The Informers

by Bret Easton Ellis

Book Overview

From the New York Times bestselling author of American Psycho and Less Than Zero comes a nihilistic novel set in the early eighties that portrays a chilling descent into the abyss beneath L.A.'s gorgeous surfaces. - "Skillfully accomplishes its goal of depicting a modern moral wasteland.... Arguably Ellis's best." --The Boston Globe

The basis of the major motion picture starring Billy Bob Thornton, Kim Basinger...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679743243
• ISBN13: 9780679743248
• Release Date: August 1995
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Managed to keep me interested throughout

I LOVE Ellis, but at the same time a lot of his books have some sereous flaws. Glamorama and American Psycho have a lot of great moments and scenes but also always bore the hell out of me at some points, becouse these books actually repeat the same unnecessary routine again and again. But "The Informers" is the book I find perfect for Ellis. You see, it is quite short, the characters and themes change frequently and the chapters are very brief. This is how it feels for me. You start to read the chapter, you dive into the story, it goes for some time and at the moment it might become boring and repetative it ENDS (unlike American Psycho, for example)! Then begins another chapter, presenting different character, different take on life in this universe anâ so on. Every story hav some kind of plot and climax (unlike Am Psycho). It may seem inexistent, but really these stories are much like Chekov's short stories whwere there's no great dreamatic climax, but something is still there. Also "The Informers" have an interesting structure as a whole. It starts with simple sketches of life situations, but as the book goes the stories start to get darker. There is more and more mentions of vampires and near the end you get some more heavy stories about a dying girl, a child-killer and a vampire, who narrates one of the stories. So the book and its themes really evolve throughout. The violence here, in my opinion, is also done much better, then in American Psycho or Glamorama. It's not so repetative and unnecessay, it takes very little place and supports the substance instead of just being a threat by itself. Some stories are beter, some are worse. For me the highlight is "The Letters From LA", you just must read it. Also "In A Moment Of Silence" and a story about dad anâ son on islands are just brilliant (there are some others and actually every story is good in its own way). And the thing I really love about Ellis is that he always manages to touch something within me, his books, although seemingly groutesqe at times, always feels very "real" and makes me think about my own experiences and people I know. That strange sence of realism in sometimes unrealistic stories is what I always really love about Ellis' writing (maybe it can be just called honesty). All in all, "The Informers" has all the things, that make Ellis' books great but at the same time lacks some of the major flaws of his other books. I highly recommend it.

Pretty damned good

This book isn't like american psycho, much closer to less than zero. takes a look at los angeles life, and the overwhelming shallowness of it. The vampires are a bit...um...out of place i think, but still pretty good, and sense i am a fan of Anne Rice too, i felt at home with stories of vampires. and no, i am not comparing these two writers, you can't.

Ellis Stikes Again.

The only book I had read by Easton Ellis before I read "The Informers" was the notorious "American Psycho". As I'm sure you'll understand, upon encountering this book my expectations were very high. I personally found it hard to get into the narrative style of the story(ies), but once I was in, I couldn't get out. The superficiality of the narrators and protagonists in the book is delightfully constructed by Ellis, as are the meaningless existences they lead, simply relying on Valium and cheap thrills. Ellis is one of my favourite authors and if you want to read one of his works before stepping up to the fantastic "American Psycho", I think you should make it this one.

Easton Ellis at his best

Ellis characters in this novel are so well choosed by the author that I think they represent the very essence of his whole work...As usual this personages will disturb you and enchant you the way only Ellis is capable to do.This book is a must for every L.A. lover.

The Perfect Ellis makes A perfect Book!

Well this is just a great book! After read all the other book this is a complete book. It has the violence and the sex and then the same atmosphere as in the others. The small stories makes it even funnier to read and then there is a small connection between them. Well READ THIS BOOK!! This is the one that suits me perfect