"Lunar Park," by Bret Easton Ellis is an exciting and thrilling novel. Most of all, however, it is a thinker. Throughout the novel, Ellis did a tremendous job by keeping the reader interested, wanting to read more. The average reader is left wondering which details are true of the author's real life and which are the only figments of his creative genius. .
Lunar Park is considered a work of fiction. In novel Lunar Park, Ellis writes about the situations within his life during a two-week time in which many unusual circumstances occur. Lunar Park is a novel about the breakdown of a postmodern American family. The main character, Ellis, is haunted by the fact that he was unable to mourn his father's death, and is currently unable to connect with his son. This haunting becomes the dominant metaphor of Bret's work, as the ghost of his father comes back to warn him of something about his family, and as his son becomes a ghost and disappears. Bret's relationship with his father impacted his life in a negative way because he turned to drugs and alcohol. This led their relationship to grow apart. Consequently, Bret is consistently battling with himself, which leads to mental issues. When Bret's father passes away, it holds a great impact on Bret because he never had a chance to rekindle their relationship.
Psychological criticism explores the unconscious motives of Bret and his biographical circumstances and how they affect or influence his behavior. In regards to analyzing Lunar Park and Bret Easton Ellis, psychological criticism is the best type of criticism to utilize because of the numerous interactions Bret has with strange individuals, unique creatures and most importantly his subconscious state of mind. Psychological criticism uses Freudian psychology to study an author's work. Typically, psychological explanation can help reveal the work's meaning. Occasionally this meaning is unplanned by the author.