Bret Easton Ellis: Hating my dad made me a writer
19th July 2010
Having a bad relationship with his father spurred Bret Easton Ellis on to become a novelist.
Speaking to the Observer, the American Psycho writer said that he 'hated' his father - an alcoholic property developer called Robert who died in 1992 - but admitted he would not have become an artist without this difficult relationship.
'Mostly, in my case, writing comes from pain, confusion, stress. I have father issues. Somebody didn't love me. I became famous too young,' he explained.
The 46-year-old also told the newspaper that despite revisiting his youth in his latest offering Imperial Bedrooms - the sequel to debut Less Than Zero - he no longer fits the bill as the 'enfant terrible' of American writing.
'I'm certainly now the oldest person at [book] signings,' Ellis noted.
In an interview with Reuters last month, the author refuted the view that his novels are merely about the narcissism of the 1980s and said his books are actually written about himself.