Water from the Sun and Discovering Japan

by Bret Easton Ellis

In June, 2006, Picador launch Picador Shots, a new series of pocket-sized books priced at 1. The Shots aim to promote the short story as well as the work of some Picador's greatest authors. They will be contemporarily packaged but ultimately disposable books that are the ideal literary alternative to a magazine.Bret Easton Ellis' two short stories chronicle the lives of a group of Los Angele's residents all of them suffering from nothing less that death of the soul. Ellis has immense gift for dialogue, off-the-wall humour, merciless description and exotic bleakness.In 'Water from the Sun', Cheryl Lane is going under. Her marriage to William has broken down, she has moved in with a young boy half her age who is more interested in other young boys that in her and she keeps not turning up at work, the one area of her life that seems to be in good working order. To keep afloat she drinks, she shops and she takes pills. Would meeting up with William, something she has been avoiding like everything else in her life, give her what she needs anyway?In 'Discovering Japan', Bryan, is on tour. His manager, Roger, has taken him to Tokyo to promote his record and do a few gigs. But to get Roger out of hotel room, off the drink, drugs and women is going to be a tall enough feet itself for Bryan. Written with spare and hypnotic prose, this is a story about a man hell-bent on distruction by a writer deeply concerned with the moral decline of our society.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, The United States Of America, Japan, Thriller, Drama, Contemporary

91 pages, Paperback

First published June 16, 2006

About the author

Bret Easton Ellis is an American author and screenwriter. Ellis was one of the literary Brat Pack and is a self-proclaimed satirist whose trademark technique, as a writer, is the expression of extreme acts and opinions in an affectless style. His novels commonly share recurring characters.
When Ellis was 21, his first novel, the controversial bestseller Less than Zero (1985), was published by Simon & Schuster. His third novel, American Psycho (1991), was his most successful. Upon its release the literary establishment widely condemned it as overly violent and misogynistic. Though many petitions to ban the book saw Ellis dropped by Simon & Schuster, the resounding controversy convinced Alfred A. Knopf to release it as a paperback later that year.
Ellis's novels have become increasingly metafictional. Lunar Park (2005), a pseudo-memoir and ghost story, received positive reviews. Imperial Bedrooms (2010), marketed as a sequel to Less than Zero, continues in this vein. The Shards (2023) is a fictionalized memoir of Ellis's final year of high school in 1981 Los Angeles.
Four of Ellis's works have been made into films. Less than Zero was adapted in 1987 as a film of the same name, but the film bore little resemblance to the novel. Mary Harron's adaptation of American Psycho was released in 2000. Roger Avary's adaptation of The Rules of Attraction was released in 2002. The Informers, co-written by Ellis and based on his collection of short stories, was released in 2008. Ellis also wrote the screenplay for the 2013 film The Canyons.

Reviews

[Sam Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Water from the Sun” and “Discovering Japan” are both excellent stories of burned out people abusing substances while slowly reaching the end of their tether and are great reads. However, both of these stories are included in Bret Easton Ellis’ short story collection “The Informers” which is far better value for money as you get an entire book’s worth of other fantastic stories as well.

[Redfox5 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't say this book did much for me. Didn't take very long to read, it passed the time while I was waiting for my boyfriend to get ready. The stories were okay but I didn't like one more than the other and I didn't feel very attached to them and I failed to connect with any of the characters.

[Rachel Louise Atkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not read any of his short stories before but they were good. I definitely preferred the first one but I recommend this if you're interested in trying out his prose style.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Immersive short stories by Bret that capture his writing style brilliantly. These two shorts are a great place to start if you haven't read any of his books. The characters are similar to many of Bret's other books: lost souls, privileged, and self-centred, which make them hard to relate to but also somewhat familiar. Moreover, relatability is not something I look for in characters all the time. What I like is that the protagonists are still very human and raw in their actions, which makes reading about their comings and goings fascinating. A quick and short read!

[Nayibe Castillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tesoro encontrado en un pulguero por Central Park!!!!

[Roberta De leo · Rating 1 out of 5]

A 30 anni adoravo questo autore, cominciando dalla lettura folgorante di Meno di Zero. Dopo 20 anni posso dire che Ellis mi disgusta nella maniera più assoluta.
Strano...eppure è così.

[Eleonora Daenerys · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sono due racconti brevi molto belli che consiglio di leggere, mi è piaciuto molto discovering japan tra i due. Si trovano solo in inglese quindi se si conosce l'inglese li consiglio

[Nick Rogers · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very boring. Just conversations with toxic people.

[Boris Kostic · Rating 3 out of 5]

yes!

It’s all right. But just all right. Something like American Irvine Welsh. Or it’s vice versa? For a some reason I expected much more.

[Stamatios Mantzouranis · Rating 3 out of 5]

The two short stories in the book are an excellent introduction to Ellis's work and not having the stomach to read a full-length novel of his, I decided to give them a shot.

It was exactly what I expected. Amoral, vacuous characters, unable to feel the tiniest sting of emotion, lost in a maze they can never exit, living forever in the same moment again and again, unable to break the vicious circle of addiction and pain. Ellis writes in long repeating sentences that take you on a roller-coaster ride you want to get off from. The narrative that jumb-cuts from one scene to the next evokes the fragmented memories of a heavy drinker or a junkie. The words are dirty. The world stinks. The story lingers in your mind long after you've put the book down.

There's no doubt Ellis is a master writer. The problem is that it's all taken to such extreme that his technique jumps out of the page and stares you in the face. The characters are not believable. They are just mannequins for Ellis's obsessions. The plot and the settings never become believable, they don't draw you into them.

And for me, I guess the biggest turn-off was that I just couldn't get into this nihilist frame of mind. Ironically, I ended up thinking: what was the point of all this? Was it supposed to be a commentary on our hyper-consumerist society? Reality is way more different than that. Was I supposed to feel sorry for the main characters? Fuck them. They brought it all upon themselves, and hurt others in the process.

Every review contains a mix of objective and subjective opinion. Was it a good book and did I enjoy it? Bret Easton Ellis may mark high scores as one of the greatest authors of our time, but I'm sorry to report that he is not my cup of tea. Will you find this review helpful? Probably not.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

These two short stories introduce the talent evident in Ellis (of American Psycho fame).

The two stories explore similar themes of substance abuse and fame. What makes these works stand out for me is the natural dialogue within the stories. I admit that both tales aren't exactly filled with excitement but there is such natural, free-flowing speech that it reaches the reader...even should they be the most devoutly "clean" person going...on a familiar level.

Worth a read for sure and for those, like myself, that haven't yet gotten round to works like American Psycho it certainly makes me want to sink my teeth into them sooner rather than later.

[Gavin Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, there isn't much going on in either of these two stories that you won't find in an improved and more comprehensive form in any of Bret Easton Ellis' longer works. Thematically and narratively, this is very much the same drug-fueled world of self-involved nihilists that you can find throughout his writing. Surely though, Ellis must have a claim to be one of the most consistent literary writers of his time. His style always has the same propulsive rhythm and deadpan conclusion, like a pop song that can't be bothered to quite finish its own hook. If that sounds negative, it isn't supposed to. I love the beat of Ellis' writing. It's deceptively simple but so many other nineties writers have tried to do the same thing and failed. It is prose that just seems to scream (but followed by a shrug) to be read aloud.

[Richard Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd say this is one for Bret Easton Ellis fans. I'd probably give Water from the Sun, which has the better title, 2 stars and Discovering Japan, which bears more similarity to Glamorama and Less than Zero 4 stars.

[Sediqa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. Naturally. Allows the reader to feel like a participant in the events that occur rather than an observer.

[Peter C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hadn't read these so glad available on Kindle. A bit of a curiosity more than anything, but perfectly enjoyable read.

[Duncan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was pretty disappointed with this book. It felt to me like a tired re-hash of the very similar ideas to those communicated much more powerfully in American Psycho.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 short stories by Ellis, both a bit blah.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, but typically Easton-Ellis: dazed and confused characters, 1980s context, affluent types, not really likeable