The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis

 

The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis

Submitted by Heather Groom, Branch Manager for Sullivan Gardens Public Library

    Thirty two years after shattering the global literary market with "American Psycho", Bret Easton Ellis takes us back to the 80's in a gritty coming of age novel that reads like a piece of true crime non fiction.

    Ellis' most popular work to date is "American Psycho", a novel that was shrink wrapped in certain countries due to its graphic violence. If you haven't read the book, you have probably seen the movie, and you have an idea of the kind of  punch Ellis can pack in his stories. In his most recent book, "The Shards", Ellis doesn't pull any punches. He puts himself front and center as the narrator and main character. Bret is a privileged student at a private high school in 1980's L.A. He's a rich and popular senior at Buckley Prep School and is preparing to take the world by storm. Until a mysterious new student, Robert Mallory, arrives and upends his ideal existence. Robert is handsome and charismatic, but also hiding a dangerous and violent past. As Bret unravels the mystery behind Robert's sudden appearance, a vicious serial killer emerges, "The Trawler", with an unmatched propensity for horror and violence. As Bret's friends are methodically stalked and murdered, he descends into a downward spiral of paranoia. Once graduation day arrives, nothing will be the same for the students that survive.

    Ellis writes with the pace of a slowly ticking time bomb. The plot is laid out like a train wreck that you can't look away from. Ellis surrounds his trademark horror/suspense with a vibrant picture of early 1980's L.A. The city and people come to life in Bret's descriptions. The sadistic murders of the Trawler are subversive to the vivid setting they take place in. As Bret begins to uncover the secrets of the Trawler he sinks deeper into a cycle of paranoia.

    Ellis comes back out of the shadows with a thrilling, provocative novel that shows that after dozen of years, his edge is still razor sharp. Fans of Chuck Palahniuk, Augusten Burroughs, Stephen King and William S. Burroughs will love this gritty page turner!

The Shards can be checked out at Sullivan Gardens and Sullivan County Public Libraries.
Also request this title on Libby or Hoopla!

    

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