Less Than Zero

“People are afraid to merge on freeways in Los Angeles”

These lines are the opening words of the novel. Blair says them at this point, but they are repeated countless times in Clay’s head. For his part, Clay is struck by the insipid nature of Blair’s conversation after such a prolonged absence. Additionally, the lines can be understood to mean that people are afraid to act to make changes to their lives and circumstances or to have to take others into consideration as they act. Perhaps it is his realization of this fact about Los Angeles residents that bothers Clay to such an extent.

“Nobody’s home. The air conditioner is on and the house smells like pine. There’s a note on the kitchen table that tells me that my mother and sisters are out, Christmas shopping.”

These lines illustrate the nature of the household in which Clay grew up. His family is not there to greet him upon his return from his first semester of college. Their physical absence is representative of their emotional absence, as is also true of many of the other families depicted in the novel.

“What are the two biggest lies? ‘I’ll pay you back and I won’t come in your mouth.’”

Alana shares these lines at Kim’s party, claiming to have heard them from Jared, the partner of Blair’s father. She claims not to understand them, but they illustrate the nature of Ellis’s characters and their social milieu. They also reveal Ellis’s