The Informers
Although billed as a novel, this work reads like a collection of 13 loosely related short stories. The characters in Chapter 1 reappear in the last chapter, and Jamie, whose death occurs in Chapter 2, may be the vampire named Jamie who later appears. None of this much matters, however, since the characters have no personality anyway. Every chapter is told by a different narrator, further preventing the reader from connecting to the characters. Set in Eighties L.A. like Ellis's debut, Less Than Zero, the book makes endless, almost obsessive references to obscure bands, upscale restaurants, and clothing of the time. For Ellis, this seems to have been a time when "people [were] becoming less human...everyone [was] operating on a very primitive level," but, unfortunately, the effect is of an era safely past. The Informers has fewer gruesome scenes than American Psycho, and its affectlessness renders them less powerful. Still, this is a disturbing book that will be requested by patrons familiar with Ellis's work. - Library Journal
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Comments
This book is absolutely absurd in a way that only Bret Easton Ellis could make work. Set along similar lines as his first book, Less Than Zero (also amazing!), this "novel" will confound and astound your senses of reality. I challange any and all Chuck fans to read Bret Easton Ellis's works and tell me that these two men aren't secretly taking over the literary world!
Rate: 5 of 5
this book a very bad let down. i had just read American Phsyco, and this was a major let down for me. i didnt get the direction of the novel. perhaps i should read it once more, or perhaps its just way over my head.
The Fifth Wheel is very, very disturbing.