Rating: 
Summary: I Liked It
Review: I have never seen the movie but I did have an idea of what this book was about. At first I was under the impression that it was merely telling the tale of what Clay's life was like a daily basis living in L.A. But towards the end I started to think about how when you expand your horizons (as Clay does when he goes the school in New Hampshire)it makes you see things differently. I enjoyed it. This is my first Bret Easton Ellis book. I am thinking of going onto "American Psycho".
Rating:
Summary: nihilistic, but surprisingly moving
Review: (CONTAINS SPOILERS) I was past page 100 when I started thinking this novel was the same as every other novel by Bret Easton Ellis: repetitious dialogue that seems to just take up space; self-absorbed characters that talk that dialogue like they're infected with tumors from radiation fallout; and LOTS of drug consumption.Well, I must say I was surprised when, at around page 130 or so, "Less Than Zero" became a startlingly emotional and even tragic novel. The plot (such as it is) has Clay, an 18-year old college student, returning to his L.A. home for Christmas break only to discover his friends are lost in a world of drugs and partying. At first, Clay's interaction with these characters is redundant and dull, like a hangover after a drug warp. The first hundred pages are typically anticlimactic of Ellis, but when Clay begins to show concern for what's going on around him, "Less Than Zero" becomes frighteningly real. Some examples of great, tragic scenes are: the motel room where Clay watches the businessman have sex with his friend, Julian; the discovery of the dead body in the alley; and the rape of the 12-year old girl. Ellis lavishes such attention to these segments that they burn themselves onto your memory and embody the dead soul of his version of Los Angeles. But what I think won me over was the italicized sections that chronicled the decline of Clay's grandmother, who was dying of pancreatic cancer. I was shocked at how Ellis made these sections heartfelt, considering most of his novels since this one have just emphasized emotionless, heartless characters. Also surprisingly Un-Ellis were the scenes when Clay goes out alone into the desert or to a movie or to his old elementary school--this brings back the cold air of teenage alienation and is handled subtly, without exaggeration. Some may argue over Ellis's writing ability, but it's hard not to argue with the nihilism and emptiness of this debut. It's justified, and the characters assimilate to that emptiness because that's all they know how to do. Probably the most "moral" novel Ellis has written.
Rating:
Summary: another aspect of cultural studies?
Review: i read this book in one sitting. yes, it can be a bit trashy, and yes, i felt a little guilty indulging in characters that SEEM shallow, but this novel is very thought-provoking at the same time. i actually enjoyed pondering 1980s urban teenage angst. what makes it any less important than another period or culture? anyway if you want to at least be entertained and sucked into a story, this is an excellent choice.
Rating: 
Summary: Hands Up All Who Liked This Novel!
Review: Now, would all those who raised their hands please disqualify themselves from further literary judgments. Less than Zero is less than bad. It's tenth-generation derivative California noir by a silly trust-fund amateur with great connections and no talent. In many cases, critics can disagree and still respect each other; but if you liked this book, you're hopeless. From the clumsy allegory of its first line, "Nobody knows how to merge in LA" to its slow, formulaic visits to the most predictable sites of rich-boy decadence (snuff movies! cocaine! Whooooo, scary stuff!), it's Didion writ dumb, Chandler without corpses--unless you count the readers.
Rating: 
Summary: A good read
Review: Less than zero is a good book to read-a dark and disturbing novel. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: An astonishing debut from an excellent author.
Review: This is simply an astonishing piece of literature. It follows the everyday lives of a seventeen-year-old boy, called Clay, and his many acquaintances. Written from Clay's perspective, the novel is set in L.A. over the Christmas period, yet there is little celebration within the book. The novel contains many very powerful insights of the lives of older teenagers with too much money and too much time. Behind the glitz and glamour of Hollywood producers and film stars lies a world of alcoholism, sex and drug abuse. This book shows no boundaries in the immense detail used in the narration of the drug abuse and dealing but is written in such a style that all this is totally normal which, unfortunately, is how drugs are in the world. This style of writing shows that Ellis has a huge amount of insight in this area and helps the reader get to grips with the truth of drugs while not glorifying them at the same time. Clay shows some morals but the world around him is morally barren and ethically bereft. People, even children, are tortured and murdered, sometimes in the room next to the one he is in. His friends and the world he lives in think of death and murder as normality and that it would be odd not to have these things happen. To illustrate, within the novel Clay and his friends find a body in a back street ally and instead of being shocked or feeling curious, all they do is talk about it (while standing by the body!) in a chatty manner and even joke about it! Clay is the only one who seems affected and you get the feeling that he doesn't like the world he lives in. Less than Zero shows that behind the unethical films made in Hollywood lies a world that is as unethical as the films but in reality. This novel shows the terrible truth that money can never buy happiness. Less than Zero is a book that normally I would have avoided. This is not due to the subject matter (which actually attracts me to this book) but due to Bret Easton Ellis's style of writing. Ellis cares more for effect and imagery than for the plot and puts a lot more effort into describing things like the scene, clothes (which he can spend pages on) and inanimate objects such as electrical appliances. In Less than Zero there are no less than 10 major characters and a seethe of boyfriends, girlfriends, psychiatrists, friends and families. This style of writing and use of an immense amount of characters would usually scare me off from reading this book and I would physically run from this book if I knew it was written mostly in the present tense and not the past. However, I am ecstatic that I did continue, for these features led to a fascinatingly intense read!
Rating:
Summary: please
Review: pretty poor--it was written by a 20 year old and it reads like it. this book shows how in the real world connections are more important than talent. the symbol of a billboard that says "disappear here" could not have been used in any more of a juvenile way--read Gatsby again, Bret. he uses trembling hands to show the nervous state of his characters, but he uses it in every other line! All of the pop references are now, a little more than a decade later, so dated it's laughable. every character is "tan, blonde, white teeth." one character is even "pale beneath his tan." i know it's l.a. but come on. at a party a girl holds a joint in the back pocket of her jeans! anyone who's ever been around a youthful drug culture knows that stoners adore their buds and would never put a joint in the back pocket of their jeans. all of the narrator's male friends meld into one character. Blair is pretty cute though. she has potential if the author had worked on his stuff for about five more years. there are a few good lines in the book and the best part of it is the santa anta winds blowing off the lonely desert night--but since he stole that from his buddy joan didion, and she did it much better, it doesn't count. i'd bet a million bucks that old bret is emarassed by this book--pale beneath his tan.
Rating:
Summary: Exaggerated, But Close to the Truth
Review: I grew up in the Berkeley, California, and the characters are, unfortunately, fairly accurate. I personally went "on the wagon" at 15; I'd been drinking since I was a pre-teen. Most of my friends were into booze, coke, and wild sex. More than one of them were in rehab long before they turned 18. I noticed that most of the reviewers who felt this was a gross misrepresentation of Californians were either visitors here for a short time or haven't been here at all. Or maybe they just didn't hang out in the same circles represented in the book. Believe me, though the book is somewhat overblown, the characters are based on real people. I can attest to that; I was world-weary by the time I turned 21. Thank goodness age and more experiences gave me a better perspective on life. Feel sorry for the people the characters were based on. I'm sure most of them are dead or crazy by now.
Rating:
Summary: Much Less than Zero
Review: The title says it all. This is terrible read.
Rating: 
Summary: Good movie, marginal book
Review: Rarely do I enjoy a movie more than the book but it happened here. I watched the movie many times before I was aware it was from a novel. I eagerly awaited my read but found the movie not true to the book at all. In this case, that was a positive. Even with Andrew McCarthey's weak characterization in the movie, the characters are much more compelling in the movie than the book. There is really no one in this to like. As other reviewers have said, when you get a book with many great reviews and some totally disappointing reviews, it's probably something you should check out for your own taste. This may be such a book. I didn't get. Maybe you will. Great American literature? Not on your life!
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