Synopsis from Goodreads.com:
Set in Los Angeles in the early 1980's, this coolly mesmerizing novel is a raw, powerful portrait of a lost generation who have experienced sex, drugs, and disaffection at too early an age, in a world shaped by casual nihilism, passivity, and too much money a place devoid of feeling or hope.
Clay comes home for Christmas vacation from his Eastern college and re-enters a landscape of limitless privilege and absolute moral entropy, where everyone drives Porches, dines at Spago, and snorts mountains of cocaine. He tries to renew feelings for his girlfriend, Blair, and for his best friend from high school, Julian, who is careering into hustling and heroin. Clay's holiday turns into a dizzying spiral of desperation that takes him through the relentless parties in glitzy mansions, seedy bars, and underground rock clubs and also into the seamy world of L.A. after dark.
Commentary:
I had to read this book for my American Contemporary Literature class last year so forgive me if my memory is a bit fuzzy on this one. The feeling of being forced to read something that you're not into is never a way to like a book but I'm actually quite happy to be forced into this one. Just like White Noise, Less Than Zero (LTZ) haunts you after you're done with it. Now I understand why it is considered literary because not only it haunts you upon completing it but it just changes everything you've read so far. Well provided you haven't been reading some messed up sh*it in your life.
Don't feel intimidated over the fact that I just called it literary because when LTZ first came out, it was actually categorized under Young Adult. But due to the themes discussed in the book, I would've categorized it under the forbidden section! Well I'm pretty sure book stores nowadays shelf this one at the adult section. Language wise, LTZ is pretty easy. I can assure you that it is quite an easy read. In fact I'll just put it out there that it can be a fast read as well. That's because you will find that the presentation of work is quite bare. Now that has something to do with the philosophy of nihilism that I feel I shouldn't get into because then it will get a bit too technical for this review. This element certainly contributes to why this novel can be a fast read.
(FUN FACT: Nihilism is the discipline of nothingness.) << I know...pretty mindf*ck right there. Imagine studying it for a whole semester. I became nothing.
One of the most memorable aspects of LTZ is how utterly disturbed you can be as you read it. You are introduced to this glitzy life that you can associate with The Hills or Gossip Girl but as you delve deeper into the plot, you will see how utterly messed up these people are. I remember while reading it that I thought, "Man...this is really the lowest pit of humanity right here." And I still stand by this thought to this day. Imagine a person who is so rich that he is totally unfazed with life. Because of LTZ, I can now understand why being rich can be a curse.
I will spare you the details but there are some seriously messed up scenes in this book. I had to put it down a couple of times throughout my reading because it is simply NASTY! It makes Fifty Shades of Grey look like a book for twelve year olds.
Again don't let its nastiness deter you away from reading this book because essentially, LTZ is a social commentary on the lives of the rich and famous. I would totally recommend this book to you budding superstars out there. It really makes you rethink of your life aspirations.
Dump that Gossip Girl crap you're reading and join the big fishes like Less Than Zero. ;)
The Verdict: 4 out of 5
Obsession Rating: 3 out of 5
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