“Skår” has all the elements one would expect from the American cult author Bret Easton Ellis: Precise descriptions of clothing style and interiors written with a cool, detached gaze, combined with bestial and senseless acts of violence. This creates the distinctive mood that Ellis has perfected through six previous novels. But this time, Ellis adds a clearer hurt and a new level of reflection. It is both a strength and a weakness at the same time. A cultural phenomenon without parallel When the author’s most famous novel, “American Psycho”, was published in 1991, Ellis was not only slaughtered by the critics. He also received death threats from angry readers due to the extremely crude and unpleasant content. Today, there are several who praise the book as a sparkling satire and criticism of the destructive senselessness of consumer society. Not only the undersigned believes that “American Psycho” is one of the most important novels from the last 50 years. KILLING Glance: “American Psycho” was made into a film in 2000 with Christian Bale in the role of Patrick Bateman. In “Skår”, the serial killer is called “Tråleren”. Photo: Nordisk Film Distribusjon AS “Skår”, like “American Psycho”, is about a serial killer – and rich, beautiful people who suppress trauma and existential anxiety with pills, alcohol and sex. The novel purports to be a memoir, but it soon becomes clear that it is a good mix of fiction and reality. The book combines the fervor of an autobiography with the horror of a thriller. This works great. There is something Stephen King-esque in the way Ellis builds up the tension and mostly manages to keep it up over 750 pages. Serial killer on the loose in Hollywood It all takes place in the autumn of 1981 when 17-year-old Bret was in his last year at a private high school in Los Angeles. The upper-class youth live decadent lives with their own cars, private telephone lines and separate entrances in the villas in Hollywood. Parental regeneration is totally absent, usually drunk on vodka and valium. During the summer of 1981, the serial killer “Tråleren” appears in the news. He kidnaps and tortures teenagers, does unspeakable things to their pets, and finally kills them in what appear to be religious rituals. At the same time, a new boy starts at school. Does the mysterious and attractive Robert Mallery have something to do with the murders? The world is a stage Living a lie is a central theme in the book. Bret is with the school’s hottest lady, Debbie Schafer, but he falls in love with boys. Some of them he sleeps with, and these are the ones he fantasizes about when he sleeps with Debbie. Just as a serial killer must necessarily lie and play a role in order not to be caught, Bret also plays a role: Within the framework of the thriller, Ellis writes well about desire, loneliness and the longing to live more authentically. He gets a lot out of the young people’s naive expectations in the face of the brutality of adulthood. A brutality that in this novel universe is completely concrete and real. Kids in America As usual, there are a lot of popular cultural references in the book. Ellis revels in film references and writes about literary role models such as Joan Didion and the previously mentioned Stephen King. The time color tour is a pleasure, and the book is a gold mine for those who like early eighties music. In a very interesting essayistic part, Ellis writes about the song “Kids in America” by Kim Wilde. In the music video, Wilde stares indifferently and drugged into the camera, and Ellis describes how Wilde radiates a “numbness”. THE SYNTHESIS OF A GENERATION: Wilde’s first single “Kids in America” from 1981 became a defining song for the decade that followed. It was this numbness that young Bret tried to capture in his debut novel “Under zero point”. The Norwegian translator has consistently chosen to translate “numb” and “numbness” with the word “unfeeling”. In my opinion, it is not descriptive of the feeling of life which is so defining for Ellis’s literary project. The word “insensitive” fits in some contexts, but can give associations to something unsympathetic and aggressive. “Numbness” as Ellis describes it, is the attractive veil that covers an abyss. The numb may, to a greater extent, contain an underlying vulnerability. This is just one of several examples that the translation does not quite capture the zeitgeist and mood that Ellis sets out. Lines like “You’re råstylig enough selv, Bret” are more reminiscent of Norwegian films from the 70s, than hip, decadent 80s youth in Los Angeles. FREMDELES I SIGET: In the last 13 years, Ellis, in addition to running a popular pay-based podcast, has published one collection of essays and written several film scripts. Photo: Luca Bruno / AP More understanding, less intensity “Skår” can largely be read as a key to Ellis’s other writing. The older author who reflects on the younger Bret’s frustrations, and adds empathy and understanding that sheds light on the author’s other books, especially the debut novel. In that book the world appeared even more confusing, cold and indifferent. The sexuality was more ambiguous, and the acts of violence more surprising. It was all less understood and therefore also more intense. “Skår” has many qualities, and I got a lot out of reading it. There is still no getting away from the fact that the 200-page debut novel from 1989 made an even stronger impression than this 750-page companion. news reviewer Photo: Kagge Forlag Title: “Skår” Author: Bret Easton Ellis Genre: Novel Publisher: Kagge Number of pages: 763 Date: 20.01.2023 SISS MEETS BRET: The book program meets Bret Easton Ellis, who after “American Psycho” got to experience the fame price. Sent 18 January 2011, presenter Siss Vik.
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“Score” by Bret Easton Ellis – Reviews and recommendations
