okay so i just finished the shards by bret easton ellis and it was so so good, so heavy but so good.
bret is an oppressed closeted gay guy in the 1980s homophobia that outsmarted everyone got away with it so naturally i think he’s kind of an icon.
honestly, i like how his paranoia is meant to be the manifestation of his repressed sexuality - sexuality he wouldn’t need to repress if said homophobia didn’t exist to begin with. homophobia that people like thom and robert perpetuate. thom’s nonchalance at the suggestion that robert’s institution was conversion therapy.
especially considering that robert is a homophobic twat who sexually coaxed a closeted guy into revealing their sexuality only to call him a faggot and then leave, sexually humiliating him. so no sympathy for robert from me. especially after the news that he raped his stepsister and potentially killed his mum as well as stealing someone else’s girl and lying about his past.
also susan is an underutilised character. her character being always taken care of, always protected but also being in control more than someone like debbie should have been explored more and i wished her and bret got more best friend moments. it would’ve even better as a dual protagonist book.
