Glamorama

Rating:
Summary: Rave-o-Rama
Review: The title only hints at the brilliant roller-coaster ride contained in the pages of iconoclastic genius Ellis's most recent literary funhouse mirror. As with 'American Psycho', 'Glamorama' is not for the sqeamish, faint of heart, or those looking for a light read. The initial pages of 'Glamorama' are trippy and seem to be all in good fun as they follow a day in the life of sweet-but-clueless New York model Victor Ward, but Ellis's MTV video-like imagery and wild narrative style quickly kick the story into higher, scarier planes. As Victor gets drawn into a web of deceit and terrorism, he keeps partying at breakneck speed in the world's fashion capitals as his worlds collide, elide, and implode. 'Glamorama' is a black-comedy HDTV that reflects both the emptiness of pop-culture worship and the blurred line between order and evil. And, again as in 'American Psycho', Ellis weaves an outstanding pop/rock/alternative-music sountrack into his surreal, magic carpet-ride text. 'Glamorama' is his best work yet.

Also recommended: American Psycho, The Informers, Adrenaline, Fuel-Injected Dreams

Rating:
Summary: Perplexing with flashes of brilliance.
Review: Glamorama is a biting yet confusing satire centering on male model/"it" boy Victor Ward. The story really isn't something that one could even hope to explain. Needless to say that after about 200 pages the book does a complete 180 and shoots off in a whole other direction. Incorporating elements like clebrity parties, kevlar lined Armani suits and bombs on jumbo jets the plot is, if a little perplexing never dull.

Ellis brims with acerbic wit and even though judging by the reviews I have read most loathe the central character (Victor) and his shallowness, I found him an appealing and funny creation. His vacuousness is what makes him so interesting(?), and Ellis lays it bare for all to see in a series of one sided and hilarious conversations that our protagonist has with various cohorts throughout the book. When in all seriousness Victor states "Hey I'm a studmuffin...take a bite" a line so cheesy and over the top, one can't help but feel that his whole world is indeed a smouldering facade of empty gestures and air kissing inanity.

What muddies the waters slightly is Glamoramas plot, which is at times both opaque and frustrating. I've heard it said that the point of the book is that there is in fact no point. Well if that's true then Glamorama has suceeded brilliantly.

A heady mix of satire, extremely graphic violence and befuddlement which will enthrall and frustrate in equal measure.

Rating:
Summary: desultory assault of the senses
Review: Irony, sarcasm and cynicism are not emotions. Neither are celebrity worship and brand loyalty. These perfunctory habits are en vogue in the modern urban psyche, yet they undermine real emotion and personal identity and cloud a sense of meaning.

Glamorama's premise is brilliant: a neo tour de force into the heart of darkness. However, the execution is flawed. The book is long winded and, ahem, a bit of a snoozer sans the blood and guts scenes that jolt the senses awake.

Its best to start elsewhere. Less than Zero is wonderful.

Rating:
Summary: BEE's Finest
Review: What do you get when you have Quentin Tarantino and David Lynch writing a book together? You get Glamorama. That's what my friend told me and he is ABSOLUTELY right. That's all I will say.

Rating:
Summary: Confusion....at it's best.
Review: Many people who I have talked to about Ellis' work, especially Glamorama, have said they didn't "understand" something about it. That there was no meaning...no underlying secret to be told. That it left them confused. In my opinon, that is part of the point, the meaning. He writes truthfully, about topics that many people don't want to hear. So he may embelish a little, thats what makes it a great story! Glamorama touched me, it captured me, it held me on every word, and it left me utterly confused. The catch....I had no clue what I was confused about. All in all, it made me think, and hunger for more. Great book, the best Ellis has written in my opinion. Enough said.

Rating:
Summary: Fashionable Terrorism
Review: Certainly a new twist on the shallow protagonist-driven novels Ellis usually produces, this one launches us into another realm, this time terrorism. It's an interesting combo for sure, and Ellis brings it off nicely. Not as painful to read as American Psycho, it still has the edgy angst that most Ellis lovers long for.

The book definitely captured my attention and I found it hard to put down. But is it me, or is each of Bret's novels slipping by about 10 percent? Less Than Zero still seems the most acute work of his career.

But whether you like or dislike Victor Ward as the model/maniac, you have to admit Ellis's writing is fun to read. It's witty, surprising and cutting edge. I laughed out loud too often to try and read it in bed with my wife. Pick it up in paperback.

Rating:
Summary: Ellis has matured as a writer to produce his best work yet.
Review: Glamorama focuses on the fast paced world of Victor a male model and his journey around the world and envolvment in a model terrorist group. Glamorama is sometimes confusing, but always entertaining. Charaters are described by how they resemble certain celebrities, the Christian Bale guy or that guy from Trainspotting are reoccuring characters. Patrick Bateman even makes a cameo appearance with a suspicious red stain on his shirt.

Lovers of Ellis will appreciate his hard work on this novel, as will those who have not read any of his books to date. Allthough it may be a good idea to read his previous novels first because many characters make a return appearance.

Glamorama is fast paced, flashy, and utterly original.

Rating:
Summary: What's going on in this book?
Review: It took me so long to finish reading Glamorama and after the umpteenth time I picked it up, I forced myself to finish it. It's a little confusing with all the name dropping and plot turns, but rather than being intriguing, it was much more of an effort to finish the book.

Rating:
Summary: Horrible Drivel
Review: I can't help but leave a few words of contempt for Ellis' work. "Glamorama" was nothing but a wild conglomeration of mindless, obnoxious BS. The character introductions in the first chapter absolutely sickened me with so much hartred and disgust that I was unable to focus througout the rest of the novel. Sure, Ellis does have a knack for realistic and flowing dialogue, but with so many perephial characters who basically all revolved around each other's sick, sad, lives, towards the end of the book I felt like I would rather live as a deformed hermit for the rest of my existence than spend even an second with these [characters]. I understand that the purpose of the novel is to reveal the whole psychosis associated with 'glamour,'(yes, psychosis) as in American Psycho's corporate banking plot, yet the absence of any sympathetic characters made the book literally unbearable. Do not read this book,it will be a complete waste of your time.

Rating:
Summary: a literary prolapse of a festering modern value system
Review: This book, besides being a 400+ page run-on sentence, has no concievable or functioning point(and trying to find one is akin to scumming for credit card receipts at the dump)as Ellis pumps repetition until it stinks. Ellis' tired and weary formulae (a sprig of gratuitous violence, a dash of meaningless symbolisms, and a pinch of stumbling dialogue all in a steaming hot broth of high-style buffoonery) was better when it was called "American Psycho." Although the book has it's surplusage of putrescence, I didn't just read it, I pleasured it, as it tempted, taunted and teased me with it's privledged self of western thought and the self-conscious "I". I loved it. I hated it. Boy, can he write!