Less Than Zero

Bret Easton Ellis

Dec 2010 · Pan Macmillan

About this ebook

In 1985, Bret Easton Ellis shocked, stunned and disturbed with his debut novel, Less Than Zero. Published when he was just twenty-one, this extraordinary and instantly infamous work has done more than simply define a genre, it has become a rare thing: a cult classic and a timeless embodiment of the zeitgeist. It continues to be a landmark in the lives of successive generations of readers across the globe.

Filled with relentless drinking in seamy bars and glamorous nightclubs, wild, drug-fuelled parties, and dispassionate sexual encounters, Less Than Zero – narrated by Clay, an eighteen-year-old student returning home to Los Angeles for Christmas – is a fierce coming-of-age story, justifiably celebrated for its unflinching depiction of hedonistic youth, its brutal portrayal of the inexorable consequences of such moral depravity, and its author’s refusal to condone or chastise such behaviour.

Ratings and reviews

The book doesn't make you fall in love with any of its characters, it actually makes you loathe each and every single one. Detached and cold to the touch, a underrated modern classic.

Knallbra bok hvis du liker Ellis sin skrivestil. har lest denne både på norsk og engelsk - den drar deg rett tilbake til 80tallet;)

Not the best of Ellis's books, this gives a peek into the lives of semi-important people or people who consider themselves big fish in a small pond.

About the author

Bret Easton Ellis is the author of several novels, including Imperial Bedrooms, Less Than Zero, The Rules of Attraction, American Psycho, Glamorama and Lunar Park, and a collection of stories, The Informers. Less Than Zero, The Rules of Attraction, American Psycho and The Informers have all been made into films. His first work of non-fiction, White, was published in 2019. He is the host of the Bret Easton Ellis Podcast available on Patreon. He lives in Los Angeles.