Two Words, One Answer.
Easton Ellis
 The Informers $24.96 Let's do this by the numbers: 1. Even as a low budget film, it should have a plot somewhere. 2. Even as a low budget film, there should be enough clothes for the performers to wear, even if occasionally. 3. Even as a low budget film, it could have cost even less if the use of all the four letter words and other obscenities were deleted. 4. How bad was this? Well, I would not even donate it to the seediest retailer for fear that it might be purchased by someone under the age of 25 and think that this was reality. 5. Indeed, I will remove the artwork, bisect the dvd with a scissor and trust that I will find a suitable dvd to place in the case and hope it will not become contaminated.  The Informers $3.99 Let's do this by the numbers: 1. Even as a low budget film, it should have a plot somewhere. 2. Even as a low budget film, there should be enough clothes for the performers to wear, even if occasionally. 3. Even as a low budget film, it could have cost even less if the use of all the four letter words and other obscenities were deleted. 4. How bad was this? Well, I would not even donate it to the seediest retailer for fear that it might be purchased by someone under the age of 25 and think that this was reality. 5. Indeed, I will remove the artwork, bisect the dvd with a scissor and trust that I will find a suitable dvd to place in the case and hope it will not become contaminated.  Less Than Zero $14.00 This novel is often compared to Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, but for my part, I think it's infinitely more related to Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises. Hemingway's minimalism and Iceberg Theory are obvious influences on this novel, and this isn't a bad thing. Not only does the style remind one of TSAR, but even the theme has something in common with it: a lost generation of rich kids with not much of a quest for a life. Less Than Zero is narrated by Clay, back to Los Angeles for the holidays. Passivity, emptiness, casual sex, drugs. Nothing very cheerful, and it gets much worse. Most of the novel is written in present tense, except for flashbacks, which are also written in italics. In a typical Hemingway way, the book doesn't tell you what to think: you just get the facts, as in a movie without a voice, and what you do with that is up to you. This is one of those books that count on you to fill it with yourself; it doesn't chew in your stead. Overall, I liked Less Than Zero. The style keeps things concise, and even when nothing much happens, it's never boring. And by "nothing much happens", I mean on the surface. Again, this is like a Hemingway short story, in which there doesn't seem to be much going on, but in reality there is. This is not a Catcher in the Rye updated for the MTV generation, as often said (1980's MTV, though), this is The Sun Also Rises in California. You will not find Salinger in this novel as much as you will find Hemingway. Clay is 18 in the book, so you might be tempted to think it's a "coming of age" novel, but for his young age, Clay is not Holden Caulfield. Not by a long shot. While Holden can't get laid, even with a prostitute, Clay has sex with men and women without attachment, does cocaine, and is generally passive, a ghost in LA. If this is an updated Holden, he has been severely sedated (and perhaps this is apropos). Recommended! |
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