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The Shards is described as a fictionalized memoir about Bret Easton Ellis‘ high school years — so what is real and what is fake?
According to the official synopsis, The Shards is set in Los Angeles in 1981 and follows “a 17-year-old version of Ellis during his final year at the elite Buckley prep school.” His world is upended by the arrival of a mysterious new student, Robert Mallory, whose “unsettling presence coincides with the activities of a serial killer known as The Trawler.”
Igby Rigney portrays Ellis, now 62, in an adaptation based on Ellis’ book of the same name. The 2023 release was Ellis’ first in 13 years and has a disclaimer stating that all the major players in The Shards are fictional — apart from the narrator.
After publishing The Shards, Ellis recalled hearing from a former classmate after they saw themselves in a character. Ellis told Vanity Fair in 2023 that he received a Facebook message, which read, “Of all the names you could have chosen, the name I hate the most is Debbie.”
Ellis also reflected on the larger inspiration behind The Shards.
“I’m not motivated to write a novel without feeling it, and that might be why a lot of my novels have that pervasive sense of dread,” he continued. “I think it just stems from where the books come from, and it’s a reflection of that. Conversely, if I’d been a happier guy would I have been writing books? Would I be using the novel as a way to express this or communicate it? I don’t know. But that could have something to do with why I’ve been attracted to horror and used elements of it in my work.”
Keep scrolling for a breakdown of fact vs. fiction when it comes to The Shards:
The Trawler
Some who have read Ellis’ book have assumed that the serial killer The Trawler is loosely based on The West Side Rapist. Outside of those theories, The Trawler, who attacked high school students in The Shards, is entirely fictional.
The Setting
Mark this under accurate because the real Bret graduated from Buckley School in Sherman Oaks. The Los Angeles private school is meant to mirror the environment portrayed in The Shards, which follows Bret’s final year in high school.
Bret’s Home Life
While The Shards depicts Bret as a single child, the real Bret has several sisters. He previously mentioned on his podcast that he changed the detail after his siblings asked they not be depicted in his work.
Bret’s Inner Circle
The Shards introduces Kaia Gerber as Susan Reynolds, Hayes Warner as Debbie Schaffer and Graham Campbell as Thom Wright, who all make up Bret’s best friends. While some details about the group are presumably fictionalized for TV, Bret did pull inspiration from his own senior year and the experiences he shared with his friend group at the time.
Debbie, for example, is likely meant to mirror Julie Foreman — the daughter of Hollywood producer John Foreman — whom Bret dated in the past.
The Existence of Robert Mallory
Homer Gere’s Robert Mallory is the new kid in town who Bret suspects of being a serial killer. The line between fact and fiction hinges on the show (and book’s ending) which Us won’t spoil. It is safe to assume, however, that there was no specific individual in Bret’s life named Robert Mallory.
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