Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com

Average Customer Rating:

One of best fiction books I've read

Customer Rating:

Rules of Attraction is a first-person narrative that alternates between a few egocentric, hedonistic college students as they become intertwined in a love triangle. There isn't a dull moment in the book in large part due to the story and Ellis' provocative style of writing. The characters are quite shallow and far from morally inclined, to the point where some will readers get sick to their stomaches. This is Ellis' intention though as the underlying message of his writing is a critique of the moral state of modern culture. Unfortunately, his themes tend to split his critics often due to misunderstanding. The book is amazing and important. Read it!

Did the Eighties Ever End?

Customer Rating:

I bought this book almost exactly 20 years ago, back in 1988. The first time I read it, my reaction was: this is a real piece of trash. On the surface, it appeared that Ellis put almost no effort into this book, that it was just a stream of consciousness regurgitation with little or no cohesion or substance. What a difference 20 years makes! TROE is perhaps the most well worn book in my collection--one I've read over and over and over. Despite its relative thinness, TROE is a masterpiece in multiple literary dimensions: setting, characterization, social commentary, and (yes) even plot. One of the most overlooked (underrated) aspects of his book is the different spin each character puts on the same event. This makes it one of the only books that realistically illustrates how we all see the world through our own prism--especially as young adults. As a college professor, I have some insight into how today's students think and act. Aside from a few references to the Internet, this book would describe college life today just as well as it did in 1986. Well done, Mr. Ellis, well done.

Both excessive and tepid

Customer Rating:

If you were a WASPy, spoiled, vacuous student of a liberal-arts college in the mid-'80s and you jumped from one empty relationship to another and mulled obsessively over every mundane detail in your aimless life while thinking in run-on sentences, this book was written just for you. But I can't imagine possibly being interested, much less intrigued, by The Rules of Attraction. Ellis' second novel is only notable for being almost entirely unexceptional. Most of this story is recounted in a first-person narrative by central characters Paul, Lauren and Sean, among a handful of other friends, relatives and acquaintances. They spend most of their time ingesting all manner of drugs, legal and otherwise. They jump into bed with whoever looks good at the moment. They usually avoid anything resembling responsible behavior by habit. And when they aren't whining over every minor misfortune that befalls them, they're trying desperately to fool themselves (and us) into believing that the few positive aspects of their lives are so much more engrossing than they actually are. In terms of accuracy and structure, there isn't anything particularly objectionable about this story. What exists of the plot was cunningly conceived, and the dialogue is entirely authentic. Ellis possesses a very keen wit, but it's utilized far too infrequently; for every hilarious incident that's depicted here, there are a half-dozen that very nearly put me to sleep. These characters are realistic, decadent, impulsive and thoroughly boring. The story moves along at a lively pace, but these people are so self-absorbed and their respective tellings of each sequence are so pedestrian that slogging through this rather short book is quite a chore. Even contradictions found in comparison of any two self-serving, entirely subjective accounts of a common episode aren't terribly engaging. The most frustrating aspect of this story is that the only interesting characters here are confined to its periphery: flighty Victor, fastidious Patrick (Bateman, the titular antagonist of the much more entertaining "American Psycho") and Eve, Paul's emotionally estranged mother. If these characters had been afforded a greater share of the narrative, this book might have been a much more engaging read. Setting aside the minutia of this critique, it must be noted that this entire genre of popular fiction has been rendered obsolete by the Internet. At any time, I can access a wealth of blogs scribed by self-obsessed wretches who are every bit as dysfunctional as the spoiled brats of this banal, miserable volume, most of whom have much more intriguing exploits to relate. I can read about and laugh at their pathetic lives for free and this book doesn't convey anything profound either, so of what use it it?

Perfectly Written

Customer Rating:

After reading "Less Than Zero" I was excited to give another Bret Easton Ellis novel a try, and this turned out to be one of those books I never wanted to end. Every page was full of something interesting and thought provoking and what at times seemed shocking also seemed like the harsh, honest truth. And this has become one of my favorite novels that I know I'll read over and over again. The events are intriguing, the use of different narrators is great and very effective, and the writing style is perfect. Ellis really knew his characters well and had me believing these were real people. And as always in the three Ellis novels I've read (Less Than Zero, The Rules of Attraction, Glamorama), I felt some disgust towards the characters' actions yet admired them at the same time and part of me wanted to live their wild and eccentric lives.

A sad but hilarious portrayal of contemporary college culture

Customer Rating:

The characters in "The Rules of Attraction" all use alcohol and drugs without a second thought, sleep with the most convenient person available and have no idea what they want to do with their lives. Not only are the main characters of Sean, Lauren and Paul aimless and careless of searching for a purpose in love and life, but the entire school of Camden seems to be exactly the same way. While Ellis may go a bit overboard with his portrayal of existential ennui at American colleges, there is more than a grain of truth in what he shows us about this country's young people. I would recommend this book for any kid about to go off to college so they know how *not* to be like while they are there, and for any adult who has bittersweet memories of their own college experiences.