If you've read any previous books by Bret Easton Ellis you already know whether you're a fan or not. I've seen some reviewers complaining that he writes as if he's still stuck in his teenage years--in fact, he's 58--but if that's true, I see it as a positive, at least in the context of his latest novel, The Shards. Told from the perspective of a 17-year-old version of Ellis, The Shards defies easy classification. It's a sort of coming-of-age-cum-psychological thriller with liberal doses of horror, dark humor and bittersweet nostalgia. 

 

Engaging and expertly written, The Shards, set in 1981 Los Angeles, follows aspiring writer, Bret, and his popular, high-living circle of friends as they embark on their senior year at an exclusive L.A. prep school. Concurrently, a series of violent events (serial killer on the loose, home invasions, disappearing pets) has area residents on edge, causing home-alone Bret no small amount of anxiety. At school, a shocking act of vandalism and the last-minute enrollment of a dangerously handsome mystery-man only intensifies Bret's deepest desires and sense of impending doom. When Bret catches his new classmate in a seemingly innocuous lie, the tension between the two escalates. 

Driven by a combination of lust and suspicion (and jealousy?), Bret launches a none-too-subtle investigation into the young man's past, thus beginning a deadly game of connect-the-dots that seems to indicate--to Bret, at least--that the guy is not who he pretends to be. After the freakish death of a fellow classmate, the tables are turned as one of Bret's own secrets is thrown back into his face: Bret is not exactly who he pretends to be, either.

With his parents away on a prolonged hail-and-farewell-to-the-marriage tour of Europe, the walls of Bret's cliffside house begin closing in on him. And so--possibly--does a stalker. Is it the new boy out to silence him? The maniac snatching up local teenagers and pets? Or is it someone closer to him, someone who knows everything about him? Or could it all simply be part of Bret's overactive imagination? He's a famously unreliable narrator after all, so it's no wonder that his superhot girlfriend and the immaculately groomed clique refuse to get worked up over his increasingly overwrought concerns. At their own peril, alas. 

Ellis' development of his characters is spot-on. There are the stereotypical teenage types: jocks, ice princess, blonde surfer boy, spoiled sexpot, newcomer-with-a-dark-past--but (despite their apathetic posing) Ellis keeps them fresh by making them so recognizable and alive, like people we may once have been friends with. In fact, much of this book feels so familiar that I recognized at least a part of myself in the fictional Bret (especially the pressure to have a girlfriend, the casual deceits and secretive trysts). These kids also seem to possess an encyclopedic knowledge of movies that I found endearing and completely relatable. And the music! Of course, you don't actually hear the songs, but nearly every scene in the book plays out against a "soundtrack" of the most iconic music of the era. It completely took me back, even if I was in my mid-20's during the book's time setting. 

Not unlike other Ellis' works, The Shards has its fair share of blood and gore, but the violence, for the most part, happens offstage. We get harrowing descriptions of murder victims and dead pets, but it's all in the aftermath of the actual crimes committed. Be forewarned, however: the horrifying climax unfolds in savage detail so you might need to gird your loins for it. Or not. Depends on your sensitivity level, I guess. At any rate, no passages in this book match the carnage of Ellis' notorious 1991 jet-black satire, American Psycho, although I wouldn't compare The Shards to that book anyway (it's much closer in spirit to Less Than Zero).  

The book's copious amounts of casual drug use and explicit sex--particularly the gay scenes--have also drawn negative criticism from pearl-clutchers and knee-jerkers looking to be offended. As I implied at the beginning of this review, if you've read any of Ellis' previous books, you should have some idea of what to expect. If you're fine with the blood-drenched imagery conjured up in American Psycho but upset by the sexual content of The Shards, that says more about you than it does the author. 

As The Shards races towards its bloody, tragic climax, things begin to make more sense, although some of the dots will remain unconnected and some connect in ways we may not have expected. By the end of the book I was exhilarated, exhausted and surprisingly moved. At roughly 600 pages, The Shards initially appeared daunting (given that I am no speed reader) but I got so caught up in the story that I flew through the pages in 5 days! Both evocative and richly observed (if occasionally repetitive), The Shards is Bret Easton Ellis' best work, maybe even his masterpiece. Highly recommended for adult readers who can handle provocative subject matter.