I re-read this as a prelude to reading Imperial Bedrooms, wanting to remember the characters a bit better in order to see how they are later re-imagined. There is so much to praise in Less Than Zero, though Ellis' youth in the end limits the sophistication of the pared down language. He is so adept at dialogue, though, and moves so well between different events - really a startling young talent, and deserving of whatever fame came much too early to him for him to manage effectively. (He would have been better off with years of empty dullness, like Michel Houellebecq, to protect him from his fame, though perhaps Houellebecq is not such a good example!) Kudos, too, to the audiobook reader, who captured so many voices and just nailed the boredom and irritability.