Bret Easton Ellis’ 1987 novel The Rules of Attraction is a sharp, darkly comic, and emotionally detached exploration of privileged youth in 1980s America. Set at the fictional Camden College—a stand-in for elite liberal arts institutions—the novel follows a group of students consumed by sex, drugs, and self-destruction.
Unlike Ellis’ later American Psycho (1991), which focuses on extreme violence and sociopathy, The Rules of Attraction presents a more grounded yet equally bleak vision of moral decay. Through shifting first-person narratives, the novel paints a fragmented portrait of a generation defined by apathy, self-absorption, and a desperate search for meaning in a culture of excess.
Plot Overview
The novel’s structure is deliberately disjointed, featuring multiple narrators who recount their experiences at Camden College, often contradicting or misinterpreting one another. Rather than a traditional plot, the book presents a series of vignettes, parties, drug-fueled encounters, and sexual misadventures that underscore the characters’ emotional detachment.
At its core, the novel revolves around a doomed love triangle:
- Sean Bateman, a drug dealer and manipulative womanizer, believes he is in love with Lauren.
- Lauren Hynde, a disillusioned student waiting for her boyfriend Victor to return from Europe, fails to notice Sean’s affections.
- Paul Denton, a bisexual student, is infatuated with Sean, though Sean remains largely indifferent to his feelings.
As these characters chase relationships that never materialize, their lives spiral further into apathy and disillusionment. Parties blend into one another, relationships are shallow and transactional, and moments of genuine emotion are undercut by irony and detachment.
The novel famously begins mid-sentence and ends the same way, reinforcing the idea that the characters are trapped in an unending cycle of hedonism and meaninglessness.
Characters
Sean Bateman
Sean is the younger brother of Patrick Bateman from American Psycho and shares his sociopathic tendencies, albeit in a more diluted form. He is a drug dealer who manipulates those around him, often confusing lust with love. His narrative is unreliable, as he frequently misreads situations and people’s feelings toward him.
Lauren Hynde
Lauren is one of the few female characters who exhibits a degree of introspection. She is emotionally detached, using sex as a means of distraction while waiting for Victor, who is completely unaware of her devotion. Her attempts at connection are shallow, mirroring the emptiness of the world around her.
Paul Denton
Paul is a bisexual student whose romantic pursuits, particularly his fixation on Sean, highlight the novel’s theme of unreciprocated desire. He shifts between male and female lovers, yet never forms a meaningful connection. His character represents the fluidity and confusion of identity within a culture that prioritizes surface over substance.
Victor Johnson
Lauren’s absent boyfriend, Victor, serves as an example of how characters project meaning onto others despite their indifference. His European travels are recounted in Glamorama (1998), further solidifying Ellis’ interconnected literary universe.
Minor Characters
The novel features a rotating cast of shallow, directionless students who blur together, reinforcing its themes of identity loss and existential drift. Characters engage in self-destructive behaviors, their detachment making it difficult to distinguish one from another.
Themes and Analysis
Hedonism and Emotional Detachment
Ellis’ characters live in a world dominated by drugs, sex, and materialism, yet none find satisfaction. Their pursuits are mechanical, devoid of emotional depth. This reflects the excess of 1980s culture, where consumption and pleasure-seeking often masked deeper societal dissatisfaction.
Miscommunication and Unreciprocated Love
One of the novel’s most striking elements is its exploration of unfulfilled desire. Almost every major character misinterprets others’ emotions or fails to recognize genuine affection. Sean’s belief that Lauren loves him, Paul’s obsession with Sean, and Lauren’s fixation on Victor all illustrate the impossibility of real connection in a world ruled by self-absorption.
Unreliable Narration and Subjectivity
The novel’s multiple perspectives create a fragmented, contradictory reality. Characters perceive events differently, revealing their inability to truly understand themselves or others. This technique forces the reader to question what is real, emphasizing the characters’ disconnection from truth and meaning.
Generation X and Postmodern Alienation
As one of the defining works of 1980s literature, The Rules of Attraction captures the existential void felt by a generation raised in privilege but devoid of purpose. The novel reflects the postmodern condition—where irony, self-awareness, and cynicism replace authenticity. Ellis’ detached prose style mirrors this emotional numbness, making even the most dramatic moments feel hollow.
Connection to American Psycho and Ellis’ Literary Universe
Sean Bateman’s link to Patrick Bateman subtly connects The Rules of Attraction to American Psycho, suggesting that sociopathy and emotional detachment transcend age and class. Ellis’ novels often feature recurring characters and overlapping events, creating a shared universe of disaffection and moral decay.
Inspirations and Cultural Context
Bret Easton Ellis has cited his own college experiences at Bennington College as a major influence on The Rules of Attraction. The novel’s Camden College is a fictionalized version of Bennington, known for its artsy, privileged student body. Ellis’ contemporary literary circle included authors like Donna Tartt (The Secret History) and Jonathan Lethem, whose works similarly explore elite academic settings.
The novel also reflects broader cultural anxieties of the 1980s, a decade marked by consumerism, political conservatism, and the rise of ironic detachment in youth culture. Ellis’ work, heavily influenced by postmodern literature, aligns with authors like Jay McInerney and Douglas Coupland, who captured the disillusionment of their generation.
The Rules of Attraction
The Rules of Attraction remains a seminal work in Bret Easton Ellis’ career, offering a bleak yet darkly humorous critique of youth culture, privilege, and emotional emptiness. Its nonlinear structure, unreliable narrators, and sharp social commentary make it one of the most distinct portrayals of 1980s disaffection. While not as violent as American Psycho, it is equally unsettling in its depiction of a world where connection is impossible and every interaction is an exercise in futility.