Less Than Zero

"Less than Zero" is one of my all-time favourite novels from the 1980s. I think that this novel is very underrated because it so complex that I think people just fail to understand it. It has all of these layers and story and the characters that all intertwine with each other and ultimately become the faces of the failed youth. This grand image that we have of the 1980s - it takes place in America; it is the only viable place that we could imagine something so raw and murderous and just completely insane. I mean if it was set anywhere else I don't think it would have the same effect. I remember people calling it cliche and thinking it was just another American teen novel but it's not. And all other people that I got to read this book, came back to me and apologised; they told me that they were overwhelmed. I feel that this novel gets some serious backlash it does not deserve. 

Characters:

My favourite character in this entire series is a man called Julian Wells. I did my a-level coursework on Wells, and I got an A* for it. I think Julian what one of those characters that you secretly felt sorry for but you always externally hated. You never knew exactly why you hated him; you just did. In the end I think everyone could relate on some level to Julian and that was the excellence of his character.

Themes:

The best theme in "Less than Zero" is called: where does the right go wrong? In better aspects this is called morality and I think it's portrayed as something very confusing. The novel concentrates on how the younger generation grower in this mindset of not knowing whether they're wake up the next morning. There's drugs and there's car chases and there's a parties and none of these teens understand that one day that's all gonna go. I think the main theme of this novel is that nothing lasts forever and that those who can't understand that will perish. And that fits in very well with the morality argument about how right is sometimes wrong and how wrong is sometimes right. I think that the teens have yet to realise more important things in life and when they do realise that Julian's already gone and there's nothing that Clayton can do about it. This 80s decadence is something that the teens obviously fear and are trying to keep alive through all of these parties - the morality argument fits perfectly it's not the morality of the kids that's the problem; it's the morality of their lifestyle. Kind of like Fitzgerald novel one day it's all going to come crashing down around them and there will be nothing that they can do to stop it - it will be one endless cycle of tragedy. 

Storyline:

The storyline of the novel came across as a little bit simple to begin. But, when we really get into it we start to realise now that Clayton is the only one that makes any sense at all and he's not the best character to rely on since he's also one of those who are doing things wrong. The storyline completely revolves around Clayton coming back home for Christmas and realising that everything a Greek Tragedy. Nobody is able to find Julia and everyone's really worried about Clayton and Clayton's trying to find Julian - but when we think about the novel and how we believe it revolves around Clayton perspective we realise that it actually revolves around the life of Julian. Julian is the central character he is the reason the creation and walks behind the entire tragedy of the novel. I mean the spray paint seen the end is just amazing and we see how Julian has kind of sketched a legacy on the wall as a memento of the fact that he's gone. Easton Ellis is the best works include American Psycho, The Rules of Attraction and Imperial Bedrooms. All follow similar themes and storylines of tragedy and sociopaths in normality. 

Verdict:

I'm going to give this novel eight out of nine.

100% characters: I think that Julian is a wonderful yet enigmatic intense and decadent character. He's one of literature's great mysteries and for this I think he'd used to being a character that creates the most controversy - I mean he is the direct representation of morality, mortality and decadence the three most important things in the entire book. He's also an interesting mechanism for this Fitzgerald "Beautiful and Damned" image - kind of the same thing we get in "A Diamond as Big as the Ritz". Julian is the complete embodiment of everything that is wrong 1980s America. This is an image that is manipulated from "The Great Gatsby" and it is absolutely perfectly as we see history repeating from the roaring 20s to the beautiful and decadent 80s. All is done through the character of Julian. 

100% themes: the themes of the novel cannot be faulted. There's almost a vast manipulation which is the manipulation of character. Julian is alienated and when Clayton returns is only a matter of time before he hops on the bandwagon as well - Clayton becomes alienated. It's only a matter of time before he realises that he can justify Julian's action, he can justify Finn's control, he can justify Blair's sense of discouragement and he does this by giving us a speech on how justifies anything that Ripp is doing. I'm the best part is where he makes a little bit of a speech about teen culture and how the rich are ultimately damned. It's where he says "you have everything what do you want to do this?" And the reply you get is "because I have nothing to lose." I think that's a beautiful quotation on have a characters have been manipulated to believe that their lives are the best they can have. 

Two out of three for storyline: this is only because the storyline seems a little bit oversimplistic kind of like a Fitzgerald novel; I don't know what that's done on purpose or not. It was only had bit underwhelming at the end but the brilliant scene where we see Julian's graffiti is something to be remembered.

All in all it is something that needs to be read to be believed.