Fiction

The Rules of Attraction

The Rules of Attraction

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  • Create Date：2021-06-20 08:54:50
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Bret Easton Ellis
  • ISBN：0330536346
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Summary

Set at a small， affluent liberal-arts college in New England at the height of the Reagan 80s， The
Rules of Attraction is a startlingly funny， kaleidoscopic novel about three students with no plans
for the future--or even the present--who become entangled in a curious romantic triangle。 Bret
Easton Ellis trains his incisive gaze on the kids at self-consciously bohemian Camden College
and treats their sexual posturings and agonies with a mixture of acrid hilarity and compassion
while exposing the moral vacuum at the center of their lives。
Lauren changes boyfriends every time she changes majors and still pines for Victor who split for
Europe months ago and she might or might not be writing anonymous love letter to ambivalent，
hard-drinking Sean， a hopeless romantic who only has eyes for Lauren， even if he ends up in bed
with half the campus， and Paul， Lauren's ex， forthrightly bisexual and whose passion masks a
shrewd pragmatism。 They waste time getting wasted， race from Thirsty Thursday Happy Hours
to Dressed To Get Screwed parties to drinks at The Edge of the World or The Graveyard。 The
Rules of Attraction is a poignant， hilarious take on the death of romance。

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Reviews

Nuno de Oliveira ，

“A vida é como um erro tipográfico: estamos sempre a escrever e a reescrever coisas por cima umas das outras。”

Julia ，

more depressing than i thought but still a good read

Robbie ，

I feel like this book could give you an STD。

Robert ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Spoilers/Trigger Warning3。0/5 StarsMy academic coursework is coming to a close。 The pandemic altered my educational experience in unprecedented ways- everything shifted to online。 Beneath the stress and fear of 2020， I yearned for a return to the prepandemic life I took for granted。 I chose to read this book because I was seeking a return to the traditional campus experience。 I was hooked at first。 I loved most of the book， but it fell apart for me in the end。 The book has some laugh out loud pa Spoilers/Trigger Warning3。0/5 StarsMy academic coursework is coming to a close。 The pandemic altered my educational experience in unprecedented ways- everything shifted to online。 Beneath the stress and fear of 2020， I yearned for a return to the prepandemic life I took for granted。 I chose to read this book because I was seeking a return to the traditional campus experience。 I was hooked at first。 I loved most of the book， but it fell apart for me in the end。 The book has some laugh out loud parts， but the humor dried up for me in the second half。 The story revolves around three main characters- Paul， Sean， and Lauren。 The strength of the story lies in Paul， he feels the most real and well-written of the bunch。 Sean is good too， but he lacks the emotional intelligence of Paul， although part of Sean's character is his blankness and that he doesn't really know who he is。 Lauren was alright， contrived and frustrating; I felt some disconnection with her。 Paul and Sean have some beautiful moments together， but Paul undermines the meaning of these moments in the end。 I really became disenchanted with the story when Paul and Sean had a falling out。 I was rooting for them。 Sean and Lauren blunder around near the end and become aimless， which I understand is the point it just was not executed well。 The story becomes cynically predictable and fizzles out。 。。。more

Malcom ，

The Rules of Attraction - Bret Easton Ellis。First off， this piece of work has a very unique way of shelling out its narrative。 The plot revolves mainly around three titular characters， Lauren Hynde， Sean Bateman and Paul Denton。 Ellis doesn't use chapters ， instead， he denotes a change in scenery by adopting the story through a different character's narrative。 Paragraphs begin with a character's name， and then proceeds to shell out the instances that occur through their perspective， frequently a The Rules of Attraction - Bret Easton Ellis。First off， this piece of work has a very unique way of shelling out its narrative。 The plot revolves mainly around three titular characters， Lauren Hynde， Sean Bateman and Paul Denton。 Ellis doesn't use chapters ， instead， he denotes a change in scenery by adopting the story through a different character's narrative。 Paragraphs begin with a character's name， and then proceeds to shell out the instances that occur through their perspective， frequently adopting different points of view to describe the same encounter。 For example， we would first see how Sean views his encounter with Paul， and then Paul's perspective on the same encounter， enhanced by their own personal thoughts and inclinations。 However， they aren't just limited to these three characters， for many others also have their own unique paragraphs put forth （ example， Stuart， Bertrand or even Clay from his first novel Less Than Zero， who makes adorable cameos ）。 The characters are soulless。 But that seems to be the point Ellis is trying to drive home。 They are all beyond redemption， and are all so far gone in their degeneracy that they have completely lost themselves and most of their moral compass。 They are hard to sympathize with， and very hard to relate to as individuals。 But they feel human。 Their tendencies are human。 Their quirky thoughts， unusual impulses， are all a satirical reflection of what we are capable of。 They are realistic， but hard to get attached to。There is essentially little to no plot。 The whole book， is just a typical stretch of days in Camden College。 Nothing significant happens， and nothing happens is significant。 It just merely a deep dive into what seemingly happens on the regular。 We follow a pretty undeveloped love triangle with our main three， while they navigate through drugs， sex， parties and relationships。 There is almost no conclusion， and that's the beauty of it。 Ellis commits two cardinal sins in writing in this novel。 First， by proposing no character development of sorts among anyone， and secondly by wisely choosing to forgo any sound conclusions whatsoever。 But it works。 And only Bret Easton Ellis could have made such a unique concept so captivating to read。 No story comes full circle， and it's perhaps for the best that none did。 The very personal， yet soulless accounts of such debauchery make it feel like we're getting a glimpse of the insides of these reckless college students， while also leaving us with nothing。 。。。more

Pierre ，

Les lois de l’attraction narre les interactions de jeunes pourri gâtés sur le campus de l’université Camden dans le New Hampshire。 Interactions qui se résument à des soirées， du sexe， des drogues， du rock， et un manque ahurissant d’assiduité aux cours。 L’idée d’Ellis de nous raconter le quotidien des personnages （on ne peut pas vraiment parler d’histoire） selon leurs différents points de vue est， bien que tout sauf nouvelle， particulièrement réussie。 Pourtant， on ne peut s’empêcher de trouver l’ Les lois de l’attraction narre les interactions de jeunes pourri gâtés sur le campus de l’université Camden dans le New Hampshire。 Interactions qui se résument à des soirées， du sexe， des drogues， du rock， et un manque ahurissant d’assiduité aux cours。 L’idée d’Ellis de nous raconter le quotidien des personnages （on ne peut pas vraiment parler d’histoire） selon leurs différents points de vue est， bien que tout sauf nouvelle， particulièrement réussie。 Pourtant， on ne peut s’empêcher de trouver l’exercice de style un peu barbant sur la fin， et on a hâte que le roman se finisse。 。。。more

Leonie Nasser ，

boring， follows no real plot and the characters suck

Jared ，

As with the other Ellis novels I’ve read， Rules of Attraction presents the pretentious， materialistic and hedonistic young people of 80s America。 I think Ellis does a great job in communicating a moral message while still making his characters understandable。 This is a good book。

Lauren Coffey ，

I've struggled to write a review for this book because I'm still trying to decide if it's one of the best books ever written or if I'm just so desensitized to good books that I need a book that is plotless， without character development， without clarity， repetitive， without resolution， and with enough drug use to make me wonder how Ellis is even still alive after his college years。 But I think that's what's so good about this book-- it's a hyper-realistic portrayal of （some people's） college exp I've struggled to write a review for this book because I'm still trying to decide if it's one of the best books ever written or if I'm just so desensitized to good books that I need a book that is plotless， without character development， without clarity， repetitive， without resolution， and with enough drug use to make me wonder how Ellis is even still alive after his college years。 But I think that's what's so good about this book-- it's a hyper-realistic portrayal of （some people's） college experience。 Not the typical self-betterment parts， but the pseudo intellectual conversations about pretentious books while destroying every braincell left with copious amounts of cocaine and not even taking the classes you went there for the sole purpose of attending。 Some people don't change， a lot of life's bits are repetitive， a lot of interactions have no meaning， many questions are never answered。 These aspects aren't exactly entertaining， hence why it's not the newest literary trend to write in details for the sole purpose of them not mattering， but they're real。 Liberal arts colleges are wild， and I ate this book up because of it。 。。。more

Erica ，

I don’t want to give this book a rating because I personally don’t feel like I got far enough into it to do so fairly， but I couldn’t get past the first 50 pages。 It’s slow-moving， aimless， and overall pretty boring。 It may pick up later on in the book， but I have no motivation to read past the 50 page mark。

Philip Mainlander ，

'Rules of Attraction' was not as good as Ellis' earlier work 'Less Than Zero' and 'American Psycho'， but I still managed to find enjoyment in it。 'Rules of Attraction' was not as good as Ellis' earlier work 'Less Than Zero' and 'American Psycho'， but I still managed to find enjoyment in it。 。。。more

Russell Sorbello ，

I tried this a while ago once when I wasn't in the mood。 It's about what I expected but also not as bad as I thought it would be。 Reads a bit like American Psycho Jr。， but a lot more queer。If there's one thing that hasn't changed since the 80s， it's that young adulthood onward is some of the most confusing shit ever。 I tried this a while ago once when I wasn't in the mood。 It's about what I expected but also not as bad as I thought it would be。 Reads a bit like American Psycho Jr。， but a lot more queer。If there's one thing that hasn't changed since the 80s， it's that young adulthood onward is some of the most confusing shit ever。 。。。more

Jacqueline ，

“I want to know you，” Sean whines。“What？”“Know you。 I want to know you。” Pleading。“What does that mean？ Know me？” I ask him。 “Know me？ Nobody ever knows anyone。 Ever。 You will never know me。”At it's heart， the Rules of Attraction is a story about how we never quite know what the other person is thinking， delivered via a multiple narrator story where every single one of them is unreliable。 Over and over we see their versions of events clash， leaving the impression that none of them ever actually “I want to know you，” Sean whines。“What？”“Know you。 I want to know you。” Pleading。“What does that mean？ Know me？” I ask him。 “Know me？ Nobody ever knows anyone。 Ever。 You will never know me。”At it's heart， the Rules of Attraction is a story about how we never quite know what the other person is thinking， delivered via a multiple narrator story where every single one of them is unreliable。 Over and over we see their versions of events clash， leaving the impression that none of them ever actually Knew one another。 A great， fast-paced read。 。。。more

Mia ，

This one was difficult to get into。 I almost gave up a third of the way in。 But after that the POVs started to get a bit longer and I could actually get sucked into what was happening。 Ended up enjoying it overall but there were a few POVs that never really engaged me。

Otto Peyer ，

A step back from Less Than Zero， but still a very intriguing entry in the Ellis canon， with compelling arcs and characters that unfortunately ultimately feels a bit muddled in intent。 That isn't to say you should skip it， though。 Just be prepared for occasional frustration and letdown。 What this book does well is good enough to make what lacks all the more frustrating。There are still flashes of brilliance here， though。 Ellis exhibits a self-awareness with the material that makes it clear that th A step back from Less Than Zero， but still a very intriguing entry in the Ellis canon， with compelling arcs and characters that unfortunately ultimately feels a bit muddled in intent。 That isn't to say you should skip it， though。 Just be prepared for occasional frustration and letdown。 What this book does well is good enough to make what lacks all the more frustrating。There are still flashes of brilliance here， though。 Ellis exhibits a self-awareness with the material that makes it clear that there *is* intent here， that this story is more than just Less Than Zero in college with love triangles and more sex， I just think it needs a bit more oomph to really land。 The emotional passages in this are a great step forward from the minimal， emotionless prose of LTZ （which I adored， don't get me wrong， but I cannot divorce this from the context of being a follow-up; this is a clear evolution and forward progression in Ellis' style） and probably were the parts I enjoyed the most from this one。 There are also instances of self-parody and stylish humor that make it seem like Ellis was having a lot of fun writing this。I wonder if I had read this earlier， when I too was having an awkward college experience with unrequited love， it would have hit any differently。 I give this a 2/5， but understand that my rating scale is essentially "anything above a 1 is something I recommend" and focuses on leaving room to designate various degrees of being floored by great works。 This is a minor good read as opposed to a major one， but that doesn't mean you should sleep on it。 。。。more

Fradalla ，

Verismo americanoVoto 7。 Il sistema a 5 stelle non mi soddisfa :） Dicevo。。。verismo americano， uno stralcio di vita di ragazzi nel college， nuda e cruda， cosi' com'è senza abbellimenti。 non male Verismo americanoVoto 7。 Il sistema a 5 stelle non mi soddisfa :） Dicevo。。。verismo americano， uno stralcio di vita di ragazzi nel college， nuda e cruda， cosi' com'è senza abbellimenti。 non male 。。。more

Hayden ，

Seeing that the movie played a pivotal role during my high school years， opening me up to a different kind of storytelling and means of expression， I wanted to see what the text it was based off of was all about。 It’s a fun read！ Each characters’ personality and voice is distinct。 I’m pleased to say each protagonists’ vibe didn’t change much between the book and film。 I’m giving this three stars simply because I wasn’t wow’d by the book。 Very middle of the road for me。

Brennan Miller ，

It's another early BEE novel。 Another soulless group of drug addicts fucking each other （literally and metaphorically） and hating themselves and everyone around them for their actions， but also not really caring about anything at all， or rather， only caring about their own narcissistic worldview。 The moral void at the center here is pretty disheartening， but it's also extremely entertaining， even though the plot is （intentionally） repetitive。 It occasionally delves into the truly absurd （Paul's It's another early BEE novel。 Another soulless group of drug addicts fucking each other （literally and metaphorically） and hating themselves and everyone around them for their actions， but also not really caring about anything at all， or rather， only caring about their own narcissistic worldview。 The moral void at the center here is pretty disheartening， but it's also extremely entertaining， even though the plot is （intentionally） repetitive。 It occasionally delves into the truly absurd （Paul's account of a doctor telling a group of students that their friend is dead while the friend is talking is particularly ridiculous）。 Made me audibly lol a few times。 Leaves you feeling sad and hopeless， as even though Ellis was very consciously writing this as an indictment of 80s culture， its still pretty on the nose today。 Interesting lil literary echo: This book was published the same year as DFW's debut "The Broom of the System，" and both novels feature a specific literary device at the very end （Spoilers: leaving the last sentence unfinished）。 While they employ this for different reasons and to different effects， it's still a pretty interesting。。。 coincidence， especially when taking into account the not-so-happy relationship between the two。 。。。more

Anna ，

It wasn’t a perfect 5 ⭐️ - maybe a 4。75， but a damn enjoyable read。

The_Real_Jamie_Oliver ，

gutes buch， fick den film

Henz Carlenry ，

The plot is unequircally written。

abookplaylist ，

Sarebbe stato carino se fosse terminato molto prima， ma a lungo andare diventa una cosa ripetitiva e noiosa。 Per me é no

Mayor ，

3。5Evian propaganda。Everyone's a narcissist and they suffer。Everyone's in love with someone who doesn't give a single fuck about them， but they are blind and pursue their love anyway。 "No one ever likes the right person。"Razor blades。"It struck me then that I liked Sean because he looked， well， slutty。 A boy who'd been around。 A boy who couldn't remember if he was Catholic or not。"A tad too much sex for my taste。 A variety of drugs， some alcohol and even more gays。 3。5Evian propaganda。Everyone's a narcissist and they suffer。Everyone's in love with someone who doesn't give a single fuck about them， but they are blind and pursue their love anyway。 "No one ever likes the right person。"Razor blades。"It struck me then that I liked Sean because he looked， well， slutty。 A boy who'd been around。 A boy who couldn't remember if he was Catholic or not。"A tad too much sex for my taste。 A variety of drugs， some alcohol and even more gays。 。。。more

Erica ，

Dopo meno di zero continuo con il secondo romanzo di Ellis。 Stavolta siamo in un college， a Camden， nel New Hampshire， la voce narrante non è più una sola ma le vicende vengono raccontate da più personaggi， in modo a volte contraddittorio a seconda del punto di vista （“nessuno conoscerà mai nessuno”）。Stessi temi di Meno di zero （protagonisti ricchi， droghe， alcol， anni 80， sesso， assenza di limiti）， stessa atmosfera soffocante， amplificata dallo spostamento di location （non più Los Angeles ma un Dopo meno di zero continuo con il secondo romanzo di Ellis。 Stavolta siamo in un college， a Camden， nel New Hampshire， la voce narrante non è più una sola ma le vicende vengono raccontate da più personaggi， in modo a volte contraddittorio a seconda del punto di vista （“nessuno conoscerà mai nessuno”）。Stessi temi di Meno di zero （protagonisti ricchi， droghe， alcol， anni 80， sesso， assenza di limiti）， stessa atmosfera soffocante， amplificata dallo spostamento di location （non più Los Angeles ma un claustrofobico college della costa atlantica）， stessa ironia， stesso cinismo， stessa penna geniale。Appunto: fanno una comparsa anche il Clay del romanzo precedente e un certo Patrick Bateman， fratello di uno dei protagonisti， che qui sembra quasi normale。。。 。。。more

Valerie Ross ，

I hated every second of reading this book。 I know it's harsh， but it's the truth。 The Rules of Attraction has no redeeming qualities。 The characters are flat， there is no real story line and all behavior throughout the book is cyclical 。。。。 nothing changes between the beginning and end of the book。 It is 300 pages of sex， drugs and pretension。The best way I could explain this book is by comparing it to The Catcher in the Rye except a million times worse。 Both take place at a pretentious school， I hated every second of reading this book。 I know it's harsh， but it's the truth。 The Rules of Attraction has no redeeming qualities。 The characters are flat， there is no real story line and all behavior throughout the book is cyclical 。。。。 nothing changes between the beginning and end of the book。 It is 300 pages of sex， drugs and pretension。The best way I could explain this book is by comparing it to The Catcher in the Rye except a million times worse。 Both take place at a pretentious school， where students （some， in the Catcher in the Rye - not Holden） view sex like a game， and have a generally negative， hopeless outlook on life。 I really like the Catcher in the Rye， though - there's more character development， and ideas of naivety and coming-of-age are explored in an interesting way。 I think that book has purpose。 The Rules of Attraction has none of those positive elements， no heart or soul， and definitely no point to reading it。I really fail to see WHAT would categorize this book as a "comedy" and found quite a few scenes disgusting to the point that I had to put it down and wait a while to return。 I have a feeling that the hopelessness and lack of purpose is kind of like， the point to the story。。。 but that just isn't something I can appreciate。 I like when books explore an idea in depth， teach me how to understand people， and maybe even give me hope。 This wasn't that kind of book。 。。。more

Jaq ，

Rido anch'io， apro la porta， guardo Masur， che sta ridendo， ancora stupito， e poi chiudo la porta， programmando un'overdose。--------- Voglio conoscerti， - uggiola Sean。 - Cosa？ - Conoscerti。 Voglio conoscerti。 - Mi supplica。 - Cosa significa？ Conoscermi？ - gli chiedo。 - Conoscermi？ Nessuno mai conosce nessuno。 Mai。 Tu non mi conoscerai mai。 Rido anch'io， apro la porta， guardo Masur， che sta ridendo， ancora stupito， e poi chiudo la porta， programmando un'overdose。--------- Voglio conoscerti， - uggiola Sean。 - Cosa？ - Conoscerti。 Voglio conoscerti。 - Mi supplica。 - Cosa significa？ Conoscermi？ - gli chiedo。 - Conoscermi？ Nessuno mai conosce nessuno。 Mai。 Tu non mi conoscerai mai。 。。。more

Will Peters ，

I finally finished it on the plane today after an embarrassingly long amount of time for how easy it is to read。 If there were half stars on here this would definitely be a 3。5， but I’ll round up because of much I enjoy the writing style。 The problem for me with this book is that the intersectionality between all the storylines is hardly existent and when it is， it just doesn’t feel like it’s saying much of anything。 It has the feeling of a first draft almost in that it feels like there should b I finally finished it on the plane today after an embarrassingly long amount of time for how easy it is to read。 If there were half stars on here this would definitely be a 3。5， but I’ll round up because of much I enjoy the writing style。 The problem for me with this book is that the intersectionality between all the storylines is hardly existent and when it is， it just doesn’t feel like it’s saying much of anything。 It has the feeling of a first draft almost in that it feels like there should be more here than just details and info。 It’s lacking an emotional depth to it that both feels like a commentary and a little laziness on the part of the writer。 What do I know though？ I’m a hack。 I love how it’s told from various POVS and love the use of 1st person narrative。 Both of these have greatly inspired me as a writer which I’m grateful for。 The element of this book that I find most intriguing though is how it dates itself firmly in the 80s。 So many specific details of products， songs， and places that my English professor would be ripping his hair out。 But I honestly didn’t mind that and quite enjoyed the specificity （at times）。 It’s so fascinating to read about a time that was stuck right between a whole wave of new technology and fashion while being surrounded by products and practices that had been around for over a decade。 An interesting time capsule。 Overall， I’m not sure how likely I’d be to recommend the book to just anyone， but I found it fascinating for sure。 。。。more

Sid_rw ，

The characters are almost completely repulsive， from what I recall， but I guess the style just kept me reading， that and I love the film adaptation， which softens the characters a little， to make them just a tiny bit likeable from what I recall。

Jackson Hengsterman ，

liked it as much as i thought i would， i am a sucker for BEE’s style （at least in his first 3 books， haven’t read any of his later stuff） 。。that said， i can’t in good conscience give 5 stars to a book that includes the line:“i thought about trying out for that Shepard play， but then thought why bother， when i’m already stuck in one: my life” hhahahahah wtf

Schrammbold ，

Der für den Autoren typische Stil ist auch in diesem frühen Werk bereits erkennbar。 Erstaunlich wie mich alleine dieser Stil enorm unterhielt， obwohl der Inhalt der Geschichte， die alltäglichen Ausschweifungen einiger College-Studenten， deren Gedanken und Gespräche in jeder Hinsicht belanglos und im besten Falle einfach nur banal sind。 Für Ellis Fans durchaus empfehlenswert。 Ich kann mir aber gut vorstellen， dass das Buch für alle anderen einfach nur mühsam ist。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Rules of Attraction

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Rules of Attraction&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Rules of Attraction&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0