Bret Easton Ellis is a master of depicting the vast emptiness that can come with too much privilege and not enough soul. I’ve also read American Psycho and Glamorama, and there is definitely a common thread running through all three novels. People are searching for fulfillment in all the wrong places, and are digging themselves into deeper holes of despair. One of the darkest satirists out there, Ellis injects humor here and there, but his stories are mostly about people you really wouldn’t want to know. His female characters are cardboard cut-outs, and the guys are emotionally unreachable. This early work doesn’t contain much of Ellis’ trademark over-the-top violence and sex, so if you are looking for an early version of “American Psycho,” you’ll be disappointed. A very interesting read, it is, as Ellis creates a cold, gray, empty world filled with characters who have lost their spiritual selves as well as their souls.