Less Than Zero (novel)
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''Less than Zero'' is the
debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...
of
Bret Easton Ellis Bret Easton Ellis (born March 7, 1964) is an American author, screenwriter, short-story writer, and director. Ellis was first regarded as one of the so-called literary Brat Pack and is a self-proclaimed satirist whose trademark technique, as a w ...
, published in 1985. It was his first published effort, released when he was 21 years old and still a student at
Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont. Founded in 1932 as a women's college, it became co-educational in 1969. It claims to be the first college to include visual and performing arts as an equal partner in ...
. The novel was titled after the
Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...
song of the same name.


Plot summary

The novel follows the life of Clay, a rich, young college student who has returned to his hometown of
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, California for winter break circa 1984. Through
first-person narration A first-person narrative is a mode of storytelling in which a storyteller recounts events from their own point of view using the first person It may be narrated by a first-person protagonist (or other focal character), first-person re-teller, ...
, Clay describes his progressive alienation from the culture around him, loss of faith in his friends, and his meditations on events in his recent past. After reuniting with his ex-girlfriend Blair, and friends like Trent, now a successful
model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...
, Clay embarks on a series of drug-fueled nights of partying, during which he has
one-night stand A one-night stand or one-night sex is a single sexual encounter in which there is an expectation that there shall be no further relations between the sexual participants. It draws its name from the common practice of a one-night stand, a single ...
s with both sexes. While partying, he tries to track down his best friend from high school, Julian, with whom he hasn't spoken in months. In between descriptions of his days and nights, Clay recounts a vacation spent with his parents and grandparents, during which he seemed to be the only person concerned that his grandmother was dying of cancer. Over time, Clay becomes progressively disillusioned with the party scene as he witnesses the
apathy Apathy is a lack of feeling, emotion, interest, or concern about something. It is a state of indifference, or the suppression of emotions such as concern, excitement, motivation, or passion. An apathetic individual has an absence of intere ...
of his friends towards the suffering of one another and those around them: at one party, he watches as the revellers joke and take Polaroids of his friend, Muriel, while she injects
heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...
; at another, he and Blair are the only two who exhibit revulsion when Trent shows a
snuff film A snuff film, or snuff movie, or snuff video, is a type of film that shows, or purports to show, scenes of actual homicide. The concept of snuff films became known to the general public during the 1970s, when an urban legend alleged that a cland ...
, which sexually excites several partygoers. Clay ultimately tracks down Julian, who borrows a large sum of money from Clay. At first, Julian says that the money is for an abortion, but Clay doesn't believe him. Later, when Clay asks Julian to pay him back, Julian brings him to meet his abusive pimp, Finn. It is revealed that Julian has become a heroin addict and turned to
prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...
in order to pay off a debt to unnamed drug dealers. Believing what he has been told, yet still feeling an empty desire to witness this awful scene for himself, Clay accompanies Julian to a rendezvous in a hotel room with a married closeted businessman from Indiana, where he is compelled by the
john John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...
to watch the man and Julian have sex for several hours. After attending a concert with his friends, Clay accompanies them to an alleyway, where they stare, fascinated, at the corpse of a young man, presumably dead by overdose. Afterward, Clay follows the group back to the home of his drug dealer, Rip, who wants to show off his latest acquisition: a sex slave whom Rip has been keeping drugged in his bedroom. When Clay tells Rip, "I don't think it's right," Rip says, "What's right?" Clay leaves, but Trent decides to stay so that he can participate. Now feeling completely isolated and with winter break coming to an end, Clay reflects on the brutal nature of his surroundings as he returns to college in
New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
.


Background

Ellis began work on what would become ''Less than Zero'' in 1980. He cites his major influences as
Joan Didion Joan Didion (; December 5, 1934 – December 23, 2021) was an American writer. Along with Tom Wolfe, Hunter S. Thompson and Gay Talese, she is considered one of the pioneers of New Journalism. Didion's career began in the 1950s after she won an ...
and
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noir, but he was also inspired by the moral ambiguity of '' American Gigolo''. ''Less than Zero'' was to become Ellis' first attempt at a proper novel, following much
roman à clef ''Roman à clef'' (, anglicised as ), French for ''novel with a key'', is a novel about real-life events that is overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people, and the "key" is the relationship ...
juvenilia. Its first draft was incredibly emotional and overwrought, and in the third-person. Ellis's
creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary ...
teacher, novelist
Joe McGinniss Joseph Ralph McGinniss Sr. (December 9, 1942 – March 10, 2014) was an American non-fiction writer and novelist. The author of twelve books, he first came to prominence with the best-selling ''The Selling of the President 1968'' which describe ...
, advised that he return to the first-person style of roman à clef (which Ellis was hesitant to do) and Ellis stripped it back, from there evoking the
minimalist In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...
style for which it became famous. In the former
child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in film, movies or television. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associ ...
Danny Bonaduce Dante Daniel Bonaduce (born August 13, 1959) is an American radio personality, actor, television personality, and professional wrestler. Bonaduce is the son of veteran TV writer and producer Joseph Bonaduce (''The Dick Van Dyke Show'', '' One Da ...
's 2002 autobiography, ''Random Acts of Badness'', Bonaduce notes the striking similarity between the fictional high school in ''Less than Zero'' and The Buckley School in
Sherman Oaks, California Sherman Oaks is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California located in the San Fernando Valley, founded in 1927. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density than ...
, where Bonaduce, recording artist
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
, film actor
Christian Brando Christian Devi Brando (May 11, 1958 – January 26, 2008) was an American actor who was one of the eleven children of actor Marlon Brando, and the only one Brando had with his first wife, former actress Anna Kashfi. On May 16, 1990, Brando ...
, and other children of wealth and celebrity went to school together. In commenting on the novel, Bonaduce said, "When the book ''Less Than Zero'' came out, all my classmates were pissed. Not because it was an exact portrayal of our school – but because we failed to get any royalties."


Characters

''Less than Zero'' has an extensive cast of characters; the ones listed play major roles throughout the novel. ; Clay : The 18-year-old protagonist, a student at Camden College in
New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
, who comes home to
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
for Christmas and meets his old friends. He revives his old life: parties, concerts, drugs, sex, the city. Clay has brief affairs (a male
USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...
student named Griffin (pp. 35–39), and an unnamed female character (pp. 120–122)), but he goes through periods of apathy and longing for his girlfriend Blair. ; Blair : Clay's ex-girlfriend who is studying at USC. Clay is unsure how he feels about her; neither has he been faithful to her. They vacation together and though at first they enjoy the experience, it eventually becomes tedious and ends on a sour note. ; Julian Wells : Clay's friend from grade school and high school. Julian is often described as "thin" and many of Clay's friends declare him "completely fucked up". Julian has become a heroin addict and a prostitute. ; Trent Burroughs : Another of Clay's friends, a model who attends
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
. He says things that Clay doesn't understand and Clay gradually becomes disenchanted with him. Trent is shown as increasingly unethical and immoral, raping a drugged twelve-year-old girl in his penultimate scene. ; Rip Millar : Clay's dealer. Sporting a fedora and a penthouse on
Wilshire Boulevard Wilshire Boulevard is a prominent boulevard in the Los Angeles area of Southern California, extending from Ocean Avenue in the city of Santa Monica east to Grand Avenue in the Financial District of downtown Los Angeles. One of the principal ...
, Rip is also a DJ, but feels his trust fund "might never run out." At the end of the story, he shows Clay and other boys a 12-year-old girl naked, drugged and tied to his bed to be a sex slave. When a distressed Clay questions Rip as to why he has done this, Rip replies "Why not? What the hell?" ; Daniel Carter : Daniel is another student who attends Camden and is from Los Angeles. Many of the characters think he's gay. In his earlier appearances, he was worried he had gotten a girl from Camden, Vanden, pregnant, but then doesn't seem to care. In his final appearance, he tells Clay he won't return to Camden, opting instead to stay in LA and write a screenplay. (Vanden, who isn't seen in the book, later appears in '' American Psycho'' as well as ''
The Rules of Attraction ''The Rules of Attraction'' is a satirical black comedy novel by Bret Easton Ellis published in 1987. The novel follows a handful of rowdy and often sexually promiscuous, spoiled bohemian students at a liberal arts college in 1980s New Hampsh ...
'', in which she and Clay are briefly "involved".) ; The Handsome Dunce : A minor character who has a cameo speaking to Clay at Blair's Christmas party. He goes on to appear in ''
The Rules of Attraction ''The Rules of Attraction'' is a satirical black comedy novel by Bret Easton Ellis published in 1987. The novel follows a handful of rowdy and often sexually promiscuous, spoiled bohemian students at a liberal arts college in 1980s New Hampsh ...
'', where it is revealed that he goes to Camden College and that his name is Steve. ; Kim : One of Blair's friends. During the course of the book she's never sure where her film producer mother is and only knows what she reads in trade papers. At one point in the novel, she and Clay both agitate each other notably when they repeatedly question each other, "What do you do?", "What do you do?", this ending with Kim finally replying, "Don't ask me because...I don't know." ; Alana : Another one of Blair's friends. She has an abortion and comes to Clay afterwards. Clay lets her stay in his room for the night while he lies by the pool until dawn. When he goes back up, she informs him she has bled a lot and feels weak before thanking him. When he asks "what for?" she says "I don't know" and leaves. When Clay flushes his toilet, it becomes clogged up with tissue and blood clouds the water. Clay puts the lid down as "there's nothing else for me to do". ; Muriel : An anorexic girl who Clay visits at a rehabilitation center. She appears a few times in the novel, most notably at a New Year's party where she shoots heroin publicly while laughing and crying. ; Finn Delaney : Julian's pimp, who "helps" him pay off his drug debt. In public, he acts kindly towards Julian, calling him "Julie" and "his best boy" and often showing him off to his clients, but in private he abuses Julian emotionally and sexually and forces him to shoot up heroin. ; Clay's family : Clay has two sisters, aged 13 and 15, although his narration suggests he cannot distinguish between them and is unsure of their age. His parents are separated; his mother occupies their house while his father lives in an apartment. His mom has no job but nonetheless lives a life of
luxury Luxury may refer to: * Luxury goods, an economic good or service for which demand increases more than proportionally as income rises *Luxury tax, tax on products not considered essential, such as expensive cars **Luxury tax (sports), surcharge pu ...
off of her ex-husband's large
alimony Alimony, also called aliment (Scotland), maintenance (England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales, Canada, New Zealand), spousal support (U.S., Canada) and spouse maintenance (Australia), is a legal obligation on a person to provide financial suppo ...
payments, and his dad is "in the film business", with an office in
Century City Century City is a 176-acre (71.2 ha) neighborhood and business district in Los Angeles, California. Located on the Westside to the south of Santa Monica Boulevard around 10 miles (16 km) west of Downtown Los Angeles, Century City is one of ...
. In flashbacks, Clay talks about his grandfather, proprietor of several hotels, and his grandmother, now deceased.


Film adaptation

The book ''Less than Zero'' was very loosely adapted into a
movie A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
in 1987 by
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
in title only. It starred
Andrew McCarthy Andrew Thomas McCarthy (born November 29, 1962) is an American actor, travel writer, and television director. He is most known as a member of the Brat Pack, with roles in 1980s films such as ''St. Elmo's Fire'', ''Pretty in Pink'', and '' Less ...
as Clay,
Robert Downey Jr. Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965) is an American actor and producer. His career has been characterized by critical and popular success in his youth, followed by a period of substance abuse and legal troubles, before a resurgence of ...
as Julian,
Jami Gertz Jami Beth Gertz (born October 28, 1965) is an American actress. Gertz is known for her early roles in the films ''Crossroads'', ''The Lost Boys'', '' Less than Zero'' and '' Quicksilver'', the 1980s TV series ''Square Pegs'' and 1996's ''Twister ...
as Blair, and
James Spader James Todd Spader (born February 7, 1960) is an American actor. He has portrayed eccentric characters in films such as the drama ''Sex, Lies, and Videotape'' (1989) for which he won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor, the action scie ...
as Rip. A then-unknown
Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ...
also appeared as an extra. In the film, Clay is an anti-drug crusader who returns home from college to try to rescue his friends from their various narcotics addictions. Due to all the liberties taken, Ellis refused to see the movie. In an interview, Ellis stated that he has warmed up to the movie, and appreciates it visually as a snapshot of a particular time. Ellis claimed that there was no connection between the book and the movie, except for the title, the location of Southern California and the names of the characters. A long-running rumor in the film industry is that
Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, Black comedy, dark humor, Nonlinear narrative, non-lin ...
has been interested in filming a new version of ''Less than Zero.'' His workmate
Roger Avary Roger Roberts Avary (born August 23, 1965) is a Canadian-American film and television director, screenwriter, and producer. He collaborated with Quentin Tarantino on ''Pulp Fiction'', for which they won Best Original Screenplay at the 67th Acade ...
adapted ''
The Rules of Attraction ''The Rules of Attraction'' is a satirical black comedy novel by Bret Easton Ellis published in 1987. The novel follows a handful of rowdy and often sexually promiscuous, spoiled bohemian students at a liberal arts college in 1980s New Hampsh ...
,'' (also based on a novel by Ellis) in 2002, and since both he and Tarantino like the works by Ellis, Tarantino has been eyeing the possibility of adapting ''Less than Zero''. Ellis stated in an interview for ''Vice'' Magazine that Quentin Tarantino has been "trying to get
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
to let him remake it." At a Q & A at
Harvard Book Store Harvard Book Store is an independent and locally owned seller of used, new, and bargain books in Cambridge's Harvard Square. Harvard Book Store was established in 1932 by Mark Kramer, father of longtime owner Frank Kramer, and originally sold us ...
in 2012 Ellis stated in a reply to a question of whether ''Less than Zero'' will be remade that Tarantino "has shown interest" in adapting the story.


TV adaptation

On July 31, 2018, it was announced that
Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
had ordered a pilot for the series.
Bret Easton Ellis Bret Easton Ellis (born March 7, 1964) is an American author, screenwriter, short-story writer, and director. Ellis was first regarded as one of the so-called literary Brat Pack and is a self-proclaimed satirist whose trademark technique, as a w ...
was set to executive produce alongside Craig Wright, who was also the series developer, and Brett Morgan was set to direct the pilot. However, Hulu chose not to produce a series based on the pilot.


Sequel

Ellis announced in 2005 that he would be writing a sequel to ''Less than Zero'': a story following the same characters, set in the present day, that focuses on their lives as they approach
middle age In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
.2 gange Bret – 6.11.2005 – dr.dk/DR2/Deadline 22:30
In January 2008, Ellis announced that his forthcoming novel ''
Imperial Bedrooms ''Imperial Bedrooms'' is a novel by American author Bret Easton Ellis. Released on June 15, 2010, it is the sequel to '' Less than Zero'', Ellis' 1985 bestselling literary debut, which was shortly followed by a film adaptation in 1987. ''Imperia ...
'' would be the sequel to ''Less than Zero''. In keeping with the original, the title is taken from the title of an
Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...
record (both a 1982 album and song). The book was published in 2010.


Reception

The author stated: Upon the release of ''Imperial Bedrooms'', ''Details'' commented on ''Less than Zero'' and its original reviews, stating: "Years ago people could have read some of your books and said, 'Oh, this is just
nihilism Nihilism (; ) is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning. The term was popularized by Ivan ...
. These people don't exist! There's nobody that rich and stupid and narcissistic!. (The article states, "When Michiko Kakutani first reviewed Less Than Zero in ''The New York Times'' in June of 1985, she began the review this way: 'This is one of the most disturbing novels I've read in a long time.) Ellis remarks "surprise!". They also credit him with "In a way, nventing
Paris Hilton Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American media personality, businesswoman, socialite, model, and entertainer. Born in New York City, and raised there and in Beverly Hills, California, she is a great-granddaughter of Conra ...
and
Spencer Pratt Spencer William Pratt (born August 14, 1983) is an American reality television personality. In 2007, he began dating Heidi Montag, a primary cast member of the reality television series '' The Hills''. Subsequently, he came to prominence after be ...
and
the Kardashians ''The Kardashians'' is an American reality television series which focuses on the personal lives of the Kardashian–Jenner family. The new show comes off the heels of their last show called ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians'', which conclude ...
."


References


External links

* {{Authority control 1980s LGBT novels 1985 American novels 1985 debut novels American novels adapted into films American satirical novels Hollywood novels Novels about heroin addiction Novels by Bret Easton Ellis Novels set in Los Angeles Novels with bisexual themes Postmodern novels Simon & Schuster books Fiction about snuff films Television pilots not picked up as a series pt:Less Than Zero