The Informers is pretty awesome as well.

Yes! The variety of characters and threads Bret’s able to explore within a single cohesive universe is incredible. This weirdly heightens the sense of isolation of each of them. If you’re interested in more dynamic universes in fiction you should check out our next episode we will be announcing soon on Dante’s Inferno. The corollaries between Dante’s universe and Bret’s are amazing, even the first line of American Psycho is an Inferno reference. Both basically follow a journey through hell…

Yes that’s true! It makes you wonder how much of these stories were made up or actually happened. Donna Tartt’s The Secret History is almost like this one instead it’s Hampden College.

Much appreciated!

We like to hear that!! ❤️

One of our favorites too!

Yes! We loved the chapter where Patrick Bateman narrates…

We love BEE! We’d recommend Chuck Palaniuk, Jay McInerney, Donna Tart, Raymond Chandler to name a few....

@@bannedbookclub I've read the first 2 but I will check out the others. Thanks!

@@jonesfuture The Secret History is kinda in the BEE-universe. It's set in the same college just with a different name. In RoA someone refers to "that group of weird classics majors" (or something) and that group are the characters of Tartt's book. It's interesting to see the lifestyle of Ellis' charaters from the outside.

Roberto Bolano - 2666, Savage Detectives.

Chuck Palahniuk in some ways. Not afraid to shock you. Chuck is fascinating! Great author!

Hmm the movie is actually one of our favorites. It’s the closest adaptation to a BEE novel. But of course, nothing beats the book!

I'm reading glamorama now and its really exciting, very fast paced and a different context to the other books. I recommend it

Reading "Imperial Bedrooms" will give you the most comprehensive answer. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it, but the scary side of Clay that is shown more subtly in "Less Than Zero" begins to manifest in a much more blunt and horrifying way. But just looking at Clay in only the context of "Less Than Zero", he is already pretty much inhuman. The book follows him as he's exposed to more and more disturbing things, and the slight arc that his character has is his move from the apparent indifference to other's suffering to taking enjoyment in it. I think the moment where we can no longer excuse him as passive is the scene towards the end of the book with Julian, where there are hints that he is getting a certain pleasure. I used to think he was a kind of prototype for BEE's Patrick Bateman character, but even in the digressions of "American Psycho" there are signs of Bateman at least wanting to connect to other people. Clay is scarier because he is beyond even that. Maybe "Less Than Zero" means that he's something worse than neutral nothing, a malevolent force, a kind of American demon. See the devil horns they put on CLay's head for the "Imperial Bedrooms" cover art.

@@bannedbookclub the word you are looking for is «narcissist». The common point in all of Bret Easton’s books is narcissism, consumerism, toxic lifestyles. And the breakdown of the elite class. Where there is just focus on the bohemian lifestyle, and no focus on the classic virtues of the old elite like « stoicism», « hard work». And so on.