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The Conversation
The Conversation
Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English, University of Sydney

Bret Easton Ellis's ambitious new novel of sex, violence and adolescence in 80s Los Angeles is autofiction for our digital age

Bret Easton Ellis Robert Mallory
Image credits: (background) Vlada Karpovich/Pexels; (author photo of Bret Easton Ellis) Casely Nelson.

Halfway through Bret Easton Ellis’s first novel in 13 years, The Shards, the 17-year-old narrator, Bret (a fictionalised version of the author) pitches to a producer, Terry Schaffer.

This Bret, who is working on the debut novel the real Bret published in 1985 – Less Than Zero – describes the scenario he has developed.

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