Sellevision: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Sedaris meets Vonnegut
Review: I picked up this book because I liked the cover - read the first page in the store, and rushed home to buy it on Amazon. On the basis of that first page, I had prepared myself for the kind of involvement and hilarity that I have come to expect from David Sedaris, and I was not disappointed. Burroughs is a master storyteller - he gets the details right, creates characters that leap from the page, and makes you howl with laughter. This is a great romp through the world of home shopping networks, if we could but peek behind the scenes and infuse it with the wicked imagination it surely begs for. I hated tosee Sellevision end, because ther is nothing more therapeutic than a great laugh -- I eagarly await Mr. Burrough's next novel. In fact I am going to sit right here and wait. Hurry......

Rating:
Summary: A "Dazzling Diamonelle" of a Read!
Review: Augusten Burroughs "Sellevision" is a Dazzling Diamonelle of a read! I really loved this book because, as my friend who turned me on to it commented, "It's like the movie Soap Dish set in the world of television retail." The book goes behind the scenes showing us glimpses of the glamourous lives of TV retail hosts and hostesses. The biting humor of the book made me want to go out and buy some of the outrageous products touted on Sellevision such as Moisture Whik Control Panties, the Running Wolf simulated turqoise cabochon belt buckle, or Joyce's Choice Mid-Life Oasis Foaming Bath Puree supposedly created by star of the small screen, Joyce DeWitt. This is a campy read that will have you laughing out loud. If you enjoy dark humor but are looking for a fast and light read, this is your book!

Rating:
Summary: Loosen Up, Lighten Up and Laugh
Review: Sellevision does not try for the fierce bite of satire, it tries for the belly laugh and succeeds. What a relief to look forward to a must-read that will let us loosen up, lighten up, and laugh. That does not weigh us down with the pretense of being life-changing literature. Sellevision could almost be called "educational", revealing as it does a convincing if ribald look at the competitive and often pathetic world behind the cameras of a home shopping network. Of course it is like soap-opera. And like soap-opera-despite its excesses, and in spite of itself-beyond the wicked exaggerations, acute insights into our culture and the human heart shine through.

Rating:
Summary: Doesn't Quit
Review: This story circles the lives of shopping network hosts. Sound strange? It is! It is also one of the funniest, most relentless comic novels that I've ever read. This book catches every off-beat moment of its characters' lives. Just when they think they have it all, the rug is pulled from under them -again and again. Don't worry though, they all recieve blessings in disguise- being sent to rehab, a life in the porn industry, sleeping with your brother- yeah it's all in here. Great book. Great characters. Worth reading!

Rating:
Summary: hilarious
Review: This book is hilarious from start to finish. Centered around the inner workings of a shopping network, sort of an R-rated version of the old Mary Tyler Moore Show (for anyone either old enough or versed enough in 70's trivia). The set up at the beginning is that one of the hosts gets fired for accidently exposing his weaner while modeling a pair of boxers. How this happens and what it leads to will give any reader tons of laughs. Full of riotous subplots with a great, wild ending. Read the book then watch one of the shopping networks, and it'll never seem the same...

Rating:
Summary: WELL WRITTEN SATIRE
Review: I liked this book. After tearing through "Dry" and "Running With Scissors" I decided to read this book. It defines black comedy, and I wouldn't be surprised if John Waters made this into a movie. It's the story of the "celebrities" of a home shopping network, and how they fall from grace, or fall in love, as the case may be. However, there are two characters, Leigh and Trish, that are so under developed, that one has a hard time remembering what their roles are in the book. I guessed who Peggy Jean's (the main character) stalker was half way through. If you are familiar with Augesten's previous books ("Dry" and "....Scissors") you will see vague similarites to his real life in this book. The 12 Step references, the plot line with the adult male having an affair with a minor, and so on. Check it out. It's good.

Rating:
Summary: Static characters + uneven plot = bland reading
Review: I'm a fan of Augusten Burroughs' non-fiction writing. Both "Dry" and "Running with Scissors" were excellent glimpses into his disturbing childhood and subsequent dive into alcoholism as an adult. Burroughs is very adept at injecting strong doses of humor and sardonic wit into (potentially) grim material.

However, his writing skills with "Sellevision" fall short.

"Sellevision" is meant to be a satire on home shopping channels (i.e., QVC and the HSN.) The plot consists of documenting the travails and triumphs of various personalities who work at the "Sellevision" network. Unfortunately, the humor is sporadic. I could never quite tell if the book was supposed to be a biting satire on the vanities people develop as TV 'personalities' - or if it was an over the top don't-take-this-too-seriously read. It often seems to be one or the other - with no middle ground.

My major point of contention was I couldn't empathize with the book's characters - each character was static and never developed. Additionally, with the exception of Peggy Jean, the other characters seem to blend together.

Peggy Jean's storyline was meant to fall into the vein of 'black comedy' - but often just read as mean-spirited and judgmental. Burroughs' was attempting a commentary on people who live in a state of forced 'normalcy' - but many of the gags were obvious and pointed.

Leigh and Trish were so unmemorable that I had difficulty telling one from the other until a major plot development late in the book. Bebe's storyline of 'falling in love' was quaint, but pointless to the flow of the story.

And Max, the former Sellevision host trying to find his way in life, was such a stereotype of the non-aggressive, helpless, passive gay male that I often found him off-putting. Plus, Burroughs' tendency to remind the reader of how 'good-looking' Max was irritating. A character is still a passive-aggressive cipher no matter how attractive he may be.

Ultimately, there never seems to be any logic in why the characters are in these particular situations.

There a few moments of hilarity - but these moments are spaced out so unevenly, that they only serve as a reminder to why the book is not a strong read. At times I felt like I was reading a bad John Waters script.

Burroughs is excellent at melding humor to dark situations when it comes to his personal experiences, but seems to have difficulties in doing this with fictional people.


Rating:
Summary: Skip this one, read the memoirs
Review: I'd read Dry (very good) and Running With Scissors (kinda funny, but more horrifying than anything else), so I thought I'd give this one a look, since Augusten Burroughs is obviously a talented writer. I hate that I wasted time on Sellevision: it has flat, unlikeable and unmemorable characters (except maybe Bebe and Eliot), and uninteresting and pointlessly outrageous plot developments. Even worse, sloppy editing and misspellings: "Nieman-Marcus"? "Kahula"? "stands" instead of strands? And others that I can't remember. Don't waste your time on this one.

Rating:
Summary: You'll be entertained!
Review: "Sellevision" is the story of a shopping channel and the hosts and staff of that channel. I'd read the back cover blurb before, but since I can't stand shopping channels...or even shopping, really...I thought this wouldn't be for me. I was wrong. The book's episodic nature-short chapters, vignettes, and ensemble cast, make it perfect light reading. The satire is laid on pretty thick, but the events of the novel were interesting enough to keep me engaged.

Among the characters are a self-righteous mother of three whose husband has the hots for...well for almost anyone but his wife; a host whose penis flops out on national television; a hostess whose love life is a complete wreck until she turns to the internet (how's that for a switch?); a mistress seeking revenge; and a brother and sister, separated at birth, reunited at last with fiery results.

The behind-the-scenes at Sellevision was interesting...a television channel running 24 hours a day, and the personalities and pieces of tacky "Diamonelle" jewelry that drive it. The deceptions, the digs at our consumer culture, the soap opera of any office life, and the artificiality of humanity in general are all fair game for Burroughs, and he does each topic justice. There were aspects of Burroughs' own life experience in "Sellevision," including his homosexuality and his own struggles with addiction.

Despite the darker edge to some of the storylines, it never sinks so low that it doesn't bob back up again. This was a funny, entertaining read that would be perfect for the poolside or the hammock or...wherever. The chapters and vignettes are short, and I laughed out loud several times as I read it...and within a few hours, it was done. I'm glad I read it, and I enjoyed it thoroughly, even though it's part of a world that's happily mostly foreign to me. Would I ever WATCH Sellevision? No. But it's a damn good read. Another very entertaining Amazon pick I enjoyed was "The Losers' Club" by Richard Perez, another quick, hilarious and thoroughly engrossing read.


Rating:
Summary: His fiction is as great as his memoirs
Review: It's a shame this book didn't do so well at the outset. This lampooning of the home shopping networks industry is hysterical, mean, funny, you name it. And he throws in a few jabs at advertising, fake Christianity, the 12 steps, and some other areas, besides. This is like a funny soap opera, and the ending is just priceless. And yes, I was surprised at who Peggy Jean's stalker was! Read it, it's definitely worth the price of admission.