What You Need to Know About Bret Easton Ellis The Informers
The Informers is a 1994 short story collection by Bret Easton Ellis. It operates as a loose sequel to his debut novel American Psycho. The stories are connected by setting and recurring characters rather than a single narrative thread. If you are looking for a cohesive plot, you will not find one here. The book follows a group of wealthy, aimless young people in Los Angeles and New York. Drug use, casual sex, and emotional numbness are the primary concerns of almost every character. The tone is detached. The prose is deliberately flat. This is intentional. Ellis wants you to feel the hollowness he is describing. I have read this book multiple times over the years. What struck me on first reading was how repetitive the situations become. On a second read you notice the small details that connect the stories. The character of Grant, for example, appears across several narratives. The geography of Los Angeles shifts slightly between stories but the general sense of place remains consistent.
How the Stories Actually Work
Ellis writes in close third-person perspective for most of the collection. He sticks to the viewpoint of his characters without commentary. There is no narrator intruding to tell you how to feel about what is happening. The reader is left to draw their own conclusions from the actions described. The pacing is deliberate. Scenes play out with minimal dialogue. Much of the story happens through observation and internal thought rather than conversation. This can feel slow if you are expecting traditional plot movement. The book works more like a series of character studies than a conventional narrative. One thing beginners often miss is the importance of the setting descriptions. The restaurants, apartments, and clubs matter more than they initially appear. These locations establish the social codes that govern the characters. Knowing which venues are real helps ground the fiction in a specific cultural moment.
Common Issues Readers Face
The biggest complaint about this book is that the characters are unlikable. They are also mostly indistinguishable from one another. I ran into this problem myself when trying to recommend the book to someone. I spent about twenty minutes trying to help them keep track of which story they were in. My workaround was simple: I suggested they read the stories out of order. Starting with "The Way She Looks" gives a better entry point than opening with the title story. It provides immediate context about the world before you dive into the more obscure narratives. Another issue is the graphic content. Sexual violence and drug abuse appear throughout. Ellis does not present these elements for shock value alone, but they are unavoidable. Some readers walk away feeling like nothing of consequence actually happens. That is partly the point. The characters experience drama but it never leads to growth or resolution.
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Where to Find the Book
The Informers was originally published by Simon and Schuster. It is currently in print and available through major booksellers. You can find paperback and ebook editions. The collection typically runs around two hundred pages depending on the edition. I would recommend getting the Vintage International paperback edition if possible. The formatting is clean and the paper quality is decent for a book you might carry around. The hardcover first edition exists but offers little practical advantage unless you are collecting. I once bought a used hardcover and ended up returning it because the binding was already cracking from normal reading. That cost me fifteen dollars and an hour at the post office for nothing.
Advanced Reading Notes
Ellis draws heavily on his own social circle for the character models. Several of the people depicted were real acquaintances when he wrote this. The book caused noticeable friction in his personal relationships at the time. This biographical detail matters more than you might expect because it explains certain choices in how characters are portrayed. The connections to American Psycho are straightforward but worth tracking. Patrick Bateman appears briefly. The shared Los Angeles setting creates an alternate universe version of the same environment. Some readers treat this as a prequel. Others see it as a parallel world. The text itself does not commit to either reading. The ending of the collection is notable. The final story "Gym Class" provides a tonal shift that catches people off guard. It is quieter and more introspective than what precedes it. I would suggest not skipping ahead to it even if you are tempted. The buildup across the preceding stories gives it weight it would not have on its own.
When This Book Will Not Work For You
If you need characters who grow or change, this is not the right choice. If you prefer dialogue-driven scenes, you will struggle through most of it. If you want clear moral positioning from the author, you will not find it here. The book deliberately refuses to judge its characters. That refusal is the most consistent element in the entire collection. For readers who appreciate the work, the reward comes from noticing patterns across the stories. The connections between narratives accumulate meaning over the full collection. Reading it straight through in order is the intended experience. Skipping around diminishes that effect noticeably.
