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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
Glamorama is another Ellis venture, however this time a little better paced than American Psycho and slightly less violent. And though it may be disputed, I think Glamorama was the springboard for Ben Stiller's comedy film Zoolander. The beginning 200 or so pages is a rocking crash-course in the New York 'chic' scene of the 90's, clubs, catwalks and near-constant pop culture references. Although Victor (main character and a carry-on from Rules of Attraction), much like Zoolander, doesn't realise he's slowly being embroiled in something very, very big. And it's here that Ellis does something different. For once, he focuses on a plot. I commend him for it, for trying something other than atmosphere and character studies, but in Glamorama it's obviously an experiment. I enjoyed being confused for much of the latter half as to what exactly is going on, but I think other readers may find this an annoying detour from his usual.
At its core, Glamorama is vintage Ellis. Everything you'd expect in his writing--polished poetic sentences, realistic dialogue and interesting characters is here. Although he strips this away with gaining momentum in the second half of Glamorama, until all that's left is you, the reader, a little bemused, feeling what quite possibly could be Victor Ward's mindset for the duration of this novel, and Victor, in his superfluous model guise, blinking stupidly.
At its core, Glamorama is vintage Ellis. Everything you'd expect in his writing--polished poetic sentences, realistic dialogue and interesting characters is here. Although he strips this away with gaining momentum in the second half of Glamorama, until all that's left is you, the reader, a little bemused, feeling what quite possibly could be Victor Ward's mindset for the duration of this novel, and Victor, in his superfluous model guise, blinking stupidly.
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Homophobia, Vomit
Minor: Body shaming, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Abortion
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Unless you're already an out and out misanthrope, Glamorama will probably challenge what you think of the human race as a species. It's not a novel for the squeamish or the sentimental or even the steadfastly humanitarian. You know how at the end of the news there's generally a feelgood story designed to make us love our species? Well, this is like ending the news with a story about some kids torturing a kitten or a story of a gang rape. Human nature is in the dock here, and in particular the viral increase of unthinking narcissism as a founding tenet of individual philosophy. I couldn't help imagining someone reading this novel far into the future when the planet has been all but destroyed and receiving an insight into why the planet had all but been destroyed.
Glamorama is narrated by Victor, a minor celebrity, who, like everyone else in this novel, is entirely dependent on his appearance for his livelihood and self-esteem. His mantra is to slide down the surface of things and at one point he tells someone reality is an illusion. He's not interested in thought; only flippant soundbites. There's never not a film crew in his vicinity. Sometimes there's talk of a script. Easton Ellis kind of creates a doppelganger universe and cleverly posits us between these two worlds where it soon becomes impossible to decipher what's scripted and what's spontaneous. Victor and everyone else's only important relationship is the one they share with their mirror image and publicity footage. Success is exclusively a matter of social climbing, here gauged by celebrity status. (I wonder if anyone has counted the number of real life celebrities namedropped into this novel.) However, there's the constant sense that Victor is in danger, that he's a kind of patsy. He's often seen in places he has no memory of visiting. The first half of this novel was flawlessly brilliant. A novel is always fabulous when a gripping mystery has been eloquently sustained and heightened page by page.
The satisfactory resolution of mystery is probably one of the hardest things of all to pull off in fiction. There's generally some sense of being let down because the solving of mystery in fiction mirrors the underlying craving we all have in life and only very few explanations ever give us the feeling of now knowing more about the nature of life on earth. Perhaps this is why Easton Ellis never explicitly explains the mystery at the heart of this novel. What the resolution of this novel signifies has probably been endlessly debated by book clubs. I'm not sure I could give a lucid explanation. And yet it works. It retains the unsolvable mystique of any complex conspiracy theory. The second half, beginning with a graphic and largely gratuitous torture scene where Easton Ellis too excitedly indulges his tendency towards overkill, introduces terrorism and political shenanigans into the mix. It draws a compelling connection between celebrity culture and terrorism - terrorists too after all seek publicity, their fifteen minutes in the media spotlight. I missed the plausibility of the first part in the second part but it remained an incredibly compelling and thought-provoking read throughout. Written in 1998, it's no less relevant now than it was then. I concurrently read a novel by William Trevor written four years later than this and Easton Ellis made that book seem like a broken antique rooted in some long since vanished culture. There's no disputing Easton Ellis has a finger on the pulse of these times, rather like Fitzgerald did in the 20s and 30s. Except Easton Ellis' world is not one you'd want to live in.
Thanks to Steven and his review for giving me the nudge to read this.
Glamorama is narrated by Victor, a minor celebrity, who, like everyone else in this novel, is entirely dependent on his appearance for his livelihood and self-esteem. His mantra is to slide down the surface of things and at one point he tells someone reality is an illusion. He's not interested in thought; only flippant soundbites. There's never not a film crew in his vicinity. Sometimes there's talk of a script. Easton Ellis kind of creates a doppelganger universe and cleverly posits us between these two worlds where it soon becomes impossible to decipher what's scripted and what's spontaneous. Victor and everyone else's only important relationship is the one they share with their mirror image and publicity footage. Success is exclusively a matter of social climbing, here gauged by celebrity status. (I wonder if anyone has counted the number of real life celebrities namedropped into this novel.) However, there's the constant sense that Victor is in danger, that he's a kind of patsy. He's often seen in places he has no memory of visiting. The first half of this novel was flawlessly brilliant. A novel is always fabulous when a gripping mystery has been eloquently sustained and heightened page by page.
The satisfactory resolution of mystery is probably one of the hardest things of all to pull off in fiction. There's generally some sense of being let down because the solving of mystery in fiction mirrors the underlying craving we all have in life and only very few explanations ever give us the feeling of now knowing more about the nature of life on earth. Perhaps this is why Easton Ellis never explicitly explains the mystery at the heart of this novel. What the resolution of this novel signifies has probably been endlessly debated by book clubs. I'm not sure I could give a lucid explanation. And yet it works. It retains the unsolvable mystique of any complex conspiracy theory. The second half, beginning with a graphic and largely gratuitous torture scene where Easton Ellis too excitedly indulges his tendency towards overkill, introduces terrorism and political shenanigans into the mix. It draws a compelling connection between celebrity culture and terrorism - terrorists too after all seek publicity, their fifteen minutes in the media spotlight. I missed the plausibility of the first part in the second part but it remained an incredibly compelling and thought-provoking read throughout. Written in 1998, it's no less relevant now than it was then. I concurrently read a novel by William Trevor written four years later than this and Easton Ellis made that book seem like a broken antique rooted in some long since vanished culture. There's no disputing Easton Ellis has a finger on the pulse of these times, rather like Fitzgerald did in the 20s and 30s. Except Easton Ellis' world is not one you'd want to live in.
Thanks to Steven and his review for giving me the nudge to read this.
It's not my favorite from Bret Easton Ellis but still worth reading. My biggest complaint is the length. It seems be repetitive at times and takes too long to get to the actual terrorism part.
Zoolander totally stole the plot from this book. It's almost exactly the same, but with less laughs and more blood and guts.