Bret Easton Ellis facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bret Easton Ellis
Ellis in 2010
Born	(1964-03-07) March 7, 1964 (age 61) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Novelist screenwriter
Education	Bennington College (BA)
Period	1985–present
Genre	Satire, black comedy, Transgressive fiction
Literary movement	Postmodernism
Notable works	American ... (1991) Less than Zero (1985) The Shards (2023)
Signature

Bret Easton Ellis (born March 7, 1964) is an American author and screenwriter. He is known for writing stories that use satire, which is a type of humor that points out the flaws in society. His writing style is often very direct and unemotional, even when describing shocking events. Many of his novels feature characters that appear in his other books.

When Ellis was just 21, his first novel, Less than Zero (1985), became a bestseller. His third novel, American ... (1991), was his most famous and controversial book. When it was released, many people criticized it for its shocking content. Despite the controversy, it was published and became very successful.

Ellis's later novels became more metafictional, which means they often refer to themselves as stories. For example, Lunar Park (2005) is a ghost story that features a character named Bret Easton Ellis. His 2023 book, The Shards, is a fictional story based on his own high school memories.

Four of Ellis's books have been turned into movies. These include films based on Less than Zero, American ..., and The Rules of Attraction. He also co-wrote the screenplay for the movie The Informers and wrote the script for the 2013 film The Canyons.

Early Life and Education

Bret Easton Ellis was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. He grew up in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. His father, Robert Martin Ellis, was a property developer, and his mother, Dale Ellis, was a homemaker. His parents divorced in 1982. Ellis has said that he had a mostly happy childhood in California.

Ellis went to The Buckley School in Los Angeles. After graduating, he attended Bennington College in Vermont. At first, he studied music but soon focused on writing, which had been a passion of his since he was a child. At Bennington, he met other students who would also become famous writers, like Donna Tartt and Jonathan Lethem. He finished his first novel, Less than Zero, while he was still a student at Bennington.

Writing Career

The success of Less than Zero in 1985 made Ellis a well-known young writer. His next major book, American ... (1991), caused a lot of debate but later became a cult classic, especially after it was made into a movie in 2000. Many people now consider it his most important work.

Over the years, Ellis has also worked as a screenwriter. He helped write the script for the film adaptation of his short story collection, The Informers. The movie was released in 2009. In 2010, he published Imperial Bedrooms, a sequel to his first novel, Less than Zero.

In 2012, Ellis wrote the screenplay for an independent film called The Canyons. The film was released in 2013. Although it received mixed reviews from critics, it was a financial success.

Major Works

Ellis at an event in Glasgow in 1998

Ellis has written several important and influential novels during his career. His books often explore the lives of wealthy young people and comment on modern culture.

Famous Novels

His first novel, Less than Zero, tells the story of wealthy, disconnected teenagers in Los Angeles. Ellis started writing it when he was still in high school. The book was a huge success, selling 50,000 copies in its first year.

His second novel, The Rules of Attraction, was published in 1987. It is set at a fictional college and follows a group of students. The book uses a special narrative style called stream of consciousness, where the story is told through the thoughts of different characters.

American ... (1991) is his most famous and controversial book. The main character, Patrick Bateman, is a wealthy businessman who is obsessed with material things. The book uses dark humor and shocking scenes to criticize the consumer culture of the 1980s. Because of its content, the original publisher decided not to release it, but another company, Vintage, published it instead.

Glamorama (1998) is a long novel that took Ellis eight years to write. It is set in the world of high fashion and follows a male model who gets caught up with a strange group. The book explores themes like celebrity, media, and politics. Ellis has said this book is one of his most meaningful works.

Lunar Park (2005) is written like a celebrity memoir. It tells a ghost story about a fictional version of "Bret Easton Ellis" living in a haunted house with his family. The book mixes comedy with scary and serious moments.

Recent Work

In 2019, Ellis released White, his first non-fiction book. It is a collection of essays about modern society and culture.

His latest novel, The Shards, was published in 2023. Ellis first shared the story through his podcast. The book is a fictional memoir about his teenage years in Los Angeles and a mysterious figure known as the Trawler.

Shared Universe in His Books

A unique feature of Ellis's work is that many of his books are connected. Characters who are main figures in one novel might appear as minor characters in another. This creates a shared fictional world.

For example, the fictional Camden College, based on Ellis's own college, appears in several books. Clay, the main character of Less than Zero, is a minor character in The Rules of Attraction. Patrick Bateman, the main character of American ..., is first mentioned in The Rules of Attraction as the older brother of a student named Sean.

This technique connects his stories and creates a larger universe for his readers to explore. Other authors who were friends with Ellis, like Donna Tartt and Jay McInerney, have also made small references to his characters or settings in their own books.

Filmography

Podcast

In 2013, Ellis started a podcast. On his show, he has long conversations with guests from the worlds of movies, music, and writing. He discusses their work, what inspires them, and his own thoughts on media and culture.

Some of his famous guests have included Kanye West, Marilyn Manson, Judd Apatow, Kevin Smith, and Gus Van Sant. The podcast allows listeners to hear Ellis's ideas directly in a conversational format.

See also

In Spanish: Bret Easton Ellis para niños

• List of novelists from the United States
• Transgressional fiction