Imperial Bedrooms

In 1985, Bret Easton Ellis shocked, stunned and disturbed with Less Than Zero, his extraordinarily accomplished first novel (New Yorker), successfully chronicling the frightening consequences of unmitigated hedonism within the ranks of the ethically bereft youth of 80s Los Angeles. Now, twenty-five years later, Ellis returns to those same characters: to Clay and the band of infamous teenagers whose lives weave sporadically through his. But now, some years on, they face an even greater period of disaffection: their own middle age. Clay seems to have moved on - he's become a successful screenwriter - but when he returns from New York to Los Angeles, to help cast his new movie, he's soon drifting through a long-familiar circle. Blair, his former girlfriend, is now married to Trent, and their Beverly Hills parties attract excessive levels of fame and fortune, though for all that Trent is a powerful manager, his baser instincts remain: he's still a bisexual philanderer. Then there's Clay's childhood friend, Julian - who's now a recovering addict - and their old dealer, Rip - face-lifted beyond recognition and seemingly even more sinister than he was in his notorious past. Clay, too, struggles with his own demons after a meeting with a gorgeous actress determined to win a role in his movie. And with his life careening out of control, he's forced to come to terms with the deepest recesses of his character - and with his seemingly endless proclivity for betrayal.

“A murder mystery - a woozy, paranoid, hallucinatory version of LA noir.”

A murder mystery – a woozy, paranoid, hallucinatory version of LA noir. Sunday Times
Brilliantly written and coolly self-aware . . . Here, as in Less Than Zero, Ellis is plumbing the depths of human nature, exposing it at its worst. Observer
The novel is a kind of modern noir and, as in Chandler, the form’s accepted master, atmosphere is king. Paranoia prevails. Independent on Sunday

Bret Easton Ellis is also the author of Less Than Zero, The Rules of Attraction, American Psycho, The Informers, Glamorama, and Lunar Park, and his work has been translated into 27 languages. He lives in Los Angeles.

In 1985, Bret Easton Ellis shocked, stunned and disturbed with Less Than Zero , his 'extraordinarily accomplished first novel' ( New Yorker ). Twenty-five years later, he returns to those same characters - to Clay and the band of infamous teenagers whose lives weave sporadically through his - but now they face an even greater period of disaffection: their own middle age. Clay seems to have moved on - he's become a successful screenwriter - but when he returns from New York to Los Angeles, to help cast his new movie, he's soon drifting through a long-familiar circle. Only this time, it's darker and more ominous than ever before. Clay's seemingly endless proclivity for betrayal and exploitation finds him connected with Kelly Montrose, a producer whose gruesomely violent death is suddenly very much the talk of the town. And worse still, someone seems to be following him, stalking him even. 'A murder mystery - a woozy, paranoid, hallucinatory version of LA noir' Sunday Times 'Easton Ellis adds the playful self-advertisements of Philip Roth to the ambiguously complicit social reportage of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Imperial Bedrooms ranks with his best exercises in the latter register, teeming with sharp details of a narcissistic generation' Guardian 'Brilliantly written and coolly self-aware . . . has a thriller's pace and structure . . . Here, as in Less Than Zero , Ellis is plumbing the depths of human nature, exposing it at its worst.' Observer 'The novel is a kind of modern noir and, as in Chandler, the form's accepted master, atmosphere is king. Paranoia prevails' Independent on Sunday

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.