Bilingual Bonus: The book contains a brief chapter that follows the thoughts of Sean's roommate, Bertrand. Since he's French and the book follows the inner monologues of its current protagonist, the chapter is written in French. Cut to the chase". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 3, 2008 . Retrieved August 31, 2008. Popular Is Dumb: Sean is highly sought after as a sexual and romantic prospect by other characters. He's also both Book Dumb and almost fatally Street Dumb, and in general just not a very bright guy. Ellis released his first work of non-fiction, White, a collection of essays on contemporary political culture, in 2019. [41]

The book was adapted into a film of the same name in 2002. Ellis has remarked that among film adaptations of his books, The Rules of Attraction came closest to capturing his sensibility and recreating the world of his novels. [1] Plot summary [ edit ] The basis for the major motion picture starring James Van Der Beek, Shannyn Sossamon, Jessica Biel, and Kate Bosworth.Tobias, Scott (May 7, 2008). "The New Cult Canon: The Rules Of Attraction". The A.V. Club . Retrieved July 24, 2011. Reviewing the audiobook for The Times in 2021, Theo Zenou called it Ellis's "weirdest, most interesting work in years" and felt it was "rendered all the more absorbing" by the audiobook format. [1] The story's very ambiguity steadily feeds its mysteriousness and power, and Danielewski's mastery of postmodernist and cinema-derived rhetoric up the ante continuously, and stunningly. One of the most impressive excursions into the supernatural in many a year. Gossipy Hens: Nearly every chapter in the book refers to a handful of minor characters who are heard gossiping about everyone else. The novel is written in the first-person, continuing the aesthetic of Ellis' earlier Less than Zero, and is told from the points of view of multiple characters. The main narrators are three students: Paul, Sean, and Lauren. A number of other characters also provide first-hand accounts throughout the story, which takes place at the fictional Camden College, a liberal arts school on the East Coast of the United States. The three main characters (who rarely attend class) end up in a love triangle within a sequence of drug runs, "Dressed to Get Screwed" parties, and "End of the World" parties.

It is definitely no secret that the 80’s were a wild decade, but holy shit does this story ever make that time period sound completely over the top and insane. I have always been slightly disappointed that I didn’t get to experience the 80’s, mainly because the music during that decade contains some of my favourite songs and artists of all time. After reading The Rules of Attraction however, I’m wondering if I would have ever been able to survive going to college during this era. I’m usually not a you-should-definitely-read-the-novel type of guy and you’re not into Bret Easton Ellis, this adaptation of The Rules of Attraction will definitely get the job done, but… YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY READ THE NOVEL. It’s richer, more complex and ambiguous and features cameos from characters in other Bret Easton Ellis novels. This is good, but why settle for good when you spent time with something great?Dennis Widmyer. "Bret Easton Ellis". Archived from the original on October 18, 2007 . Retrieved September 26, 2007. Child, Ben (June 12, 2012). "Could Bret Easton Ellis bring Fifty Shades of Grey to fruition?". The Guardian . Retrieved July 30, 2012. Bret Easton Ellis and Jay McInerney (Bright Lights, Big City) Discuss the 90's Drug Culture – YouTube

Williams, Wyatt (June 19, 2010). "Bret Easton Ellis talks film adaptations". Atlanta A&E Blog. Creative Loafing Atlanta. Archived from the original on June 24, 2010 . Retrieved July 24, 2011. Rape as Drama: Lauren in the opening scene, while she's drunk, passed out and being videotaped by another guy watching. Disturbingly, it's how she loses her virginity. Both book and film come within a whisker of playing it for comedy. In 2010, Ellis released a follow-up to Less than Zero, Imperial Bedrooms. Taking place 25 years after the events of Less than Zero, it combines that book's ennui with the postmodernism of Lunar Park. It met with disappointing sales.

The book and the film adaptation feature examples of the following tropes:

Bath Suicide: Sean's admirer (Mary in the book, the "Food Service girl" in the film) who sends him anonymous love letters. She does this in reaction to realizing that Sean doesn't feel anything for her (or even realize she exists) and hooks up with other girls. Lauren changes boyfriends every time she changes majors and still pines for Victor who split for Europe months ago and she might or might not be writing anonymous love letter to ambivalent, hard-drinking Sean, a hopeless romantic who only has eyes for Lauren, even if he ends up in bed with half the campus, and Paul, Lauren's ex, forthrightly bisexual and whose passion masks a shrewd pragmatism. They waste time getting wasted, race from Thirsty Thursday Happy Hours to Dressed To Get Screwed parties to drinks at The Edge of the World or The Graveyard. The Rules of Attraction is a poignant, hilarious take on the death of romance. Bret Easton Ellis trains his incisive gaze on the kids at self-consciously bohemian Camden College and treats their sexual posturings and agonies with a mixture of acrid hilarity and compassion while exposing the moral vacuum at the center of their lives. Roxanne - A friend of Lauren's who, like Sean, gets drugs from Rupert. Roxanne dates Rupert during the novel and Sean states that he was also seeing her at one point.

but The Rules of Attraction is something different, something special. its playfulness with narrative and perspective is actually rather brilliant. i'm not sure i've read another novel where fully one-third of the narrative was a jerk-off fabrication by one of the characters (one who isn't a psychotic serial killer, that is). perhaps prior to Rules, Ellis somehow exorcised all that repulsive self-pity that inundanted Zero and then replaced it with malevolent wit. and better yet, he puts his usual snarkiness in the mouths of characters who - although soulless - still genuinely face more life challenges than his prior student portraits.Well, like, the dude was totally depressed because, well, the dude turned into a bug and freaked out. Apple Computer, Inc. (March 26, 1999). "Pro/Film – The Rules of Attraction". Apple. Archived from the original on November 6, 2005 . Retrieved July 24, 2011.