A review by michaelgardner
The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis

3.0

I was deeply engrossed and enjoyed this book enormously, until I didn't. The first two-thirds is a paradoxical emotional yet emotionally numbed-sentimental, glossy 80's revisit blown open in hi-def clarity while traveling along the glamorous drug fueled LA highways and byways (dj'ed with all the grooviest hits) aesthetic, that are then gnarled on by the wild and unchaperoned teens. This much was a great get-away. The remaining third forces the subjectivity: "whodunnit?!," which seemed to overwhelm the author of the book, taking the reader on a rather empty and convoluted hunt. Too much misdirection and empty promises that just don't pay off, and unfortunately underwhelm.
SPOILER ALERT: There isn't one.