Bret Easton Ellis is
the writer you read for the process of reading. It’s the sort of prose that
swings. With a novel like The Rules Of
Attraction (or American Psycho,
for that matter), you know exactly what the author is getting at on page 7. And
while most novels would die a humiliating death in a similar situation, this
one doesn’t.
It’s a cliché you go ahead
and use: the writing breathes, on
every page. Ellis pummels you with yet another punch (here mostly coming by way
of dialogues) and throws you (oh with gusto) into the bohemian vibe of a bunch
of spoilt American students at the fictional Camden College. Whether you like
any of these characters or not – that’s a different matter. But you are right
in the midst of them, you don't want to be anywhere else, and that should count for something.
