The Shards

sex, drugs & rock ‘n roll

The Shards is a meta-masterpiece by Bret Easton Ellis. The main character is himself, Bret, a young cinephile, avid reader and budding author, navigating life in Los Angeles before and during his senior year of high school – just like he did in real life. It’s inventive and initially confusing (is this real, did this really happen?) Answer: nope, it’s fiction, brilliant fiction.

Set in L.A. in 1981, The Shards tells three parallel and overlapping stories: Bret and his popular friend group during senior year; the dangerous newcomer, Robert, who worms his way into their clique; and the Trawler, a serial killer terrorizing the region.

This is an L.A. story as well, an ode to the city we all know through novels and cinema. Bret drives everywhere, narrating his routes: leaving his house on Mulholland Drive, cruising through Laurel Canyon, heading to West Hollywood to see a show, making his way to school in the San Fernando Valley. It’s all so familiar.

The Shards features hypnotic storytelling via narration all to the beat of 80s pop and new wave music. The novel opens in the present but quickly veers into Bret’s telling of the story of what happened his senior year. This includes straightforward play-by-play accounts, inner monologues, random tangents, and obsessive ruminations. It’s mesmerizing and I was instantly invested, eager for more, every detail strengthening the gravitational pull of the story.

Here’s Bret driving around listening to his curated mix tapes. Here’s Bret at home, in the pool or in his room, reading, writing, getting high. Here’s Bret with his friends at lunch, analyzing every moment. Throughout the book he covers everything in his life: his privilege, absent parents, freedom, money, cars, his friends and lovers, music, movies, books. He’s smart, ambitious, apathetic and detached.

I listened to the audiobook read by the author and he no one could have done it better. His delivery is all California boy, not slurry but a little sloppy, a little nasal, insistent and laid back at the same time.

Bret just wants the perfect senior year because that’s the way it should be. He has a girlfriend, but he’s closeted and has secret male lovers too. He’s drawn to Robert but is wary of him. Bret swears he saw him months before, at a premiere of The Shining, but Robert denies being there. Bret knows it was him – they locked eyes in the theatre – but he can’t figure out why Robert’s lying and what he’s hiding. As their senior year progresses the dread and violence build with Bret keying into all of it, obsessing over clues that no one else sees.

The Shards celebrates the 80’s: the language, the clothing, the malls, and especially the music. Songs are interwoven throughout, setting the tone, providing the soundtrack. Halfway through I thought this would be the best playlist and I searched and of course, someone had the same idea. If you don’t read the book at least check out The Shards playlist on Spotify: 9 hours and 51 minutes of 80s music bliss. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2pEYm35mYlL6WKAEYh7jcH?si=eeebf34d239e42ae

The Shards spirals into a frenzy of violence and a delightfully sinister ending. This horror-thriller is definitely not for everyone but it’s a top read of the year for me.