creativestalkerrs's review against another edition
4.0
Bret Easton Ellis is back baby! And this book was fun in all ways. At first I was unsure as it felt like Bret was writing fanfiction about himself... and he was in a way. This is a mock memoir and that idea is so much fun, but the thing is this is a horror novel. 'Lunar Park' was such a creative concept for a book. We get an insight into Ellis' life (both real and fiction) and how his past has come back to haunt him. Aka, 'Patrick Bateman'.
What shined through for me under all the blood and drugs, would be the relationship with Bret and his son, Robbie. The ending struck a knife into me and it shows growth in Bret's writing and his style.
This book is horrific, emotional, and fun.
What shined through for me under all the blood and drugs, would be the relationship with Bret and his son, Robbie. The ending struck a knife into me and it shows growth in Bret's writing and his style.
This book is horrific, emotional, and fun.
trudilibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
Bret Easton Ellis wasn't even out of college when his debut novel, Less Than Zero (1985), marked him as a rising literary prodigy at age 19. His writing explored themes of the self-absorption and hedonism of the American 80's, and in a way, highlighted the emptiness and despair experienced by the so-called Generation X'ers. His characters are often directionless with very little to redeem them in the reader's eyes.
Ellis continued these themes a few years later with The Rules of Attraction (1987), but it wasn't until the publication of his controversial novel American Psycho (1991) that Ellis truly became a household name. In it he takes an unflinching look at what happens when a psychopathic killer succumbs to his most gruesome sadistic urges. The line between reality and fantasy blurs beyond recognition as wealthy New York investment banker Patrick Bateman struggles to hide his alternate homicidal ego. It is a dark and terrifying journey not easily forgotten.
Now Ellis is older and wiser and I think with Lunar Park (2005) has attempted to offer up something not so salacious or self-indulgent, and in many ways more terrifying than anything he has done previously. This is a ghost story of the most unusual order. It's a cross between Stephen King's The Shining with a little of Child's Play and Poltergeist thrown in for good measure. There is a haunted stuffed toy that becomes carnivorous, and fictional characters that seem to be coming to life, including the savage and disturbed Patrick Bateman from American Psycho.
Lunar Park received the 2005 IHG Award for Best Novel. I will warn you that if you are thinking of picking up this book, and I highly recommend that you do, not everything gets resolved and I found the ending to be a little confusing (and dissatisfying). In spite of this, it's still an amazing and creepy read. I hope Ellis decides to focus his literary talents on the supernatural now that he's proven himself to be so capable.
Ellis continued these themes a few years later with The Rules of Attraction (1987), but it wasn't until the publication of his controversial novel American Psycho (1991) that Ellis truly became a household name. In it he takes an unflinching look at what happens when a psychopathic killer succumbs to his most gruesome sadistic urges. The line between reality and fantasy blurs beyond recognition as wealthy New York investment banker Patrick Bateman struggles to hide his alternate homicidal ego. It is a dark and terrifying journey not easily forgotten.
Now Ellis is older and wiser and I think with Lunar Park (2005) has attempted to offer up something not so salacious or self-indulgent, and in many ways more terrifying than anything he has done previously. This is a ghost story of the most unusual order. It's a cross between Stephen King's The Shining with a little of Child's Play and Poltergeist thrown in for good measure. There is a haunted stuffed toy that becomes carnivorous, and fictional characters that seem to be coming to life, including the savage and disturbed Patrick Bateman from American Psycho.
Lunar Park received the 2005 IHG Award for Best Novel. I will warn you that if you are thinking of picking up this book, and I highly recommend that you do, not everything gets resolved and I found the ending to be a little confusing (and dissatisfying). In spite of this, it's still an amazing and creepy read. I hope Ellis decides to focus his literary talents on the supernatural now that he's proven himself to be so capable.
haunted_atoms's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
iconoclastthinker's review against another edition
3.0
A really unique take on a thriller novel involving characters named after real life authors and characters from his past books.
joshtenet's review against another edition
5.0
Bret Easton Ellis writes a post-modern Stephen King ghost story about a writer called Bret Ellis and it's pretty good and actually scary at parts. I probably should have read Rules of Attraction and Glamorama and The Informers before I read this, though.
lnwdc's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75