Lunar Park

By: Bret Easton Ellis

Narrated by: James Van Der Beek

Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's Summary

Imagine becoming a best-selling novelist, and almost immediately famous and wealthy, while still in college, and before long seeing your insufferable father reduced to a bag of ashes in a safety-deposit box, while after American Psycho your celebrity drowns in a sea of vilification, booze, and drugs.

Then imagine having a second chance 10 years later, as the Bret Easton Ellis of this remarkable novel is given, with a wife, children, and suburban sobriety, only to watch this new life shatter beyond recognition in a matter of days. At a fateful Halloween party he glimpses a disturbing (fictional) character driving a car identical to his late father's, his stepdaughter's doll violently "malfunctions", and their house undergoes bizarre transformations both within and without. Connecting these aberrations to graver events, a series of grotesque murders that no longer seem random and the epidemic disappearance of boys his son's age, Ellis struggles to defend his family against this escalating menace even as his wife, their therapists, and the police insist that his apprehensions are rooted instead in substance abuse and egomania.

Lunar Park confounds one expectation after another, passing through comedy and mounting horror, both psychological and supernatural, toward an astonishing resolution, about love and loss, fathers and sons, in what is surely the most powerfully original and deeply moving novel of an extraordinary career.

Bonus Feature: Includes an interview with the author.

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

"The book is mesmerizing, easily his best since Less than Zero." ( Publishers Weekly)

"Addictive. . . . Sublime. . . . Exquisite. . . . Stirringly executed. . . . A phantasmagoria of love and loss, a fusion of hallucination and wisdom." ( The New York Times)

"The sense of creeping dread is excellent, and the beasts confronted by the Ellis character are genuinely frightening." ( Booklist)

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.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Best Ellis Since Less Than Zero

I loved this book! Very well narrated, spooky thriller with bits of Frankenstein, Macbeth, American Psycho and Stephen King. This is Ellis' best work since his debut -- well told, smart story with lots of interesting twists and turns.

I really enjoyed the confusion between biography and story as the book evolves.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

More Than Creepy

I couldn't stop listening. The author twists elements of his own life and experience into a bizarre and disturbing phycological horror story. Through most of the book, one is not sure if the "monsters" are real or just in the mind of a very messed up character. In fact, at times I wanted them to be real just to ease the creepiness that comes from empathizing with a character who is so lost.

I don't know how well this narrator would do with another genre, but for this book, he was perfect!

I hope Audible can snag a few others by Ellis. I'd love to listen to Less Than Zero and American Psycho.

9 of 10 people found this review helpful

A glimpse into a brilliant writers life.

I have one thing to say: "Get trashed less and write more." This book is awesome and gripping and Van Der Beek makes it hum! I didn't want to miss a word. I would like audible.com to put the other books by Ellis in an audio format with Van Der Beek as the reader. I am emailing a thumbs up to all of my audiphile addicts.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Not Mainstream Crap

This is not a pretty novel. Like the Less Than Zero and American Psycho movies, I empathized with the main characters making me feel unclean throughout the whole novel. I found it even difficult to blink, afraid I would miss something, even though I was listening to the book. I haven't been a fan of Bret Easton Ellis simply because I haven't payed attention to who he was but I am now.

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

Creepy and compelling

This was my first Bret Easton Ellis book, so I am not bothered by the clash between the real and fictional author and enjoyed the book at surface value. It is unlike any other book I have listened to, and I really enjoyed the experience. It is strange, irrational, creepy - words that I would not use to describe most of my favorite books - but it worked for me and kept me riveted.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Very Engaging

This was my first BEE book, and I found it by turns fascinating and frightening. It's a great story that is moving, scary, and involving. The narration is very strong as well. Very "Stephen King" esque, and an interesting act of meta-fiction (writing about himself fictionally).

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Boy, does this guy have demons or what?

Interesting blend of genres (autobiography, horror, satire, suspense) works well in my opinion. This was a lot of fun and kept me on the edge of my seat. Very well read, which always helps. Yes, the protaganist/author is very unlikable; but, so what? It makes me glad I'm not him! I appreciate books/movies that push the limits and this surely qualifies. Listen and enjoy!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Writer kills his own potential

I rarely get excited about a book written in the first person and this author told his tale with a great deal of talent. Why would he waste his skill on such a piece of trash? His interpertation of himself had me loathing him by chapter 2. He was everything evil and weak in my mind. I couldn't get past chapter 6. I hope this author gets serious about his craft because his talent will shine when he writes a real book. I want my money back on this one.

26 of 42 people found this review helpful

wow -- interesting

this was sometimes a bit difficult to stick with but was ultimately very rewarding.

if you're interested in literature, this should be interesting to you.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful