The Rules of Attraction

My list of books I still have to read is a bit traumatizing to me. It seems like I have never read any book at all. To reassure myself, I'll start reflecting from time to time on books I have read recently... even though "recently" covers a rather large span of time.

I found The Rules of Attraction by Bret Easton Ellis in a bookstore the last time I went to the United States. I was very happy to have found it, because it seems as if there are always the same Bret Easton Ellis books in Canadian bookstores: American Psycho, Glamorama, etc. I had seen the movie adaptation of The Rules of Attraction a while ago, but I didn't remember it much, and so I was curious about the book.

After I had finished reading it, I was very perplexed. Apparently, in American liberal arts colleges, all they ever do is fuck, drink, party, intoxicate themselves and sleep. And, from time to time, they go to class for three hours. After reading the book, I looked for scenes from the movie on YouTube. The movie made the story look a lot more... colorful than when I had read it. The book had seemed so bleak to me. I then realized that I had read it as a drama, when I should have in fact expected a comedy. I now have to reread it as a comedy, when I will be done with the other 50 books I have to read, I guess. 

One thing I've learnt from the book: Nobody likes the right person.