Bret Easton Ellis was viewed as the voice of a new generation and critics dubbed the book as "the first MTV novel". Less Than Zero is very fast paced and divided into brief scenes much the same way MTV is fragmented into short videos.
In an article by Don Holloway he talks about how the characters are very unrelatable because; 1. they don't have any emotion which leaves the reader thinking there is something missing from the book and 2. because there is no real dialogue between characters but rather monlogues from Clays mind. Holloway brings up the point that nothing really happens to Clay during Winter Break that hasn't happened before. "Nothing. Has. Changed."
"After leaving Blaire I drive down to Wilshire and then onto Santa Monica and then I drive onto Sunset and take Beverly Glen to Mulholland, and then to Sepulveda to Ventura and then I drive through Sherman Oak's to Encino and then into Tarzana and then Woodland Hills. I stop at Sambo's that's open all night..."
Holloway goes on to talk about how the the readers are drawn in , which I agree with, there is a point where we can identify with Clay's bordem however at the same time he is living a life that many people dream of. For example Clay drives aimlessly around the city of L.A in his expensive car when he is bored. The enthusiasm to drive around relates to 'Road Movies' during the 80's and American Literature such as Jack Kerouac's book On The Road
At the end of the book Clay has a vision that reaveals a side of Los Angeles that he doesn't enjoy. People have been driven mad by living in the city. Clay longs to go back East.
"It was time to go back. I had been home a long time."
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