Informers [Paperback]

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Picador Paperbacks
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 033053632X
• ISBN-13: 978-0330536325
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (94 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,154,688 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bret Easton Ellis is the author of five novels and a collection of short stories; his work has been translated into twenty-seven languages. He lives in Los Angeles.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A SUPERBLY PENNED VIEW OF THE DARK SIDE May 2, 2005

By Gail Cooke HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

When a cast of vacuous, narcissistic, bronzed Californians indulges in whatever brings them pleasure, Bret Easton Ellis is at his sardonic, cynical best. Culled from sketches begun in 1983 and eventually filling several notebooks, "The Informers" is more a tale of a group's flawed response to its culture than it is a picture of individuals.

Impossibly empty, the characters are predominantly male students who spend little time at their studies. Flouting their parents' checkbooks, they drive expensive cars, wear extravagantly priced clothes, dine at the trendiest spots, and indulge in most forms of chemical escapism.

Punctuated with dark metaphors, the author's text is hauntingly spare, offering no explanation for the characters' lives but simply presenting them. This leaves the readers to judge, gnash their teeth or gape in shocked surprise. There is room for shock. As in Ellis' "American Psycho," some very unpleasant descriptions of mayhem and murder are included.

In an interview Mr. Ellis commented, "What I've always been interested in as a writer is this idea of a group of people who seem to have everything going for them on the outside. Because of that, they have a lot of freedom. The theme of my fiction is the abuse of that freedom."

With his superior intellect and total mastery of his craft, Mr. Ellis presents his theme well.

- Gail Cooke

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Well written, exhausting to read February 11, 2002

By Alexander Zalben

Format:Paperback

Mr. Ellis' strength is in his realistic dialogue and characters, which is well on display here in this collection of character sketches.

I say character sketches, and not short stories, because that's really what they are. A series of interconnected portraits of the different, intermingling layers of society in LA.

And it is pretty impressive at that. Each of the characters in the book are going through very similar feelings, have very similar problems (spiraling depression, enstrangement from their parents, etc.). Luckily, Mr. Ellis is able to differentiate their characters and situations.

As happens with books of this type, the ending seems to rush together more quickly, and feel more connected than the beginning. And frankly, as much respect as I have for Mr. Ellis' writing, it was exhausting to read story after story. The book is an interesting portrait of a city constantly on the edge of destruction, but there's only so much nihilistic fiction a guy can read before you curl up into a ball in the corner.

As always, Ellis is a writer worth reading. But be prepared: it is a short book, but a long haul.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Less Than Zero 1.5 May 9, 2005

By CMM

Format:Paperback

Ellis brings something else to short story writing by having all of his characters, like those in his novels, be interconnected to some degree. Characters that show up in one story narrate others, while some of the names and places have appeared before in both "Less than Zero" and "Rules of Attraction."

The order the stories appear in also helps his case here. Placing "At the Still Point" -- a story which introduces four important characters -- at the beginning sets you up right away. Generally, the book picks up speed after "Letters From LA." From here on in, the characters get better, the stories more complex, and the senstionalism ramped up. "Another Gray Area" utilizes a seeminlgly more articulate narrator, or at least one with more personality, while "The Fifth Wheel" presents one of the most disturbing and morally rich stories of the bunch.

All in all, an interesting collection for Ellis fans. For newcomers, I'd recommend starting with "Less than Zero" before coming here.