Summer Readin'

I've had a ton of free time on my hands here in Lille, so I've taken it upon myself to actually get back into reading. To be honest I haven't really read a book cover to cover in about two years. Pathetic I know, but it seems at the moment I'm on a reading frenzy so I'm just gonna keep going with it.

Anyways, here are the books I've read in the past three weeks or so, and what I've thought of them:

Less Than Zero - Bret Easton Ellis

The story runs from a first person narrative, through the main character, Clay. Its a powerful story about Clay returning home to L.A. from school on the East Coast, and being completely disenchanted with his surroundings. The friends, the drugs, the parties, the money, all becomes a huge wash for Clay. Its nihilism among youth at its worst. A truly great novel, and very easy to sympathize and connect with its main character, as I'm sure many of us have felt the same way about our home, friends, and other surroundings at one time or another. Its quite remarkable that the author, Ellis, wrote the novel at the age of 21. Remarkable, and depressing. Depressing in the fact that it makes one wonder, what the hell have I done at 21? Anyways, I highly recommend it.

The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway

This short novel (its only 100 pages) won Hemingway the Nobel Prize for Literature, and its easy to understand why after you've read it. Its the story of a man nearing the end of his life as a fisherman, and facing the elements in an epic battle against a marlin, sharks, and his own aging body. The story is literally just about the old man trying to catch a fish, but Hemingway has written it so well that it never bores you.

American Psycho - Bret Easton Ellis

Written in the same style as Less Than Zero, through a first person narrative. This novel is hilarious, terrifying, and disturbing all at the same time. Its the story of Patrick Bateman. Successful business man on Wall Street, lives in a very swanky apartment, intelligent, and enjoys the finer things in life. Oh, he's also a raving psychopath who slices up his victims in horrific fashion during his spare time. This one is not for any one who can't handle violence. I mean, not many things in movies, music, or books phase me, but man there were some scenes in this one where I was actually bothered by what I was reading. For example, Bateman at one point stabs a homeless mans eyes out, then stomps on his dogs legs, leaving its paws 'sticking up at an obscure, satisfying angle'. Its not all about the violence, though. Ellis describes 1980s upper-class New York in such a way that makes you feel pity for these people whose lives revolve around material items from the best-looking suit possible, down to who has the best business card (which by the way, is one of the more hilarious parts in the novel). Its a dark, bleak comedy which, like Less Than Zero, is a satire on the terrible power of money.

Currently reading: The Catcher In The Rye - J.D. Salinger.