#less than zero

It takes days (damn near pulling teeth) for him to get anything out of them and the best they could do was: "stepstool" given their massive height difference.

(Caine at like 4ft 8 and Noi at 6ft 2)

This doesnt work out later in the fic once he becomes 'spindly long'

Noi: -looking sad-

Caine: "Wh-whats wrong!?"

Noi: "I can't call you stepstool no more...."

Caine: "YOU CAN KEEP CALLING ME STEPSTOOL! I'M OKAY WITH IT! SEE I CAN- UH" -lays down- "BE KINDA TINY???"

Noi: "Caine- im still having to look up even when you're as flat as you can go."

Of course on the surface, both Bret and Richard are from California. Now Richard seems to be more from the Bay Area whereas Bret is from Los Angeles, but the comparison still stands.

Additionally (and this, at least I believe, is the main point of inspiration), they both are extremely disillusioned and detached from their old lives. For Bret, this is highly explored in Less Than Zero as well as The Shards and stems from the idea of being forced into the "adult" world too quickly by a number of factors. Richard, at certain points in the book, describes not feeling connected or on the same mental plain as his peers in California-- feeling worlds away though they are physically living in the same world, if that makes sense. These are feelings that are expressed in The Shards, feeling miles away and even matured from the obliviousness of one's peers. But for Richard, his being forced into the "adult" world can be seen from a multitude of different angles. 1. Becoming a part of the classics group, ultimately leading him to be an accomplice in multiple murders. 2. Moving across the country by himself, widely without the support or help from his parents. 3. Being entirely self dependent whilst the other members of the classics group (minus Bunny and slightly the twins) have trusts and allowances to draw from.

And though both Bret and Richard may have felt intense detachment from their old lives, on the surface, they seemed like they belonged. As for Bret, this is evident if you read any of his books, but for Richard, he says it in the prose of the Secret History himself:

"I am gifted at blending myself into any given milieu-- you've never seen such a typical California teenager as I was" (the secret history, page 186)

We can see this chameleon-like ability throughout the whole book as Richard tries to fit in with the classics students, much like how Bret was able to fit in with his typical SoCal peers by acting like-- and pretty much being-- one of them.

The last point I'd like to bring up is the similar detachment in Bret's prose to Richard's narration. Of course, Donna Tartt and Bret Easton Ellis are both very different writers, but I can't help but see similarities between the unaffected point of view of Bret's writing and Richard's unfazed narration, and even dialogue. My biggest example would be the beginning of Chapter 5 in The Secret History, where Henry and Francis are telling Richard about the aftermath of the bacchanal. His description of the scene is very practical, littered with physical description of Henry and Francis' movements, rather than with his unfolding emotions of the story. Additionally, in the audiobook, Donna read's Richard's parts in a sort of bored-sounding monotone, possibly just playing more into his detached nature.