Bring a book to the beach – ‘Less Than Zero’

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By Kelley Cox

While you’re sipping on your drink of choice and soaking up those golden rays during Spring Break, be sure to bring some good reading material along – and I don’t mean your Biology textbook.

You may think your college lifestyle deserves its own reality show, but you’ll feel like a member of the Brady Bunch after reading “Less Than Zero” by Bret Easton Ellis, author of “American Psycho” and “The Rules of Attraction.”

“Less than Zero,” like the Elvis Costello song it is named after, has themes of emptiness and shallowness. This novel gives you a glimpse of what Paris and Britney’s lives must be like.

Set in the Reagan ‘80s, “Less Than Zero” follows college freshman Clay as he returns home to Los Angeles for winter break. You meet some of Clay’s hedonistic friends who make any “Real World” cast seem boring.

Clay faces the dilemma of rekindling a relationship with his high-school girlfriend while trying to rebuild his relationship with his high school best friend. Clay can’t deny that these people and his relationships with them have changed dramatically, in ways he never thought possible.

This novel touches on many taboo topics including snuff pornos, male prostitution, abundant drug use, bisexual encounters and the discovery of a dead body. It’s somewhat twisted and possibly morbid, but it’s an addictive read that will keep you turning the pages faster than any textbook ever has.

If you don’t mind a darker read that would fit in a category with “Fight Club” or “Trainspotting,” you must pick up this book. Although you may not be able to understand every pop-culture reference, you’ll get sucked into this book after a few pages and won’t be able to put it down. You’ll also want to read some of Ellis’ other novels; I recommend “The Rules of Attraction” and “Lunar Park.”

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Originally Published: Issue 599 - March 5, 2008

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