Marianna Neal's Reviews > The Shards

608 pages...
608 pages!!

There is no reason for this book to be 608 pages, because as I was reading it most of my time was spent waiting for something to actually happen. Sometimes it did. Sometimes it didn't. Most of the time I was just reading about spoiled, horny teenagers in LA. Partying, thinking they're important, doing drugs, creating drama, having sex (lots of details in that department). Which is all great, and could have worked if it was just part of the story instead of most of the story. Call me crazy, but when you're reading 608-page book that technically also has a serial killer subplot... you kind of want more about that serial killer and less about horny teens. Is it just me? It can't be just me. And to be honest, the way things wrapped up was really frustrating.

Now, I am picking up on how the incessant desire to matter and be noticed, as well as to be taken seriously plays into the story that unfolds. I get it. It's interesting. Even despite some of dialogue that keeps going in circles, I still think the writing itself was mostly interesting and effective. But overall The Shards just didn't do enough of anything to justify its length. I was often bored and it was repetitive. There, I said it. It wasn't awful, I didn't hate it, but generally it was aggressively OK.

This was my first Bret Easton Ellis novel, and it seems like I chose poorly. Or maybe all of his books are like this and he's just not for me. I'll still give American Psycho a read at some point. Maybe.