world where cocaine tossed about like chocolate and the shimmering sunlight that paints L.A. is a facade. The Rules of Attraction was Bret Easton Ellis' follow-up to Less Than Zero and as such is written in much the same head-space. But The Rules of Attraction takes us to Camden wherein Sean Batemen, Lauren Hynde, and Paul Denton take part in a romp where sex is currency and the economy is booming. Sean, Lauren, and Paul are not likeable people. They are shallow, careless, and sexually ambiguous. Yet Ellis' deft writing skills keep you engaged in each of their stories. Events intersect as you get to see their perspective on each situation. Some cameos by your favorite characters in Less Than Zero, Glamorama, and American Psycho are especially delightful and bring some variety into this interesting world Bret Easton Ellis has created. The book summary will tell you that this is a story about the death of romance, and that is mostly true, but reading about the naivete of these characters as they try to traverse the complex land of emotion is fascinating. They're cold, shallow, and detached in much the same way as the decade from which they are from. Yet by the very last page you'll find yourself missing them when they're gone. The Rules of Attraction is a quintessential novel, not just for fans of Bret Easton Ellis' deadpan delivery but for all fans of satire.

日本人の学生も世界中で「日本の大学って勉強しなくっていいらしい」って見られてるとこもあるらしいけど、なんじゃこりゃ。アメリカの大学生活ってこんなんなのか？なんでもアリやんか。特にこれといったストーリーもなく、ダランダランと欲望の溺れていく様が描かれて、逆にそれがリアルでいいのかも。ただ目的もなくやりたいことだけをやるっていう、僕ら現代人の姿だぜ。いいや、往生しなっせ！

Best book ever.

Having read American Psycho and Glamorama, I'm on a mission to read all Brett Easton Ellis's works, because they're the most thought provoking novels I've read in a long time. The Rules of Attraction's protagonist is Sean Bateman, the younger brother of Patrick Bateman from American Psycho. Like when Sean makes an appearance in one chapter of American Psycho for a Birthday meal Patrick narrates and pays for, Patrick is in a chapter of Rules of Attraction, where the brothers meet at the hospital where their father is dying. Patrick narrates this scene also, I suppose because his account of the brother's relationship is more mature and grounded in reality. Their relationship is an important part of what makes them both tick (Sean says his only memories of their family home include Patrick, they must have once or at the risk of sounding too unmanly still be close) and it is a nice touch by Ellis to meet them in both novels, even if only for a brief chapter. Evelyn, Patrick's girlfriend's name pops up too. Unlike American Psycho, Rules of Attraction is written from the opinions of numerous characters, all friends and family of Sean's, despite Patrick's jokes about doubting whether Sean has even fifty friends to put in a gadget he bought for his Birthday. The characters are all highly developed and multi-faceted. Their lives contain real life issues people face in their younger years such as alcoholism, sexuality, drug addiction, abortion, suicide, obsession, travelling, promiscuity, academic stresses, breakdown of parents marriages, death, insanity, etc. Bearing resemblances to Generation X by Douglas Coupland, Rules of Attraction is in my opinion better, due to it being longer and having a multitude of characters, with more dynamic, pressing issues. There's a sense of urgency, which contrasts highly with the mellow characters in Generation X who work in diners and spend their time making up stories and relaxing by the pool. In Rules of Attraction there is always something crazy going on in the lives of the students that does not seem overly far fetched. However the bonds between the characters are less strong in Rules of Attraction and I imagine Sean will not stay in touch with many if any of his friends from university. Even if they are closer physically, their ties are often shallow and based around sex, drugs or "rock and roll deal with it." Lauren and Sean spend days not speaking once to eachother. The characters rarely confide in one another and when they do what they say tends to be hurtful, I guess because they have all being thrown together at university with little in common apart from a lot of free time, cash, academic ideas and opportunities to mess up. Unlike American Psycho where the characters are very wealthy, in Rules of Attraction many of Sean's friends are not so financially affluent and he even mocks wealth early in the novel saying there's nothing worse than a rich drug addict (Marc). He himself does not have a job, but lives off money Patrick sends him from their father's estate. Sean is more of a drug dealer than a drug addict, and unlike Marc does not use heroine. Despite his wealth, he is still in debt with other students and townie drug dealers alike. Sean's character is likeable, similar to Patrick his older brother he wants to fall in love and experiments in straight and gay relationships, but there are clear points in the novel that explain why the relationships deteriorate and most of the characters then move on and the novel follows the intricate web of interlinked sexual encounters and friendships, so consistent with university life. The characters are more youthful, chaotic and hopeful than the tarnished, weary, often narcissistic characters in American Psycho whose actions seem repetitive. Lauren's character aside, they seem less conscious of sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV despite their promiscuity and there are a couple of unwanted pregnancies. In spite of there being no killing sprees and bloody bed sheets, the novel seems far grimier and dirtier than American Psycho. I was left feeling I had just climbed out of a dirty, sweaty bed sit, having not washed in over a month. This is an excellent novel anybody would enjoy to read, regardless of class, age and gender.

good book, great author nuff said OMGWTFBBQKFCSTFUGTFO!!11one11!!!eleven1one OMGOMGOMGWTF REALLY THIS BOOK IS SO AWSUM OMG U GAIZ MOST BOOK EVAR!!1one

Classic Bret Easton Ellis