Glamorama
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| Author | Bret Easton Ellis |
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| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Knopf |
| Released | December 29, 1998 |
| Media Type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 481 |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-375-40412-0 |
Glamorama is a novel by Bret Easton Ellis. It was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1998.
Set in the mid-1990s, the novel starts out in New York City, following a hip, 27-year-old model and nightclub manager, Victor Ward, who spends his days and nights organizing parties and worrying whether the A-list celebrities will turn up. Eventually he is given a task by a mysterious diplomat named F. Fred Palakon, which involves going to London to search for one of Ward's ex-girlfriends who has gone missing. Things begin to take a worrying turn as Ward ends up mixed up with a group of terrorists in Paris.
Just as American Psycho was a satire of greed and obsession with consumerism, Glamorama is a satire of society's obsession with celebrities and beauty, and features a great deal of violence, black humor and surrealism.
The novel keeps up Ellis's tradition of using pre-existing characters from previous novels, the most obvious example of this being Victor. Lauren Hynde and Bertrand Ripleis both return from The Rules of Attraction to play major roles in the novel. There are also brief appearances by Mitchell Allen, Sean Bateman and Patrick Bateman, some of them only in reference and others where the character is actually present in the scene. Alison Poole is also a returning character: Ellis first used her in American Psycho, but she originally appeared in Jay McInerney's novel, Story of My Life.
A movie adaptation is planned, but although it was originally scheduled for release in 2004, it has been delayed and is still awaiting production.
Whilst the first half primarily introduces the characters and sets the scene, the second-half of Glamorama, when the action shifts from New York to London and then Paris, contains a great deal of extreme violence, in particular two gruesome torture sequences that feature castration and electrocution. There are also many bomb attacks, with detailed descriptions of men, women and children being blown apart, burned alive and mutilated.
The terrorists themselves are all supermodels or ex-supermodels of both sexes and though they appear to have a leader amongst them it is apparent that they get both their orders and their resources from some external backers who are never seen. The supermodels are presented as vacuous, arrogant and self-centered, these traits presumably being why they were recruited for terrorism.
To add to the often surreal nature of the second-half of the novel, the motives and ideology of the terrorists are never revealed. However, there are clues that it relates to the Middle East, and also that it may be somehow linked to Victor Ward's father, who is a powerful U.S. Senator and is tipped as a Presidential Candidate.
The novel switches back and forth between first-person narration (by Ward) to third-person. Another more surreal literary device employed by Ellis is when Ward - when he's narrating events - starts mentioning a director and film crew who follow him about and offer him advice on what to say or what emotion to express.
[edit] Zoolander
Fans have noted similarities to the Ben Stiller comedy Zoolander. Ellis has stated that he is aware of the similarities, and went on to say (perhaps sarcastically) that he considered and attempted to take legal action.[1]
Ellis is asked about the similarities in a BBC interview.[2] In the response to the question, he says jokingly that he is unable to discuss the similarities due to an out of court settlement.
[edit] External links
- Book review from The Observer
