Fear, Trauma and Paranoia in Bret Easton Ellis’s Oeuvre

Bret Easton Ellis is one of the most famous and controversial contemporary American novelists. Since the publication of his opus primum, Less than Zero (1985), critics and readers alike have become fascinated with the author’s style and topics; which were extremely appealing to the MTV generation that acknowledged him as their cultural guru. As a result, an early review of the novel declared, “American literature has never been so sexy”.

In this book, Ellis’ novels and collections of short stories are analyzed, focusing mainly on the role fear, trauma and paranoia play in these texts. These aspects are fundamental not only to Bret Easton Ellis’ literature but also to contemporary American literature (Don DeLillo, John Barth or Thomas Pynchon’s novels, just to name some quintessential examples within postmodern American letters, cannot be understood or defined without reference to fear and paranoia). More importantly, they play a major role in American culture and society.