Less Than Zero.

ELLIS, Bret Easton .

Item Number: 97869

New York: Simon & Schuster, 1985.

First edition of the author’s first book. Octavo, original boards. Signed by Bret Easton Ellis on the title page. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by George Corsillo.

Less Than Zero is Bret Easton Ellis' first published effort, released while he was 21 and still a student at Bennington College. Titled after the Elvis Costello song of the same name, the novel follows the life of Clay, a rich, young college student who has returned to his hometown of Los Angeles, California for winter break circa 1984. Through first-person narration, Clay describes his progressive alienation from the culture around him, loss of faith in his friends, and his meditations on events in his recent past. It was adapted into the 1987 film by 20th Century Fox in title only. It starred Andrew McCarthy as Clay, Robert Downey Jr. as Julian, Jami Gertz as Blair, and James Spader as Rip. A then-unknown Brad Pitt also appeared as an extra