Ruthless Little Things

by Elizabeth Victoria Aldrich

A thunderclap of nebular shards, a ne plus ultra moment. The doyenne of irrationality and freedom comes bearing juicy fruit. There’s a dreamy, desirous heart pounding and a swoony abandon beneath the waves Elizabeth Victoria Aldrich has been making since she burst into the scene like a bolt of cosmic lightning littering stardust and shrapnel everywhere she went. Glamorous, painful, fearlessly honest…when I met her she was ready to die and I believed her. Over the course of more than a year, she’s become a known quantity in underground literature, with an ineffable charm and bottomless empathy having endeared her to virtually everyone she’s met. In this, her debut novel, she marries starry-eyed feral lust with California decadence and punk poetry in a sensory carnival of bleary abstraction and bubblegum. Meet Madzi, our narrator’s dream girl, Rorschach of the feminine ideal, a hot mess dripping sex appeal and riling you up, making your life magical and sublime before leaving a trail of dirty clothes and synthetic rails into your worst nightmare. A kaleidoscope of sapphic saturnalia and fast living, stroking the barrel and pouring ropefuel over your clean sheets, Ruthless Little Things tells of callow lust and hollow predation, of addiction and personality disorders, of heartbreak and wild nights, gallery shows, incontinent ragers. It is a tender, sorehearted transmission from a self-made prison, and an earnest flight toward escape. It is manic, sanguine, surreal, sad and revealing. Its lines burn themselves into you. It wreaks havoc and it never lies to you. An ethereal emotional hangover. The era of error is here.

Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Queer, Contemporary, Literature

116 pages, Paperback

First published January 29, 2021

About the author

I’m a degenerate don’t let the name fool you

Reviews

[Elizabeth Aldrich · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked out the cover in jail.

[Janie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pastel colors, sharp edges and the attempt to feel nothing surround teenaged girls who lust after each other and share party favors. The cuts run red deep, but the serious wounds are emotional and mental. Let the evocative language lead you down the rabbit hole as you learn how to lose yourself.

[Genevieve Jagger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not for the faint of heart. Full of dark vibrations. The kind of pain you have been refusing to look in the eye. Going to reread because I feel like I tumbled through it but - this book has haunted and exorcised me. Reminiscent of watching Donnie Darko for the first time and feeling that doom in your eyeballs. Set down a few hours and read the whole thing at once.

[Kelby Losack · Rating 5 out of 5]

elizabeth aldrich has one of the most raw and unique voices in modern literature. she's like the amy winehouse of prose.

[Jesse Hilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

BLACKLY BURNING PARABOLA OF THE LA GUTTERSNIPE

I don’t know if I’m going to be equal to writing this review. There is so much to Ruthless Little Things by Elizabeth V Aldrich (ExPat Press) that I can’t tackle it all and do it justice. So many quills of the porcupine, I can’t pet it safely.

Firstly, let me say that I read it all in one sitting; it’s 111 pages but contains a vastness and depth that is deceptive. I thought I saw an arc in the book, concrete-abstract-concrete, then the parabola turns to last minute zigzag. The book begins its parabola in a mostly straightforward narrative about a young woman living on the edge in the LA environment of drugs, sex, and partying. “It’s always a treat to wake up first at a house party,” the narrator says to us in a jaded aside. She steals drugs from her sleeping or absent fellows, bounces from location to location, talks with and fucks a rotating cast of (mostly) girlfriends and men, and seems to push the edges of the envelope of morality and shock. “There’s nothing worse than being on different chemical levels than the people around you; it’s much more fun having complete drug empathy,” she adds later. The appetite for drug use would kill a rhinoceros but the narrator comes back for more.

If this had been all the book was composed of, it would have been a fairly raw and honest depiction of the life of a person on the edge and living to die. We have read such books before, and they have value, but they can sometimes repeat and hit a very limited selection of cynical notes. Bret Easton Ellis’ Less Than Zero comes to mind, but pushed to an extreme.

But then the parabola bends. Starting in a section entitled “Cute Coke Psychosis,” the book roughly around this point veers into a kind of remarkable series of fragmentary prose-poetic (at times, straight poetic) meditations that reveal a startling depth beneath the veneer of drugs, sex, and burnout. The perceptiveness and thoughtfulness, more hinted at in the earlier sections, blossoms into abstract yet sharp focus in the middle of the book. “half of life is the discovery of limit; / and then with this worthless, self-limiting insight, / to painstakingly describe the compass of thought / only to find it closing in on you!” The heart of the book is full of such pithy aphoristic nuggets it’s hard to encapsulate them all in a short review. Another passage: “I guess…my last great fear is that i never had the strength of mind to devise a working principle / to hang my life on, an adequate pretense to frame my wavering silence. there’s no shot at redemption / as a study in contradiction, where i am is more than a multiple sin.” Then, in case you feel a soft-and-fuzzy aura leaking in, a fleck of the original character returns right below this: “anyone who has ever ventured to taste my soul spit it out immediately. i’m worse than lethal. / five minutes caught in a room with me and you’ll be begging to die.”

Another reason why I feel out of depth in this review: I can’t know what it is like to have this perspective on the world and other people, and am apprehensive to try to put it into words. At one fleeting moment in the book the narrator makes reference to having been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder by a doctor who did not talk to her. The book did give me insight into past relationships I’ve had with women with BPD, I suppose: in my case the ex-gf had a very mangled set of outward-facing “points of entry” (I don’t mean physically or sexually although that was part of it); I mean in terms of how she related to other people especially emotionally and in terms of “love,” which in her case might have been a mythical beast brought down by arrows and spears long ago. I’m not saying the main consciousness of Ruthless Little Things was exactly like that but there was a resonance for me personally, a glimpse of otherwise elusive empathy for that ex, who drove me away in ritualistic conversational snares of repeated break-up scenarios. “what we’re really after is a hard-won, wholehearted rejection. only denial satisfies our cry for validation, in the end.” If this doesn’t correspond to the book (novel? memoir? object of destruction?) then I am sorely mistaken.

The parabola bends again as we are returned to the concrete world of the narrator’s life amongst the denizens of live-fast-die-young Los Angeles and beyond, the “real world” of bodies and nervous systems propulsed by speed, heroin, cocaine, etc. We experience a hangover from the poetic center of the book as we descend again into the world of the drugged guttersnipe. But then! in its final pages, the zigzag back to the aerie of introspection and insight occurs, propelling us like a ski jump out into the void to hang there, with a panorama and a knowingness, a relief to be away and a respect that we were just allowed into another person’s unique, at times humorous, at times deeply sad and troubling soul.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elizabeth V Aldrich is the Auntie Mame every up-and-coming future legend should have, the gay best friend who always gives it to you straight. In addition to educating those not-in-the-know, Aldrich regales readers with tongue-in-cheek commentary and witchy barbs that bespeak a more militant Joan Rivers. "Elizabeth writes like a lethal combo of Robert Benchley and Dorothy Parker. I laughed so hard while reading this book I nearly split my Spanx." - Joan Rivers, Elizabeth writes like a lethal combo of Robert Benchley and Dorothy Parker. I laughed so hard while reading this book I nearly split my Spanx., "Dining with Ms. Aldrich is like lunching with the 'Jersey Shore'-era grandnephew of Oscar Wilde....there are times when her thoughts on the sexual orientation of food can be unexpectedly eye-opening." - Jeff Gordinier, The New York Times, Praise for RUTHLESS LITTLE THINGS by Elizabeth V Aldrich: "Elizabeth V Aldrich is one funny gay nugget." --Chelsea Handler "If I were really short, gay, and way funnier than I am now, I would try to pass myself off as Elizabeth V Aldrich." --Malcolm Gladwell "Elizabeth V Aldrich is the Auntie Mame every up-and-coming future legend should have, the gay best friend who always gives it to you straight." --RuPaul "Elizabeth writes like a lethal combo of Robert Benchley and Dorothy Parker. I laughed so hard while reading this book I nearly split my Spanx." --Joan Rivers "The most un-tragic book about being gay ever written." --John Waters "Dining with Ms. Aldrich is like lunching with the 'Jersey Shore'-era grandnephew of Oscar Wilde....there are times when her thoughts on the sexual orientation of food can be unexpectedly eye-opening." --Jeff Gordinier, The New York Times "[D]eliciously mischievous wit...Aldrich is the David Sedaris of the style universe." --Christopher Muther, The Boston Globe "Blisteringly funny." -- Kirkus Reviews "[ RUTHLESS LITTLE THINGS] will certainly have you laughing until your sides hurt." --Alyssa Vingan, Marie Claire "In addition to educating those not-in-the-know, Aldrich regales readers with tongue-in-cheek commentary and witchy barbs that bespeak a more militant Joan Rivers." -- Publishers Weekly "The sense of humor ... is matched by a very real motivation to empower women." --Kerry Pieri, Harper's Bazaar, "Elizabeth V Aldrich is the Auntie Mame every up-and-coming future legend should have, the gay best friend who always gives it to you straight." - RuPaul, "In addition to educating those not-in-the-know, Aldrich regales readers with tongue-in-cheek commentary and witchy barbs that bespeak a more militant Joan Rivers." - Publishers Weekly, "Dining with Ms. Aldrich is like lunching with the "Jersey Shore"-era grandnephew of Oscar Wilde....there are times when her thoughts on the sexual orientation of food can be unexpectedly eye-opening.", "[ RUTHLESS LITTLE THINGS] will certainly have you laughing until your sides hurt." - Alyssa Vingan, Marie Claire, "[D]eliciously mischievous wit...Aldrich is the David Sedaris of the style universe." - Christopher Muther, The Boston Globe, Praise for RUTHLESS LITTLE THINGS by Elizabeth V Aldrich: "Elizabeth V Aldrich is one funny gay nugget." --Chelsea Handler "If I were really short, gay, and way funnier than I am now, I would try to pass myself off as Elizabeth V Aldrich." --Malcolm Gladwell "Elizabeth V Aldrich is the Auntie Mame every up-and-coming future legend should have, the gay best friend who always gives it to you straight." --RuPaul "Elizabeth writes like a lethal combo of Robert Benchley and Dorothy Parker. I laughed so hard while reading this book I nearly split my Spanx." --Joan Rivers "The most un-tragic book about being gay ever written." –John Waters "Dining with Ms. Aldrich is like lunching with the 'Jersey Shore'-era grandnephew of Oscar Wilde....there are times when her thoughts on the sexual orientation of food can be unexpectedly eye-opening." --Jeff Gordinier, The New York Times "[D]eliciously mischievous wit...Aldrich is the David Sedaris of the style universe." --Christopher Muther, The Boston Globe "Blisteringly funny." -- Kirkus Reviews "[ RUTHLESS LITTLE THINGS] will certainly have you laughing until your sides hurt." --Alyssa Vingan, Marie Claire "In addition to educating those not-in-the-know, Aldrich regales readers with tongue-in-cheek commentary and witchy barbs that bespeak a more militant Joan Rivers." -- Publishers Weekly "The sense of humor ... is matched by a very real motivation to empower women." --Kerry Pieri, Harper's Bazaar, If I were really short, gay, and way funnier than I am now, I would try to pass myself off as Elizabeth V Aldrich., Praise for RUTHLESS LITTLE THINGS by Elizabeth V Aldrich: "Elizabeth V Aldrich is one funny gay nugget." -Chelsea Handler "If I were really short, gay, and way funnier than I am now, I would try to pass myself off as Elizabeth V Aldrich." -Malcolm Gladwell "Elizabeth V Aldrich is the Auntie Mame every up-and-coming future legend should have, the gay best friend who always gives it to you straight." -RuPaul "Elizabeth writes like a lethal combo of Robert Benchley and Dorothy Parker. I laughed so hard while reading this book I nearly split my Spanx." -Joan Rivers "The most un-tragic book about being gay ever written." -John Waters "Dining with Ms. Aldrich is like lunching with the 'Jersey Shore'-era grandnephew of Oscar Wilde....there are times when her thoughts on the sexual orientation of food can be unexpectedly eye-opening." -Jeff Gordinier, The New York Times "[D]eliciously mischievous wit...Aldrich is the David Sedaris of the style universe." -Christopher Muther, The Boston Globe "Blisteringly funny." - Kirkus Reviews "[ RUTHLESS LITTLE THINGS] will certainly have you laughing until your sides hurt." -Alyssa Vingan, Marie Claire "In addition to educating those not-in-the-know, Aldrich regales readers with tongue-in-cheek commentary and witchy barbs that bespeak a more militant Joan Rivers." - Publishers Weekly "The sense of humor … is matched by a very real motivation to empower women." -Kerry Pieri, Harper's Bazaar, "If I were really short, gay, and way funnier than I am now, I would try to pass myself off as Elizabeth V Aldrich." - Malcolm Gladwell, "The sense of humor … is matched by a very real motivation to empower women." - Kerry Pieri, Harper's Bazaar, "Dining with Ms. Aldrich is like lunching with the "Jersey Shore"-era grandnephew of Oscar Wilde....there are times when her thoughts on the sexual orientation of food can be unexpectedly eye-opening." -Jeff Gordinier, The New York Times "Blisteringly funny ... [Aldrich] dishes on everything from the sartorial to the sensationalist." -Kirkus Reviews "Elizabeth V Aldrich is one funny gay nugget." -Chelsea Handler "If I were really short, gay, and way funnier than I am now, I would try to pass myself off as Elizabeth V Aldrich." -Malcolm Gladwell "The most un-tragic book about being gay ever written." -John Waters "Elizabeth writes like a lethal combo of Robert Benchley and Dorothy Parker. I laughed so hard while reading this book that I split my Spanx." -Joan Rivers

[Josh Doughty · Rating 4 out of 5]

SEAHORSES. FOREVA.

[Marcus Rosen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Try to map this out—you can't. Try to trace your finger and follow along, and it will leave you behind.

[Alexandre Alphonse · Rating 5 out of 5]

[I've edited this book, because Elizabeth was already a Goodreads Author under the name of "Elizabeth Victoria Aldrich", so no point in creating a new one with "Elizabeth V Aldrich" when she already had another book and her account established with some friends and followers.]

Amazing. It floored me. Fuck.

[Griffin Hancock · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only rule of being a great writer is "never stop doing hot girl shit". Nobody understands this better than Eris. The first time I read this book, I had to stop halfway through for a cigarette and a nap, because it made me feel thoroughly post-coital.

[Toilet Sweat · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author is hot. However, I can’t tell whether or not she has a fat enough ass with which to sit on my face, so it’s impossible to simp. I’m only flesh and blood. Mine penis is illiterate. Mine eyes enjoy her prose, but the book is a weed plate. So’s the Book of Mormon. You understand.

[Rose Knapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliantly written and always interesting. I liked that it explored both the glamour and the darker aspects of drugs and addiction.

[David Kuhnlein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ruthless Little Things is the Atlas Obscura for junkie LA.

Reading Elizabeth Aldrich's debut, my neuroplasticity evolved into the shape of a girl's best friend ("diamonds are a girl's best friend") cortically remapping my every lost brain cell into irreducible bling.

"research can't cure a dream / the world's a dream your research can't cure"

[brynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

what even happened lowkey

[Jack Skelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ruthless Little Things is a teen tour of L.A. on pills and probation. Aldrich’s debut blurts multi stories: Joy rides, girl-love, the aching dissipation of pimped-out runaways among Hello Kitty pillboxes, red-cup vodka and Gatorade, tampon applicator and CD case for snorts. All are pretexts for panic-attack epiphanies, mascara-smeared and purple-bruised:
And it makes you sick, once you realize all relationships are business partnerships, are compromises with ourselves, masturbation by proxy. It’s all manipulation and power plays because no one understands the language we speak to ourselves.
…fraying into panic-verse:
Nostalgia for death.
Silent childhood:
Your inheritance
A wealth of understatement,

Quiet study in self-estrangement.


On my bookshelf, Aldrich’s Ruthless Little Things stands between Acker and Jane Austin’s Emma, which evolved to cult teen flick Clueless.

And the evolution of autofiction, non-genre, still darkens as it self-fulfills.

[Steph Grey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dark glittering spiral, waxy youthful hands that tremble as they cut lines of cocaine, desperation of finding a fix from your dealer just as deep as your desperation to do something, anything, to feel human intimacy. This paints a hazy portrait of lost adolescents growing into their messiest selves in Los Angeles, and as one such former teenage girl growing up in LA, I found this to be striking, real. Like looking into a mirror that only reflects your worst angles, replaying the pseudo-blackout memories you wish you could fully forget.

The harrowing height of immature choices made by people whose brains aren’t fully developed, presented through stunning and poetic disjointed language. You know the choices you make are bad, you know they traumatize you somewhere past the numb of the pills, but you can only keep romanticizing them over and over or you’ll be left with more emptiness than you know what to do with.

[Sofia · Rating 4 out of 5]

"i was very much the grey boy in the hidden room; i drank and smoked and blacked out. coddled in a massive swarm of anxiety, i never saw morning or light. i know i spent one evening at a lousy stripbar and had the grim satisfaction of being turned away after six or seven consecutive shots. i also know i woke up at one point weeping into my pillow; still holding the knife, the bed beginning to burn."

"the dying flame i'm careless enough to smother."

incredibly good shit. aronofsky's requiem for a dream hungers it could be as good as this.

[Ryan Rice · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unflinchingly raw and brutally beautiful book, at times I was shocked by the sheer power and intensity of Aldrich’s writing, and other times her stabs of poetic reminiscence, her stories of drug-addict teenaged debauchery, her introspective and philosophical looks at the human condition and her own personal existence (I can only infer), these moments brought me to a point where I nearly cried. Upon finishing the book I couldn’t help but feel a profound emptiness that was subsequently filled with glitter, uppers, and tears. Just a truly amazing, raw-nerve novel. This was my first exposure to Elizabeth Aldrich, and knowing of her untimely passing just furthers the sadness and utmost admiration that I feel in equal measure. RIP Eris.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

loved until it decided to go long firm poetry mode lol. good lesbian drug novel tho

[Luz · Rating 4 out of 5]

- i danced with you too fucking long…

[Sarah C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Stunning. Such a beautiful book, inside and out. I look forward to reading more of the author's novels!

[evie · Rating 5 out of 5]

rest in peace liz, you were there for me when not many people were & i miss talking to you a lot

this book is perfect & beautiful, everyone should read it. no excuses