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Rating: I just finished mowing the lawn, I have a very powerful Kawasaki brushcutter, and I feel in the right mood to say a few things about "The Rules of Attraction."
Bret Easton Ellis, born in Los Angeles in 1964, published this book in America in 1987, and it reached Italy the following year.
A comparison with his first book, "Less Than Zero," which made him famous all over the world, is necessary.
It tells the exploits of Sean Bateman (younger brother of the protagonist of "American Psycho") and other students at Candem University.
It is narrated in the first person by the various protagonists (Paul, Lauren, Sean, and other occasional ones), giving the impression of the flow of events through the subjectivity of the characters.
The beginning is very beautiful, like a conversation taken halfway through, it starts like this, without backstory, without anything: a pure immersion.
In my opinion, some of the best pages are those in which Victor (Lauren's boy) makes a brief appearance summarizing his wandering trip through Europe in one breath.
This time the book, compared to the previous one, due to the technique used, is more choral, bringing to the reader's eyes more lives dominated by the same leitmotifs.
Fashion, addiction and cynicism. Abandonment and drift.
However, it's not enough because by the middle of the book one already notices a certain prolixity, a dispersiveness that doesn't encourage reading.
Along with a certain poverty of topics, it results in a rather chaotic book, lacking the freshness that characterized and made "Less Than Zero" interesting.
The reviewed edition is by Einaudi, translated by Francesco Durante, published in 2006.
In 2002, a movie was made directed by Roger Avary, who was a co-screenwriter with Tarantino of "Pulp Fiction."
I watched it, one morning around four with two friends, overlooking its artistic qualities which I am not here to judge; one appreciates a greater conciseness and a more original delineation of certain characters.
For example, Sean, played by James Van Der Beek, has a different nuance compared to the book and appears rougher and vaguely dull, becoming more likable.
Returning to the book, it definitely shows the desire to keep the level high, also using a certain experimentation.
But the result is does not confirm the promises of "Less Than Zero".
Bret Easton Ellis seems to always talk about the same themes, each time in the same way, and appears confined to an era and a vaguely stereotyped socio-economic situation that ends up limiting his horizons.
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