A review by thereadingrambler
Glitterati by Oliver K. Langmead

lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The back of the book describes this as “A fabulous dystopian fable about fashion, family and the feckless billionaire class.” From this description, I think the word “fable” is the most important because this book has the energy of something like an Aesop’s fable, meaning light on the worldbuilding, heavy on the didacticism, but in the best possible way. If you’ve read or seen The Hunger Games, think of the part where they are at The Capital and are having to go on talk shows and wear outfits to convince people to sponsor them. This is one of the clearest critiques of the whole series about the massive disparity between the people in the districts and the people in The Capital. Now imagine that as a whole book from the point of view of someone from The Capital. While the average Capital citizen is complicit in the exploitation, they also don’t really have a choice in the matter if they want to keep their jobs, feed the family, etc. Much like anyone who lives in a “first world” country, the idea of giving up our lifestyle is pretty abhorrent. That’s who Simone and his wife, Georgie, are. They are insanely wealthy, so wealthy they don’t even know what money is, so wealthy that they don’t even realize or know how anything in their life gets done. Simone fully believes that his clothes get tailored just by magic; the furniture rearranges itself; the garden just grows perfectly because of how fashionable he is. They are something beyond removed from reality. 

That is until reality intrudes upon them in the form of a little girl. The glitterati class don’t know what children are as they don’t raise their own children, and when you come of age all of your memories of childhood are erased so you don’t have to carry around traumatic memories of being “unfashionable.” This little girl obviously is the child of one of the people who work for them, but Simone and Georgie have no idea people actually work for them so they just think this tiny human appears magically and terrifyingly. This storyline runs parallel to Simone’s feud with Justine, a fashionista who keeps stealing his innovative ideas. As the story continues, the two plots are increasingly at odds with each other in terms of gravity, showing Simone what the reader already knows about morality and values. 

So the takeaway at the end of the book feels very “teaching the billionaire to love,” but I there is more to it than that. The layers of satire are hard to capture in a short review. There are so many clever moments. For instance, after surgery, Simone wakes up famished. He goes to the kitchen and discovers a tower of burgers. He spends paragraphs agonizing over selecting the most aesthetically pleasing burger only to take a single bit that completely satisfies him (somehow). This is a hilarious scene with a sharp edge of commentary. And there are so many moments like that throughout the book. I would definitely recommend the book to anyone who is interested in a satirical and whimsical examination of class conflict and the effects of billionaires on society.