I think that all of the missed opportunities to write the shards, which was a book I've always wanted to write, had to do with not being old enough. This story really did need to be told by a much older man, by looking back at the events of his past from 40 years ago. So yes, age was the factor completely in why this novel spoke to me now.
Los Angeles, 1981. A group of beautiful, rich, high school students are playing adult in their absentee parents' empty mansions, fueled by lust and prescription drugs, and filled with fear and disaffection. This is the world of The Shards, Bret Easton Ellis’ first novel in 13 years, part auto-fiction, part horror. The provocative and polarising author joins Alex Preston, award-winning author and journalist, to speak about the emptiness of adolescence, the lawlessness of the 80s, and how it feels to look back at it all aged 56 in 2023.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices