Rudi reviewed Lunar Park by Bret Easton Ellis
Review of 'Lunar Park' on 'Goodreads'
1 star
Bret Easton Ellis is a good writer, something I feel is obvious from this book. Had he not been, I would never have finished it. Ellis seems to have several ideas for this book. The false autobiographical story, the meta perspective, the Stephen King-homage, the father and son theme, the satirical look at the direction that modern society. I don't mind any of these, and some of these ought to be rigt up my alley. But to me, the book just didn't work.
It starts of in a really interesting way, and I was curiously tagging along with it, looking forward to where it would take me. But as the story (slowly) progresses, my interest starts to fade. Perhaps it was because he didn't manage to combine all the elements in a satisfying (to me) way? The father/son theme is perhaps the most interesting part of the book, and you …
Bret Easton Ellis is a good writer, something I feel is obvious from this book. Had he not been, I would never have finished it. Ellis seems to have several ideas for this book. The false autobiographical story, the meta perspective, the Stephen King-homage, the father and son theme, the satirical look at the direction that modern society. I don't mind any of these, and some of these ought to be rigt up my alley. But to me, the book just didn't work.
It starts of in a really interesting way, and I was curiously tagging along with it, looking forward to where it would take me. But as the story (slowly) progresses, my interest starts to fade. Perhaps it was because he didn't manage to combine all the elements in a satisfying (to me) way? The father/son theme is perhaps the most interesting part of the book, and you could easily remove it and have the story work about just as well (maybe then only as a horror/satire). Looked at in isolation, the horror elements could have been form a Goosebumps novel, and somehow I feel Ellis could have solved it all in a more clever way. The description of the parties and the lavish lifestyle was most likely satirical, but maybe I just don't know enough about Ellis to get any joy out of them.
Towards the end of the book, it almost feels like Ellis is as bored with the story as the reader is, just checking off the last pieces on the check list before he can call it quits. Going all meta, sentimental, tying up plot elements in a bow, leaving a little bit of mystery and then paint a nice picture. Though I did actually enjoy the last couple of pages of the book. But it was despite the rest of it, not because of it.
I might be a bit harsh here. I did not like the book, but Ellis is talented, and this book probably deserves the love it gets. Just not from me.