BEHIND THE MASK SHORT BIOGRAPHY Bret Easton Ellis was born on March 7th, 1964, in Los Angeles, California. Ellis began writing at a very young age. His first works were made for his parents as Christmas gifts. They all culminated with a work entitled "The Angel's Trip" when he was ten or eleven years old. This story featured an angel that had fallen from atop a Christmas tree and had to make her way back to the top by the time the family awoke in the morning. Ellis' parents were disturbed by much of the imagery in the story. Instead of a happy adventure of an angel written by a young child, this story was sexually suggestive and graphically violent. The subject matter from this short story would continue to be seen in all his future works. Following high school, Ellis attended Bennington College in Vermont. It was here where he wrote his first novel Less Than Zero, published in 1985 when Ellis was only 21 years old and still an undergraduate student. Less Than Zero was an immediate success and has been compared to the classic novel Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. In fact, Less Than Zero has become so popular that it is required reading in many college and university courses across the nation. Upon graduating from college, Ellis moved to New York City, where he still lives today, and has continued writing. His most celebrated, and debated, novel is American Psycho, published in 1991. Due for release in 1990 by Simon & Schuster, it was cancelled after many protests and complaints by various groups, most notably the National Organization for Women. Thankfully, it was picked up for publication by Alfred A. Knopf, and it, more than any of his other works, has cemented Ellis as a driving force in contemporary American literature. |
BIBLIOGRAPHY Lunar Park- 2005 Glamorama- 1999 The Informers- 1994 *American Psycho- 1991 The Rules of Attraction- 1987 Less than Zero- 1985 *Our Favorite |
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