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{{work}}
{{quote|
'''''The
Though it occasionally detours to other people, the story switches mainly between the points of view of three different characters:
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* '''Paul Denton''': A bisexual who seems to favor men over women. He's probably the most intelligent and eloquent of the narrators. Considering how many people compliment him on his looks, he's apparently quite foxy. Paul used to sleep with ''Lauren...''
* '''Lauren Hynde''': A painter/poet who's pining for [[Glamorama|Victor]], her boyfriend who's off traveling in Europe. Not that that's stopped her from sleeping around a little bit. She finds herself dating ''Sean...''
* '''Sean Bateman''': Brother of [[American Psycho|Patrick Bateman]], and a dense and usually drugged out/drunk frat-boy type. He deals drugs for a local townie to whom he owes money. Though he's very involved with Lauren, he might be sleeping with ''Paul...''
See where this is going?
The book explores a [[Love Dodecahedron]] or two amid a thick mire of substance abuse and seemingly endless parties. The story is told through three distinct voices and though this book fits the Ellis mold, it offers up some great twists and does intriguing things with the narrative device of POV-switching. A must-read for anyone who likes Ellis' work. Given its subject-matter, it isn't nearly as gruesome as Ellis' other works, though it is still dark. As such, most events - including the suicides of background characters - are played for laughs as college students being melodramatic.
There was [[The Film of the Book|also a movie adaptation of the book]] in 2002, which Ellis names as his favourite of the adaptations of his work.
{{tropelist}}
=== Tropes in both works: ===
* [[A Party - Also Known
* {{spoiler|[[Bath Suicide]]: Sean's admirer.}}
* [[Book Ends]]: The film begins and ends at the "End of the World" party; both the book and the film begin and end mid-sentence.
* [[Boy Meets Girl|Boy Meets Boy]]: {{spoiler|Paul and Sean (depending on how you read it).}} It's actually pretty cute.
* [[Boy Meets Girl]]: Sean and Lauren. Sean is surprisingly sweet about it.
* [[Bungled Suicide]]: {{spoiler|Sean tries to off himself because of Lauren; the book does it semi-dramatically, but the movie plays it for laughs with Sean trying ''three different times'' and waking up with damp trousers.}}
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* [[No Ending]]: The book and movie end the same way they begin: in mid-sentence.
* [[Pragmatic Adaptation]]: The film cuts numerous minor characters (and merges some), and removes several plot lines.
* [[Rape
* [[Stalker
* [[Switching POV]]
=== Tropes found exclusively in the book include: ===
* [[Bilingual Bonus]]: The book very briefly follows the thoughts of Sean's roommate [[Politically Incorrect Hero|"The Frog"]]; since he's French and the book follows the interior monologues of its current protagonist, [[Don't Explain the Joke|the chapter is naturally written in French.]]
* [[Five
* [[Good Bad Girl]]: Arguably Lauren is an example. She gets around despite pining for Victor, but seems to be a genuinely good person, if emotionally wrecked and disaffected.
* {{spoiler|[[Good Girls Avoid Abortion]]: Tragically subverted with one of Lauren's friends, and later Lauren too; both go through with it, and are distraught by it.}}
* [[Gossipy Hens]]: In a unisex example: ''everyone''. It's like a Greek chorus made up of slutty co-eds. Nearly every chapter has a handful of minor characters gossiping about everyone else.
* [[Queer Romance]]: {{spoiler|Possibly Sean and Paul, depending on your interpretation. A section of Paul's chapters details a budding sexual/romantic relationship between the two of them, but Sean's don't mention it at all. Is Paul merely fantasizing or is Sean hiding their relationship?}}
** {{spoiler|[[Word of God]] declares that Sean is in fact gay/bi. That being said, it could be that Sean never mentions Paul simply for the fact that Paul is nothing but free sex, his only true aim is Lauren. Or Ellis could be fucking with us, he's kind of ambiguous with his own sexuality.}}
* [[The Cameo]]/[[The Verse]]: As per usual with an Ellis novel; both [[Less Than Zero
=== Tropes found exclusively in the movie include: ===
* [[Compressed Adaptation]]
* [[Get Back in
* [[Playing Against Type]]: Everyone in the movie except Ian Somerhalder, simply because he didn't have a type yet. Best example is Fred Savage, who turns up for one scene as an almost-naked clarinet-playing heroin addict.
* {{spoiler|[["What Now?" Ending]]: The film ending has everyone single, broken and miserable in a completely open ending; Paul is rejected by Sean and bashed by a closeted gay; Laura finds Victor has forgotten her and loses her virginity in a rape; and Sean loses Laura and leaves the college in a voice over:}}
{{quote|
* [[Throw It In]]: The George Michael dancing scene (involving Paul and Dick) was done in the hotel the pair were staying in; apparently, after doing it for fun, it was decided it was too good to leave out of the movie.
* [[Would Hit a Girl]]: {{spoiler|When Lara acts as a catalyst for ruining everything between Sean and Laura, she proceeds to try and rub it in, only to get a fist to the face. '''It's as satisfying as it sounds.'''}}
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[[Category:Lit Fic]]
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