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From Publishers Weekly
Having ridden to fame as the laureate of Reagan-era excesses, Ellis serves up a self-eviscerating apologia for all the awful things (wanton drug use, reckless promiscuity, serial murder) he worked so hard to glamorize. Narrated faux memoir style by a character named Bret Easton Ellis, author of bestsellers, L.A. native, friend to Jay McInerney, the book seeks to make obvious its autobiographical elements without actually remaining true to the facts. In the novel, Ellis marries B-list actress Jayne Dennis (with whom he'd fathered a child years earlier), moves to the New York City suburbs and begins working on his latest neo-porn shocker, Teenage Pussy, when things start to go awry. His house becomes possessed by strange, threatening spirits intent on attacking his family and transforming their home into the pink stucco green shag disaster of Ellis's childhood; a well-read stalker begins acting out, victim by victim, the plot of American Psycho; and the town becomes enthralled by a string of child abductions (oddly, only the boys are disappearing) that may or may not be the work of Ellis's son. This is a peculiar novel, gothic in tone and supernatural in conceit, whose energy is built from its almost tabloidlike connection to real life. As a spirit haunting Ellis's house tells him, "I want you to reflect on your life. I want you to be aware of all the terrible things you have done. I want you to face the disaster that is Bret Easton Ellis." Ultimately, though, the book reads less like a roman à clef than as a bizarre type of celebrity penance. The closest contemporary comparison is, perhaps, the work of Philip Roth, who went for such thinly veiled self-criticism earlier in his career, but Roth's writing succeeded on its own merits, whereas Lunar Park begs a knowledge of Ellis's celebrity and the casual misanthropy his books espoused. Yet for those familiar with Ellis's reputation, the book is mesmerizing, easily his best since Less than Zero. Maybe for the first time, Ellis acknowledges that fiction has a truth all its own and consequences all too real. It is his demons who destroy his home, break up his family and scuttle his best chance at happiness and sobriety. As a novel by anyone else, Lunar Park would be hokum, but in context, it is a fascinating look at a once controversial celebrity as a middle-aged man.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
There's a danger when a writer becomes a character in his own novel in order to explore the dissonance between fact and fiction: for readers who haven't followed the writer's personal life, much of the writer's effort will be wasted. In Jay McInerney's--woops, Bret Easton Ellis'--latest, the writer imagines an alternate reality for himself in which he attempts to transform from drug-addled, city-dwelling celebrity author to caring suburban dad. The first chapter promises intimacy, but soon we're trekking through a familiar emotional moonscape. The family drama is hung on a convoluted horror plot that involves missing boys, a possessed toy, the ghost of Ellis pere, and a mysterious stranger who may be impersonating American Psycho's (1991) Patrick Bateman, reenacting his murders note for note. Ellis the writer explores the complex relationship between art and life--deducing that, shockingly, familial bonds are more important to happiness than success--and seems unhappy, ready to shed his violent past. But must he write a horror novel to exorcise his demons? The sense of creeping dread is excellent, and the beasts confronted by the Ellis character are genuinely frightening, but they don't lend any meaningful urgency to his psychological journey. It's as if he used an ax to kill off his ax murderer. Keir Graff
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Metafiction from hell,
By E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME) (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Lunar Park (Paperback)
If there's ever a book with a split personality, that book is "Lunar Park."In his fifth full-length novel, Bret Easton Ellis seems torn between writing a fictionalized memoir and a Stephen King horrorfest, complete with leaf beasties and ghastly bird dolls. He builds up a confusing if compelling storyline, only to have it spill into an unholy mess at the climax. Bret Easton Ellis wrote a gloriously nihilistic novel called "Less than Zero," sparking off a bestselling career, drug addictions, and a hedonistic lifestyle. A few years later, he's wed to girlfriend Jayne, and living in dysfunctional tranquillity in the countryside with two kids. He's working on a new book, the perpetually pornographic "Teenage Pussy," and still doing lots of drugs with pal Jay McInerney. Then weird things happen: A bird toy is killing animals. Bret's dad's grave appears. Monsters are invading his house. And a mysterious police inspector tells Bret that someone is emulating the gruesome murders from "American Psycho." And as he tries to keep his family safe, Bret finds that his own fiction is what is spawning all this horror. "Lunar Park" is an intriguing self-exmination; I can only imagine what spurred Ellis to write it. It seems like an exorcism of the cynical, drug-dealing demons of excess that ran rampant throughout his novels. And in the world of "Lunar Park," those novels -- especially the controversial "American Psycho" -- have an influence on the real world, whether it's bringing horrors to life or inspiring a serial killer. It's a fascinating look at fiction vs. reality. And despite the literary conceit of having himself as the lead character, Ellis' examination of his fiction is a thorough and brutal one. He even goes down to his writing style. The book opens with him looking back on his books, and noticing how the Spartan style of "Less Than Zero" evolved into babbly rambling. With this book, he's settled into a comfortable middle-of-the-road style. Unfortunately, Ellis also gets locked into a Stephen King fantasy, complete with a see-it-a-mile-away plot twist right out of "Rear Window." He creates some genuinely chilling moments, such as when his alter ego starts seeing graves and monsters. But by turning all that good horror into self-examination, it loses most of its punch. And as the novel builds to its anticlimax, Ellis doesn't seem sure what to do with the plot threads he's woven together, like the disappearing boys. Metafiction runs wild in "Lunar Park," a novel split between literary study and total horror. But Ellis seems to lose the grip on his plot, and it spins out of control like the book's events themselves.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Looney Park,
By Warren P.B. (Montreal) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Lunar Park (Paperback)
Ah, the lost art of self-deprecation. Fans of Ellis will most likely enjoy LUNAR PARK. I also think, however, that fans of horror will also enjoy it a ton. Being a fan of both, I have to say this novel is probably my favorite of his. Its been a long time coming and, for me, it was more than worth the wait. I hope it hasn't been too late. Ellis's previous novels are disturbing, but they usually escape being categorized as horror. LUNAR PARK, despite its classification as literature, absolutely earns itself a place among the top works of horror. Interestingly, this is Ellis's least graphic and gruesome work. If you enjoyed books such as LESS THAN ZERO or the novel KATZENJAMMER by McCrae, then this will be right up your alley.
1 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Loony Park,
By Warren P.B. (Montreal) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Lunar Park (Hardcover)
Ah, the lost art of self-deprecation. Fans of Ellis will most likely enjoy LUNAR PARK. I also think, however, that fans of horror will also enjoy it a ton. Being a fan of both, I have to say this novel is probably my favorite of his. Its been a long time coming and, for me, it was more than worth the wait. I hope it hasn't been too late. Ellis's previous novels are disturbing, but they usually escape being categorized as horror. LUNAR PARK, despite its classification as literature, absolutely earns itself a place among the top works of horror. Interestingly, this is Ellis's least graphic and gruesome work. If you enjoyed books such as LESS THAN ZERO or the novel KATZENJAMMER by McCrae, then this will be right up your alley.
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