Lunar Park

By: Bret Easton Ellis

Narrated by: James Van Der Beek

Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the New York Times bestselling author of American Psycho and Less Than Zero comes a chilling tale that combines reality, memoir, and fantasy to create a fascinating portrait of this most controversial writer but also a deeply moving novel about love and loss, parents and children, and ultimately forgiveness.

“John Cheever writes The Shining.” —Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly

Bret Ellis, the narrator of Lunar Park, is the bestselling writer whose first novel Less Than Zero catapulted him to international stardom while he was still in college. In the years that followed he found himself adrift in a world of wealth, drugs, and fame, as well as dealing with the unexpected death of his abusive father.

After a decade of decadence a chance for salvation arrives; the chance to reconnect with an actress he was once involved with, and their son. But almost immediately his new life is threatened by a freak sequence of events and a bizarre series of murders that all seem to connect to Ellis’s past. His attempts to save his new world from his own demons makes Lunar Park Ellis’s most suspenseful novel.

Look for Bret Easton Ellis’s new novel, The Shards!

Listen to a conversation with Bret Easton Ellis.

©2005 Bret Easton Ellis (P)2005 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"[Ellis's] most enjoyable novel . . . The story of a doomed marriage blends with a satirical take on upscale suburban angst, a campy horror story about a haunted house, a Frankenstein-like case of a monster unchained and a serious rumination on the damage fathers can do to sons. Ellis stirs these elements into a steamy witches' brew and works his way through to a marvelously elegiac ending, displaying real artistic discipline . . . Even his harshest critics may now have to acknowledge that this versatile, resourceful writer has formidable skills." --Kirkus, starred review

Not his best or his worst; enjoyably underwhelming

Awesome voiceover by JVD, I wish he could read everything to me. The opening and closing of the novel are great, both in style and content. Everything in between is kinda predictable and drawn out. There's enough story here for a fantastic short but unfortunately it's stretched out into a meandering though occasionally heartfelt novel. RIP Victor

Bret Easton Ellis Combined with Early Stephen King

What made the experience of listening to Lunar Park the most enjoyable?

I think that the combination of his style of writing infused with the books that he loved as a teenager - Stephen King's novels from the 70s and early to mid 80's - made this a particularly enjoyable listen.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked how Bret Easton Ellis went in a different direction in this novel than he did with previous books. Also, it was never boring. The pace was excellent and the combination of horror and dark humor were well balanced. He also wrote about children pretty well - which I don't think he has ever done in his previous works.

Have you listened to any of James Van Der Beek’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't. This was the first.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No, I don't think so. I liked some parts better than others but the book as a whole is great. I particularly like the opening chapter and the ending portion of the story when the horror aspects kick into high gear.

Any additional comments?

Bret Easton Ellis outdoes Stephen King in this psychological-horror homage. In an attempt to return to the form of his simpler, but more effective earlier novels, Ellis wrote in the vein of the books that influenced him as a teen and the result is a gripping and highly entertaining listen. This is my favorite novel from Bret Easton Ellis and it is due in part to the combination haunted-house story and an interesting self-portrait of the image of the writer Bret Easton Ellis.

Fun book

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. Some parts are really funny in a BEE way, too.

Addicting....haunting........disturbing.

I have always been a fan of the way Mr. Ellis writes and describes every detail with the total truth of what his mind is thinking, without apology. This book continued on with that honest depiction of a man who some would say they would hate, because they would be ashamed to admit they like. Someone they would enjoy sitting back and having conversations with, someone to "party" with. This story was disturbing and I was addicted to it. I wanted to read it all in one sitting. I couldn't wait to get back to it and spent every free time in two days going back to it. I came out wanting to re-read the authors previous books and then finish with re-reading this. Mr. Ellis' long awaited novel was well worth the wait. Again those who don't want to acknowledge the "gritty, dirty, filthy, plain truth about some human behavior" should not expect to be heart warmed by this story. But his honesty makes you believe in what is happening and that is frightening.

One of my favorite reads. Top 5 material.

Any additional comments?

I like Ellis' aesthetic and his instincts towards the lurid and explorations into the existential crisis of his characters, if that’s the right way of saying it. But I was never as big a fan of his books to expect THIS. Lunar Park knocked me on my ass. I recommend it to everyone I know, and they ALWAYS love it. LOVE it. Yes, it is a bit of a homage to Stephen King. It is even a meditation on his own work (it’s not necessary but it helps if you are at least familiar with Less Than Zero and especially American Psycho -- the novel, not the gutless film version which stripped the novel into a somewhat unconventional though no less shallow of a slasher film).

I can’t say as much as I want about this novel because it is simply better to come in clean. Suffice to say that if you’re not hooked by the first 20 pages (or repulsed), then you’re probably either weird or boring, ha. The story shifts gears after that and we get a plot Stephen King could have come up with, but it is told in a way Ellis specializes in. I wish he would write more like Lunar Park. It is somewhat of a departure. The sincerity he achieves, I mean.

great book, great narration

I thouroughly enjoyed this book. A bit of a departure from BEE's previous stuff, but it's interesting and compelling. Vanderbeerk's narration is great. Really great.

So good that I listened to it twice.

One of the best books I've "read" in a long time. James Van Der Beek does a fantastic job reading and it was well worth the download.

I enjoyed it actually

It somehow fit well into my life context, middle-age, parenting, mystery, all came together in this book and in life.

Dark Dark Dark

This book may be too much for some readers. It was for me. The dark side of the human mind is done with great skill, so much so that it was extremely disturbing. In fact, it was so disturbing, I could not continue the book. It demonstrates how far into the depths a individual can go and still be a cogent story teller.

First Brey Easton Ellis Book Read

This was an interesting experience. Lunar Park essentially is a faux-autobiography about Mr. Ellis after his initial successes as a up and coming writer of the new generation. The genre: Autobiography/Comedy/Satire/Drama/Horror/Mystery was a fresh experience and sort of a shock to the system. The story definitely had me thinking about its writer throughout and luckily the audiobook comes with an interview with Ellis after it's conclusion.

Van Der Beek did a excellent job with the narration, lending a silky smoothness and confidence to the Ellis persona. I felt the story was a little repetitive at moments dealing with Bret's addiction issues - a bias of a recovered addict perhaps. Overall I enjoyed the book and look forward to seeing what American Psycho or Less Than Zero have to offer down the road.