Lunar Park [NOOK Book]

Dark novel that ends well

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amazing

it's likely that brett easton ellis' identity will forever be defined by his novels, 'less than zero' and 'american psycho.' but, 'lunar park' is his literary masterpiece. it's everything dark, tortured, and lost, that he ever put down on paper. this time, the fear and horror don't come from people desperate to lose themselves...but from a man desperate to find and free himself. it's the closest thing to uplifting, he's probably written. &if you can get through to the end, there's much to be learned in his truth and honesty.

plus, i just like the way he's constantly evolving the role of narrator...tres postmodern.

Ellis is his own worst character!

In Ellis' latest novel, he moves completely outside his comfort zone in every way to deliver a story that is as touching as it is shocking.

The narrator and protagonist is Bret Easton Ellis, but not the Ellis of this reality. He's a wasted lush who seeks to rebuild a failed relationship with the mother of his bastard son (a fictional actress). As he moves into suburban life, he fails to adjust and put away his bachelor ways of carousing and substance abuse. However, the stakes are raised when the spirit of his dead father invades upon their quaint home, presumably taking the vicious form of Patrick Bateman. Literally haunted by his past deeds and fictional creations, Ellis is forced to confront his broken past and try harder as a father and husband... not just for his own emotional well being, but for the total survival of his family.

Lunar Park deviates from virtually every formula Ellis has used in the past. Ellis' comfort zone is rich, beautiful, emotionally devoid characters who fail to evolve or learn from their lifestyles. We often get virtually nothing in terms of an emotional landscape from his characters, but Ellis (the character) has an intense emotional range and manages to confront a lifetime of familial angst in order to deal with the ghost story he faces. Ellis' novels are also typically grounded in realism (though they are often surreal), but in this one, we are presented with a supernatural thriller. The dry repetitions and lengthy descriptions of past works are also abandoned, replaced by a practical depth that his former narrators are generally not capable of. In almost every way, Lunar Park is an abandonment of the formulae that have made Ellis successful. This is, in my opinion, one of the great successes of the novel.

While I highly recommend this novel, I would suggest that anyone interested in Lunar Park read American Psycho first, at the very least. The events of that book bear heavily on the plot of Lunar Park. The main character (and catch-phrase) of Less Than Zero are also an important detail worth understanding before attempting Lunar Park, as well. However, if you have some background with Ellis, you will find Lunar Park both very different and at the same time intense. As an author, Ellis has made himself completely vulnerable in both character detail and narrative goals and in my opinion, has written a novel that's as fascinating as it is unique.

Absolutely Amazing

I literally just put this book down and am still awed at how fantastic it was. The writing style is fantastic (as per usual Ellis style) and the story is unbelievable. I could not put this book down and would give it more than 5 stars if I could. Just read it!

One of the best books I have ever read!

Undoubtedly one of the best books I have ever read. It is funny, gripping, creepy, sad, and melancholy. I listened to it first and now I am reading it to catch the parts that I may have missed. I can't wait to read more of Mr. Ellis' books. I really liked the video scene with his father from the email and the scene where Harrison Ford as a young actor was calling for Mr. Ellis. These parts had me shivering and I was really creeped out. I can't wait to see what else Mr. Ellis comes out with next!!! Thanks for the wild ride Bret! an avid reader

Ellis is underappreciated

This is the best Ellis novel yet. I enjoyed this novel immensly. Perfectly captures the nightmare of modern life, real and imagined. This novel will make your heart ache and race at the same time.

A Sort-Of Autobiography Warped Within A Funhouse Fiction Mirror

Lunar Park is the sort-of autobiography of its author, Bret Easton Ellis, warped within a funhouse fiction mirror. The book begins with an engaging recount of the author's professional past, and then an onslaught of terrifying psychological and actual events take place over a Halloween holiday weekend. Those who have read his earlier five books will be best prepared to pick up the continuous -- and brilliant -- use of self-referential detail that adds to the literary weight of the novel. Ellis has fused sophisticated postmodern fiction techniques with contemporary horror and the result is one of the best American novels of 2005.

we are our parents, even though we are really not

not much to add besides this statement. after many many years i felt compelled to sign passages on a book that i knew, from the first pages, that would not take me anywhere as a plot but that, in between, would touch and give form in words and feelings to issues that have been and are still heavily conditioning me. This despite being over my state of virtual orphan, besides being professionally ok, besides being italian now in italy and hence far from the hell of the american way of life realtive to human relations that i experienced and rejected.

I didn't expect this...

Intruiging at first, then gripping, then genuinely touching at the end

His best yet!

This is a truly inspiring book for an author that is bearing his soul for his art. Ellis is at the top of his game here and the allusions to Hamlet (amongst others) and the inclusion of the 'Jayster' are amazing. It's a must read.

Bizarre but great

Ah, the lost art of self-deprecation. Fans of Ellis will most likely enjoy LUNAR PARK. I also think, however, that fans of horror will also enjoy it a ton. Being a fan of both, I have to say this novel is probably my favorite of his. Its been a long time coming and, for me, it was more than worth the wait. I hope it hasn't been too late. Ellis's previous novels are disturbing, but they usually escape being categorized as horror. LUNAR PARK, despite its classification as literature, absolutely earns itself a place among the top works of horror. Interestingly, this is Ellis's least graphic and gruesome work. If you enjoyed books such as LESS THAN ZERO or the novel KATZENJAMMER by McCrae, then this will be right up your alley.

Outstanding

His best.

Finally

Maybe now the critical tide will turn and he will be given proper recognition as an American prose stylist and writer of great substance.

Terrific biographical fiction

Bret Easton Ellis knows he is an egotistical drug abuser, whose dysfunctional relationship with his now deceased abusive father still leaves him unable to hook up with his own son. His former lover, movie star Jayne Dennis offers him redemption through marriage and jointly raising their eleven years old son Robby, whom Bret barely knows. He agrees and the trio along with Jayne¿s daughter Sarah sired by another freak settle in the New York suburbs while he works on his next porno shocker, Teenage Pussy.............. Bret cannot cope with the three people he shares a home with especially his distant non-communicative son. He returns to his drug and alcoholic past while chasing college student Aimee. That is until the weirdness begins starting with Terby the mechanical bird suddenly like Chucky coming alive ready to harm all. Neighbor boys vanish, e-mail from his dad¿s ashes arrive, and gruesome murders from out of his novel AMERICAN PSYCHO haunt the town as much as the spirit haunting Ellis's house demands he writes the sobering paranoid truth hence this novel........................ This novel is best for those readers who know Bret Easton Ellis¿s writing career and ¿brat pack¿ days of LESS THAN ZERO in which the author and his cronies symbolize the acceptable excesses of the Reagan Era. The story line lampoons the writer as he stars in an autobiographical fiction in which uses real people that he knew and events to tell his self parody that critiques and criticizes his celebrity status now that he no longer can claim the folly of youthful self indulgence. Terrific biographical fiction just not for everyone as the knowing the ¿Brat Pack¿ is a great part of the fun................. Harriet Klausner

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