Imperial Bedrooms
ISBN 0-307-26610-9 | | |
Preceded by | Less than Zero |
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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. Imperial Bedrooms revisits Less than Zero's self-destructive and disillusioned youths as they approach middle-age in the present day. Like Ellis' earlier novel, which took its name from Elvis Costello's 1977 song of the same name, Imperial Bedrooms is named after Costello's 1982 album.
The action of the novel takes place twenty-five years after Less than Zero. Its story follows Clay, a New York-based screenwriter, after he returns to Los Angeles to cast his new film. There he becomes embroiled in the sinister world of his former friends and confronts the darker aspects of his own personality. The novel opens with a
Ellis began working on what would become Imperial Bedrooms during the development of his 2005 novel, Lunar Park. As with his previous works, Imperial Bedrooms depicts scenes of sex, extreme violence and hedonism in a minimalist style devoid of emotion. Some commentators have noted however that unlike previous works, Imperial Bedrooms employs more of the conventional devices of popular fiction. Reviews were mixed and frequently polarized. Some reviewers felt the novel was a successful return to themes explored in Less than Zero, Lunar Park and American Psycho (1991), while others derided it as boring or self-indulgent.
Background
The development of Imperial Bedrooms began after Ellis had re-read Less than Zero during the writing of his 2005 pseudo-memoir, Lunar Park. The novel takes its name from Elvis Costello's 1982 album Imperial Bedroom, just as Less than Zero had been named for a Costello single. Upon reading Zero, Ellis began to reflect on how his characters would have developed in the interim. Soon, he found himself "overwhelm[ed]" by the idea of what would become Imperial Bedrooms as it continually returned to him.[2] After gestating the idea, and making "voluminous notes", Ellis realised that his detailed outline had become longer than the finished book. He felt that this process of note-taking limited him to the novels that he genuinely wanted "to stay with for a couple of years". To this, he attributed having "written so few novels".[3]
Ellis described the novel as an "autobiographical noir [written] during a midlife crisis".[4] His most significant literary influence was American novelist Raymond Chandler, citing his particular brand of pulpy noir fiction.[5] He found particular inspiration in the opacity of Chandler's fiction, citing the lack of closure in some of the books, which he called "existentialist masterpieces." He also admired the cynical worldview that Chandler created, and his particular sense of style and mood.[6] In terms of his own plotting, however, he opined that "plots really don't matter", nor solutions to mysteries, because it's "the mood that's so enthralling... [a] kind of universal, this idea of a man searching for something or moving through this moral landscape and trying to protect himself from it, and yet he's still forced to investigate it." Part of the "impetus" behind Imperial Bedrooms, which Ellis "wrestled with", was to try and dispel the "sentimental" view of Less than Zero that made it, to some, "an artifact of the 80s" alongside "John Hughes movies and Ray-Bans and Fast Times at Ridgemont High"; he felt he began assessing audience's reactions to his work when working on Lunar Park.[5]
On April 14, 2009, MTV News announced that Ellis had nearly finished the novel and it would be published in May 2010. At the time, Ellis revealed that all the novel's main characters would return.[7][8][9][10] Prior to publication, Ellis had been convinced by his persuasive editor to remove some of the more graphic lines from Imperial Bedrooms' torture scenes, which he later regretted. "My most extreme act of self-censoring in Imperial Bedrooms," he said, however, was to omit a three-line description of a silver wall, because he felt that Clay would never have written it. Ellis stated he had no plans to make changes to the book as it stands in a second edition.[11] Months prior to the book's release, Ellis tweeted the first sentence of the novel, "They had made a movie about us."[12] The Random House website later announced the on sale date of June 22, 2010, in both hardback and paperback. With it, they released a picture of the book's cover and a short synopsis, which described the book as focusing on a middle-aged Clay, now a screenwriter, drawn back into his old circle. Amidst this, Clay begins dating a young actress with mysterious ties to Julian, Rip, and a recently murdered Hollywood producer; his life begins to spin out of control.[13] In Imperial Bedrooms, Los Angeles returns once again as the book's setting. It is, along with New York, one of the two major locations in Ellis' fiction.[11]
Plot
The action of Imperial Bedrooms depicts Clay, who, after four months in New York, returns to Los Angeles to assist in the casting of his new film. There, he meets up with his old friends who were characters in Less than Zero. Like Clay, they have all become involved in the
Clay attempts to romance Rain Turner, a gorgeous young woman auditioning for a role in his new film, leading her on with the promise of being cast, all the while knowing she will never get the part because of her complete lack of acting skills. His narration reveals he has done this with a number of men and women in the past, and yet often comes out of the relationship hurt and damaged himself. Over the course of their relationship, he is stalked by unknown persons driving a Jeep and is frequently reminded by various individuals of the grisly murder of a young producer whom he knew.
As the novel progresses, Clay learns that Rip also had a fling with Rain and is now obsessed with her. When Clay discovers that Julian is currently Rain's boyfriend, he conspires with Rip to hand Julian over to him. When Julian is then found murdered, Rain confronts Clay about his role in the affair and is raped by him in response. He later receives a video of Julian's murder from Rip which has been overdubbed with an angry voicemail from Clay as a means to implicate him in the crime. The novel then depicts sequences of the savage sexual and physical abuse of a beautiful young girl and young boy, perpetrated by Clay. Clay experiences no feelings of remorse or guilt for this, or for exploiting and raping Rain. In the last scenes, it is strongly implied that Blair has been hiring people to follow Clay. In return for his giving her what she wants, she offers to provide Clay with a false alibi that will prevent the police from arresting him as an accomplice to Julian's murder.
Characters
Much critical attention has been given to the development of the characters from the original book, 25 years on. One review opined that "[Ellis'] characters are incapable of growth. They cannot credibly
Clay, the protagonist of Less than Zero, "once a paralyzed observer, is now a more active character and has grown to be a
The novel is written in the first-person, from Clay's perspective. Clay, who "felt betrayed by Less than Zero", uses Imperial Bedrooms to make a stand or a case for himself, though ultimately "reveals himself to be far worse than the author of Less Than Zero ever began to hint at."[11] Clay still bears similarities to the earlier character in Less than Zero; according to one reviewer, "not all that much is changed. Clay is a cipher, an empty shell who is only able to approximate interactions and experiences through acts of sadism and exploitation." He is also, in many ways, a new character, because the opening of the book presents that the Clay of Less than Zero had merely been "just a writer pretending to be him".[20] When asked why he "changed" Clay from "passive" to "guilty", Ellis explained he felt Clay's inaction in the original novel made him equally as guilty; it had "always bothered" Ellis that Clay didn't do anything to save the little girl being raped in the first novel.[2] The Independent notes "his passivity [in Less than Zero] has hardened into something far more culpable, and nefarious."[19] According to Ellis, "In LA, over time, the real person you are ultimately comes out." He also speculates "maybe the fear turned him into a monster". Ellis remarks that he finds the developments in Clay "so exciting".[5] One reviewer summarized the character's development, "The nascent narcissist of Less Than Zero... is now left in a "dead end". The novel is Ellis'"deeply pessimistic presentation of human nature as assailable... an unflinching study of evil."[19]
Blair and Trent Burroughs share a loveless marriage.[14] Blair remains, according to Janelle Brown, "the moral center of Ellis' work", and Trent has become a Hollywood manager. The Oregonian notes "Although Blair and Trent have children, the children are never described and hardly mentioned; their absence is "even more unsettling than the absence of parents in a story about teenagers, underlining the endlessly narcissistic nature of the characters' world."[21] Julian Wells has gone on to establish a very exclusive escort service of his own in Hollywood.[18] While in Less than Zero, Clay felt protective of Julian, who had fallen into prostitution and drug addiction, in the new novel, he attempts to have him killed.[3] The "grisly" dispatch of Julian late in the book, and Clay's casual mention of it early on, were part of a "rhythm" that Ellis felt suited the book. He speculates whether "the artist looking back" becomes a destructive force. He hadn't planned to kill off the character, just finding that while writing "it felt right".[5] Rip Millar occupies both terrifying and comic relief roles in the novel. Vice describes him, hyperbolically, as "like the supervillain of these two books". Uncertainties about the character's "specifics" originate in Clay, who "doesn't really want to know, which makes it kind of scarier".[5]
Writing style
Writing for
Literary devices and themes
Imperial Bedrooms opens with an acknowledgement from Clay, the main character, that both the Less than Zero novel and its film adaptation are actual representational works within the narrative of his life: "The movie was based on a book by someone we knew... It was labeled fiction but only a few details had been altered and our names weren't changed and there was nothing in it that hadn't happened." The Los Angeles Times described this as a "nifty little trick", as it allows Ellis to establish the newer book "as the primary narrative, one that trumps Ellis as author and the real world."
Asked about the motif and "casual approach to" bisexual characters in his novels, continued in Imperial Bedrooms, Ellis stated he "really [didn't] know", and that he wished he could provide "an answer – depicting [him] as extremely conscious of those choices". He believes it to be an "interesting aspect of [his] work". Details notes how Ellis' own sexuality, frequently described as bisexual, has been notoriously hard to pin down.[17] Reviewers have long tried to probe Ellis on autobiographical themes in his work. He reiterates to Vice that he is not Clay. Ellis says that other contemporary authors (naming Michael Chabon, Jonathan Franzen, Jonathan Lethem as examples) don't get asked if their novels are autobiographical.[5] (However, Ellis tells one interview, that he "cannot fully" say that "I'm not Clay" because of their emotional "connections".)[6] Vice attributes this streak to Ellis' age when Less than Zero came out, which led to him being seen as a voice-of-the-generation. Ellis feels that the autobiographical truths of his novels lie in their writing processes, which to him are like emotional "exorcisms".[6] Crace's abovementioned parody suggests that Less than Zero Clay was originally a flattering portrayal of Ellis.[25] Ellis discusses lightly the kinds of self-insertion present in the book. While Clay is clearly (parodically) working on the film adaptation of The Informers, he is at the same time fully aware that he has been a character in Less than Zero, and that ostensibly, Ellis is 'the author' whom Clay knew. However, there are clear differences to the characters, as well. For example, Ellis had to omit lines from the book he felt Clay would never have thought of, on subjects he would never have noticed. Ellis himself feels he is adapting to middle-age very well; Clay, however, isn't.[11]
Imperial Bedrooms also breaches several new territories. When compared to Less than Zero, its "huge shift" is a technological one. The novel picks up on many aspects of the early 21st-century culture, such as Internet
Reception
This book has its share of horror, not least a series of gangland slayings, but then dead bodies are to a Bret Easton Ellis novel what aspidistras are to George Orwell's: part of the scenery. More noticeable is the misting of melancholy that enshrouds LA's billboards and boulevards, and the mysterious crying fits that steal over its hero... Feelings? In a novel by Bret Easton Ellis? Whatever will his fans say?
Review Tom Shone, commenting on typical and atypical features of the new novel for The Sunday Times
Tom Shone, writing for The Sunday Times, praised the novel for its atypical qualities for Ellis, "known for his orgies of violence". Shone asks "Why is a new sequel to Less Than Zero... so moving?", noting the presence of "feelings" in the novel to be starkly different from Ellis' usual style. Touching on its personal qualities, Shone notes "If Lunar Park unspooled the atrocities of American Psycho back to their source, Imperial Bedrooms pulls the thread further and reaches Less Than Zero". The emotive energy in the new book is traced back to the last pages of Lunar Park as well; fellow writer Jay McInerney observes that "The last few pages of [Lunar Park] are among the most moving passages I know in recent American fiction [because]... Bret was coming to terms with his relationship with his father in that book."[24] Vice observes that the "final passages in both Imperial Bedrooms and Lunar Park pack a lot of emotional impact."[5] San Francisco Chronicle hails Imperial Bedrooms as "the very definition of authorly meta: Ellis is either so deeply enmeshed in his own creepy little insular world that he can't write his way out of it, or else he is such a genius that he's created an entire parallel universe that folds and unfolds on itself like some kind of Escher print."[18]
Regarding the book's achievement, Shone remarks "He now stands at year zero – creatively, psychologically." However, typical features of Ellis' earlier works remain intact; for example, in its depictions of violence.
Following her positive comments, however, Battersby concludes negatively. The book is a "bleak performance... a tired study of the vacuous" with the feeling of an improvised screenplay being performed by an uncommitted cast. She sums that Ellis' novel "consists of too many doors being left slightly ajar, and not enough rooms, or opportunities, being fully explored."
Andrew McCarthy, who played Clay in the 1987 Less than Zero film, described the novel as "an exciting, shocking conclusion... a surprising one." The actor praised Clay's character, citing a "wicked vulnerability" which the character covers up with alcohol, hostility, and its portrayal of a world "full of pain and suffering and unkindness" beneath the "glossy and shimmering and seductive" veneer of Hollywood. McCarthy described his experience of reading the book as like "revisiting an old friend", owing to the consistency of the characters' and Ellis' voices.[32]
Possible film adaptation
In May 2010, when MTV News first announced that Ellis had finished writing Imperial Bedrooms, the writer told them in interview that he had begun looking ahead to the possibility of a film adaptation, and felt that interpreting it as a sequel to the 1987 movie adaptation starring Andrew McCarthy, Robert Downey Jr., James Spader and Jami Gertz "would be a great idea".[7] Two months prior to the book's release, Less than Zero actor Andrew McCarthy stated it was "early days" in thinking about a potential film adaptation; McCarthy felt, however, that the novel would adapt well.[32] Because the characters in Imperial Bedrooms have been owned by 20th Century Fox since Ellis sold the film rights to Less than Zero, prospective film for Imperial Bedrooms rights revert to Fox. Ellis stated to Vice in June 2010 that he would be interested in writing the screenplay.[5] In July 2010 however, the author clarified to California Chronicle, saying "There's no deal, there's no one attached. There's been some vague talk among the cast members... As far as I know right now nothing's happening." Ellis opines that were Robert Downey Jr. to get involved, the film would move straight into production. However, remembering the adaptation process Less than Zero went through, he admits "I've learned to be cautious about saying oh they'll never turn this dark depraved character into any sort of interesting Mulholland Drive, David Lynch kind of movie, but I could be totally wrong about that. I don't know."[6]
References
- ^ "Imperial Bedrooms by Bret Easton Ellis". Random House. Archived from the original on April 9, 2010. Retrieved July 21, 2010.
- ^ a b c Gauthier, Robert (June 11, 2010). "Bret Easton Ellis: interview outtakes". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 15, 2010. Retrieved June 15, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Kellogg, Carolyn (June 13, 2010). "Bret Easton Ellis' wilted innocence". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 17, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
- ISBN 978-1-5290-1241-5. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Person, Jesse (June 2010). "In the magazine: Bret Easton Ellis". Vice.
- ^ a b c d e Baker, Jeff (July 2010). "Q&A: Bret Easton Ellis talks about writing novels, making movies". California Chronicle. Archived from the original on November 15, 2010. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
- ^ a b Carroll, Larry (April 14, 2009). "Bret Easton Ellis Finishes 'Less Than Zero' Sequel, Wants Robert Downey Jr. Back". MTV News. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2009.
- ^ Connolley, Brendon (April 14, 2009). "Robert Downey Jr. Back For Less Than Zero 2? Brett Easton Ellis Suggests So". Slashfilm.com. Archived from the original on April 16, 2009. Retrieved April 15, 2009.
- ^ Graham, Mark (April 14, 2009). "Bret Easton Ellis Wants to Reunite Less Than Zero Cast for a Sequel". New York. Archived from the original on September 21, 2011. Retrieved April 15, 2009.
- ^ Lewis, Hilary (April 14, 2009). "Does Bret Easton Ellis Want Robert Downey, Jr. To Be An Addict Again?". The Business Insider. Archived from the original on June 25, 2013. Retrieved April 15, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Ellis, Bret Easton (July 14, 2010). "Bret Easton Ellis and Camille Silvy". Front Row (Interview: Audio). Interviewed by Mark Lawson. BBC Radio 4. Archived from the original on October 16, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2010.
- ^ Bret Easton Ellis [@BretEastonEllis] (November 4, 2010). ""They had made a movie about us." The first sentence of Imperial Bedrooms" (Tweet) – via Twitter.[dead link]
- ^ Imperial Bedrooms Archived February 14, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Randomhouse.biz
- ^ a b c d Eichenberger, Bill (June 15, 2010). "Bret Easton Ellis puts his seminal characters into 'Imperial Bedrooms'". Cleveland.com. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved June 15, 2010.
- ^ a b Eisinger, Dale W. (June 14, 2010). "Two Times' Zero". New York Press. Archived from the original on June 17, 2010. Retrieved June 15, 2010.
- ^ Irish Times. Archivedfrom the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved June 15, 2010.
- ^ a b c Gordinier, Jeff (June 2010). "BRET EASTON ELLIS: THE ETERNAL BAD BOY". Details. Archived from the original on June 4, 2010. Retrieved June 15, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e Brown, Janelle (June 20, 2010). "'Imperial Bedrooms,' by Bret Easton Ellis". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f Akbar, Arifa (July 9, 2009). "Imperial Bedrooms, By Bret Easton Ellis". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on September 28, 2010. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
- ^ a b c d Maurstrad, Tom (June 13, 2010). "Book review: 'Imperial Bedrooms' by Bret Easton Ellis". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved June 15, 2010.
- ^ McGregor, Michael (June 26, 2010). "Fiction review: 'Imperial Bedrooms' by Bret Easton Ellis". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on July 16, 2010. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
- guardian.co.uk, The Observer. London. Archivedfrom the original on June 30, 2010. Retrieved June 28, 2010.
- ^ a b c Fischer, Mike (June 17, 2010). "Zero Progress". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on November 20, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
- ^ a b c d Shone, Tom (June 13, 2010). "Once more, with feeling". The Sunday Times. London. Archived from the original on June 15, 2011. Retrieved June 15, 2010.
- ^ a b Crace, John (July 6, 2010). "Imperial Bedrooms by Bret Easton Ellis". The Guardian.
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(help) - ^ "Critical eye: book reviews roundup". The Guardian. London. June 26, 2010. Archived from the original on January 23, 2016. Retrieved June 28, 2010.
- ^ "Culture Vulture: reviews round-up". New Statesman. July 5, 2010. Archived from the original on January 7, 2011. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
- ^ Wengen, Deidre (June 21, 2010). "Book buzz: 'Imperial Bedrooms' by Bret Easton Ellis". PhillyBurbs.com. Retrieved June 28, 2010. [dead link]
- ^ "Enfant more dull than terrible". The Periscope Press. June 29, 2010. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
- ^ Simon, Jeff (June 20, 2010). "Editor's Choice". The Buffalo News. Retrieved June 20, 2010. [dead link]
- ^ Atkinson, Jay (July 4, 2010). "Less than zero: Bret Easton Ellis's sequel misses". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on July 8, 2010. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
- ^ a b "Are you excited for the 'Less Than Zero' sequel?". USA Today. April 22, 2010. Archived from the original on April 26, 2010. Retrieved May 8, 2010.