Bret Easton Ellis’ Imperial Bedrooms is a hallucinogenic sequel (though that term should be used loosely) to his debut, Less Than Zero. Rather than demonstrating the ennui and horror that pervaded Clay’s existence in his college years, looking in from the outside, here we find him at the very centre of a paranoid conspiracy simultaneously all about him and nothing to do with him. The ultimate unreliable narrator, Clay leads the reader down twisting paths of confused narrative and experience, attributing his literary debut as the work of ‘the writer’ – Ellis himself as a remembered presence. This then, is Clay being ‘real.’ But it is all the more bewildering for this.
Rather than being merely a follow-on from Less Than Zero, this novel is an entirely different beast indeed. The structure remains the same, and Blair, Rip, Julian and co all re-appear older, more jaded and dangerous than the bored teenagers they once were. The plot revolves around a hunger for fame at any cost, the characters all connected with the movie industry with Clay as a screenwriter, seemingly plotting his own downfall. It contains elements of a number of Ellis’ previous novels, and while this sounds like a tall order in such a short text, somehow it works. The violence and contempt of American Psycho appears consistently, and Lunar Park – esque ghosts haunt apartments and minds alike. ‘Normal’ relationships are twisted beyond all recognition, with Ellis’ trademark aloof style rendering them all the more cold and intriguing.
The idea of paranoia is rife throughout. The narrator’s judgement is under constant scrutiny by other characters and the reader. Motivations are rarely clear, his self-sabotaging actions reveal him to be more and more lonely and unhinged as the narrative progresses and unravels into what could be fantasy scenarios or grizzly revelations.
There are no superfluous scenes here, everything culminates in an icy creeping horror that leaves the reader confused and appreciative. It is a compact book, strange after the sprawl of Lunar Park. But the two have an awful lot in common. Both end on a surprisingly emotional tone. The last paragraph of this novel is absolutely devastating, more so because it is completely unexpected.
Imperial Bedrooms isn’t an easy work to read, or a particularly fun one either. But dread and suspense lingers – it is well worth the unpleasant ride.
Nadia Reads 