the shards: metafiction meets gore
- paigenherbooks
- Jun 5, 2023
- 5 min read
3.5/5
Another book by Bret Easton Ellis, and let's say I was inherently and initially not thrilled. I detested American Psycho, so when I chose this book from Book of The Month, I was excited. Until I realized it is by the same author. The sound of rage that came from me was quite terrifying, mind you. Determined to try something else he'd written, I dived into The Shards...I'm saddened to report that I actually enjoyed this novel.
That being said, there's a lot I didn't like, which, don't worry, I'll be getting into soon.
Though this story of a group of well-off teenagers in the 80s, with a serial killer lurking in the background, combined with an unreliable narrator, became one I was glued to. I found myself thinking about what was happening next, about what our main character was feeling as well as trying to solve who the infamous Trawler was.
This story was a whirlwind, leaving the reader with a feeling at the end that isn't satisfied or even "good", but one that's uncomfortable and slightly ambiguous.
Synopsis: Bret Easton Ellis's masterful new novel is a story about the end of innocence, and the perilous passage from adolescence into adulthood, set in a vibrantly fictionalized Los Angeles in 1981 as a serial killer begins targeting teenagers throughout the city.
I'm upset that I liked this book, let's just get that out of the way. I swore off Ellis after the whole American Psycho fiasco but here I am reviewing another of his novels. The Shards was an interesting thriller that honestly kept me engaged the whole time, more than I expected, and more than American Psycho ever did. The story is an "autofiction" or a "metafiction" meaning that Bret Easton Ellis, wrote himself into his novel. The main character, Bret is Bret...as in the author of the novel. It's a fictionalized story of his last year of high school where his shining main character is no one other than himself. This was actually an extremely interesting way to read a story. I've never read a novel like this and honestly, I didn't even know that this genre existed. It took me off guard initially as I realized the main character was in fact our author.
I think in some ways this is a literary genius.
What better way to write a story or get to know a main character than it to be a slightly fictionized version of yourself? Every writer tells someone at least one point in their life to "write what you know", Ellis took that to heart. The genre of "autofiction" ran deeper than just an easier or more tactful way to write a story, but having Bret be the main character and owning up essentially to the fact that he's recalling this story from memory, makes him an unreliable narrator. Right off the bat, he admits in a tongue-in-cheek manner that maybe the events that we are about to read aren't totally correct, but are just his version of the story...whatever that may be.
This is where the intrigue started.
The plot of our story was actually quite engaging, and Ellis did quite well. A story that is fueled by thriller components, a serial killer, and romance, all bundled up with some good teen high school angst. Right off the bat, the reader is drawn into the story when our main character specifies that he's been trying to write this grotesque story for years and he's finally sitting down to it...and detail out this horrific story he does indeed.
In graphic detail.
Something that echo's that of American Psycho, Ellis has a vicious love for detailing some of the actual most disgusting things and scenes I've ever read in my life.
Ever. In. My. Life. A Tolkien level of detail.
It's disturbing and most of the time takes me out of the story due to the fact that I need to close the book and take a deep breath so I don't throw up due to nausea. This is one of my biggest pet peeves for his books, they're fucking gross. Like so gross, you guys don't even know. This level of debauchery is just unneeded in my opinion. Please, detail out some horrors, it's a thriller novel, but again, the level at which Ellis does takes the reader out of the story, at least in my opinion.
I hate to say it, but it's just too much.
Another thing that Ellison loves to do is write about sex.
I sometimes wonder if this man has actually ever had sex, or if writing about it, in great detail is the only way he can experience a unique sexual experience. I wonder if he's ever considered writing smut novels? I think the romance community may eat his details up, bite after bite. That being said, it ventures over into uncomfortable territory at times. It's again, just too much.
I don't need to know exactly how it feels to go in, or out, or exactly, in GREAT detail what someone's bodily fluids look like. Also, to top it off Bret loves masturbation, which each to its own, but why did I have to read several pages or scenes where's he's imagining having sex with Mel Gibson.
Mel. Gibson.
Like, please leave my man ALONE. Not to mention that Bret also likes rape porn. Moment of silence for that disgusting sentence. These type of sexual scenes and details is again, just disgusting and brings the reader instantly out of the story. It doesn't add to the plot or to anything in the story other than to slightly explore the conversation surrounding being in the closet in the early 80s.
The story itself was engaging and interesting though, it tells a tale that is unique in the way that the narrator, Bret is almost totally unreliable, we have no idea what really is real and what isn't. This is what makes The Shards stand out. We're constantly trying to piece together what is going on with the information, which may be jaded or not, from Bret. So, not only are we trying to figure out who the Trawler is, or what's up with Robert Mallory, but what's up simply with Bret himself. The plot is one that may seem to some as predictable, but I found myself caught up in Bret's story and was intrigued to find some of my thoughts and predictions correct...but the end of the book ends on such an ominous and enigmatic cliff that I had to deep dive to Reddit to make sure I understood what was going on.
Let's say, no one has a clue about the true meaning of the end of The Shards,
and that's a damn good novel. By leaving an ending that is so open yet painfully specific for some readers, while almost echoing a "choose your own adventure novel" Ellis has crafted a story you almost immediately want to turn back to the beginning and read again. To see what details you didn't quite catch the first time and how, if at all, it'll change how you perceive the ending.
The ending of the novel combined with the overall thrill is what set this book apart for me. It's not the best book I've ever read, due to the aforementioned gore and sex scenes and sometimes random descriptions of L.A I did not care about it, but it's a good book all in all. This story was engaging, it was exciting. I was scared at times (no more reading before bed was a rule) I was anxious, relieved, confused, and straight-up disgusted. Ellis sure knows how to craft a novel that drawls out literally every single human emotion from his readers and then multiplies it by five. The Shards is a story I may revisit at some point, to see if diving deep into Bret's account of the Trawler murders is seen any different than the first time I read it, but for now, it'll sit on my shelf and probably collect dust alongside Mr. American Psycho.
And that is a fact I am entirely okay with.
Happy reading :)
xoxo,
paige :)
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