 Asked about the motif and " casual approach to " bisexual characters in his novels , continued in Imperial Bedrooms , Ellis stated he " really [ didn 't ] know " , and that he wished he could provide " an answer – depicting [ him ] as extremely conscious of those choices " . He believes it to be an " interesting aspect of [ his ] work " . Details notes how Ellis ' own sexuality , frequently described as bisexual , has been notoriously hard to pin down . Reviewers have long tried to probe Ellis on autobiographical themes in his work . He reiterates to Vice that he is not Clay . Ellis says that other contemporary authors ( naming Michael Chabon , Jonathan Franzen , Jonathan Lethem as examples ) don 't get asked if their novels are autobiographical . ( However , Ellis tells one interview , that he " cannot fully " say that " I 'm not Clay " because of their emotional " connections " . ) Vice attributes this streak to Ellis ' age when Less Than Zero came out , which led to him being seen as a voice @-@ of @-@ the @-@ generation . Ellis feels that the autobiographical truths of his novels lie in their writing processes , which to him are like emotional " exorcisms " . Crace 's abovementioned parody suggests that Less Than Zero Clay was originally a flattering portrayal of Ellis . Ellis discusses lightly the kinds of self @-@ insertion present in the book . While Clay is clearly ( parodically ) working on the film adaptation of The Informers , he is at the same time fully aware that he has been a character in Less Than Zero , and that ostensibly , Ellis is ' the author ' whom Clay knew . However , there are clear differences to the characters , as well . For example , Ellis had to omit lines from the book he felt Clay would never have thought of , on subjects he would never have noticed . Ellis himself feels he is adapting to middle @-@ age very well ; Clay , however , isn 't . 
