“No one ever likes the right person.”
The Rules of Attraction by Bret Easton Ellis has a reputation for being cold, nihilistic, and deliberately uncomfortable. Maybe that’s why we here at What We Reading were so excited to finally get the chance to read it. One of the most infamous dark academia books in history, The Rules of Attraction has won acclaim and infamy as a defining snapshot of disaffection, desire, and emotional detachment. But, how much of this reputation really lives up to expectation? From unreliable narrators to fractured structures, join us today as we present our The Rules of Attraction book review and explore whether this really is a story that justifies its hype.
Date Published: 1987
Author: Bret Easton Ellis
Genre: Fiction, Dark Academia
Pages: 283
Goodreads Rating: 3.72/5
The Rules of Attraction Summary
Set in an affluent liberal arts college during the height of the Reagan eighties, The Rules of Attraction follows a handful of rowdy, spoiled, sexually promiscuous students with no plans for the future – or even the present. Three of them – Sean, Paul, and Lauren – become involved in a love triangle of sorts within a sequence of drug runs, “Dressed to Get Screwed” parties, and “End of the World” parties.
As Bret Easton Ellis, bestselling author of American Psycho, trains his incisive gaze on the kids at the self-consciously bohemian Camden College, treating their sexual posturing and agonies with a blend of acrid hilarity and compassion, he exposes the moral vacuum at the heart of all their lives.
What Worked
The Rules of Attraction thrives on its cold, nihilistic tone, which never wavers and feels totally intentional. From the very get-go, we are dropped into the middle of something already in motion – a cycle of desire, self-destruction, and emotional disconnect that feels doomed to repeat itself endlessly. There isn’t a sense of arrival or ever a resolution, just the uncomfortable feeling of watching lives spiral without learning from the experience.
The unreliable narration is one of The Rules of Attraction’s most notorious and strongest elements. Hearing the same moments reframed through different perspectives – especially Sean and Paul’s times together – reinforces the book’s obsession with vanity, self-delusion, and the characters’ inabilities to truly see one another. Everyone is trapped inside their own version of events, and Ellis uses that fragmentation to underscore just how shallow and self-absorbed these characters are.
Ellis’ depiction of desire is bleak, depressing, and brutally candid. Sex, attraction, and intimacy are all stripped of romance and presented as transactional, hollow, and usually joyless. Even the novel’s unconventional structure – the reverse chronology and the abrupt ending – match the confusion and numbness the drug-fuelled characters exhibit, cutting their stories off without catharsis or clarity.
The strange background details sprinkled throughout, such as the serial killer apparently stalking the campus, are barely acknowledged by anyone in the book, making us question if they’re ever really happening. The world around them is falling apart, but the characters are all far too consumed by their own wants to ever notice.
The book is unsettling, cynical, and intentionally uncomfortable – and that consistency throughout is precisely what makes The Rules of Attraction so, so good.
What Didn’t
The Rules of Attraction isn’t an easy book to sink into. The long, breathless chapters – often running without paragraph breaks – can feel draining to get through. Whilst this style works thematically, reinforcing the diary-like rambling of characters caught in their own heads, it certainly makes the novel harder to dip in and out of.
We should say that this effect is intentional; however, it doesn’t always make for the most inviting reading experience.
The character voices also blur together at times, especially early on. With so many messy dynamics in play, it can be tough keeping track of who’s speaking and how they relate to one another. A few more distinct mannerisms or verbal quirks could have helped each character stand out more clearly, giving overlapping narratives sharper definition.
On a more macro level, The Rules of Attraction feels like it stops short of fully exploring class and privilege. These themes are clearly present – wealthy students drifting through life without consequence – but they remain mostly in the background. A deeper look at how privilege actively shapes the characters’ motivations and choices could have provided another layer to an already bleak reflection of excess and detachment.
Wrap Up
Despite some of the frustrations we might have had getting into it, The Rules of Attraction is a novel we loved, largely because it never compromises its vision.
Its cold, nihilistic tone, fragmented structure, and emotionally vacant characters all work in harmony to conjure something deliberately uncomfortable and strangely absorbing. Ellis isn’t interested in any growth or redemption here – only in capturing a moment, a mindset, and a cycle that refuses to break.
It’s that commitment that makes the novel endure as a classic, especially in the dark academia genre. Messy, draining, and often bleak, The Rules of Attraction fully earns its place as a modern classic, not just because it’s easy to love, but because it’s impossible to ignore.
Our Rating: 4.5/5
Check Out The Best Bret Easton Ellis Books In Order
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
