Average customer rating:
- The title is fun, but not much else
- Glamorama
- Ellis' Best Work
- Double the confusion of American Psycho, half the quality
- So is this where Zoolander got it's inspiration?!
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Glamorama (Vintage Contemporaries)
Bret Easton Ellis
Manufacturer: Vintage
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Less Than Zero
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The Informers
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The Rules of Attraction
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Lunar Park
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American Psycho
ASIN: 0375703845
Release Date: 2000-03-21 |
Amazon.com
Glamorama is a satirical mass-murder opus more ambitious than Bret Easton Ellis's 1990 American Psycho. It starts as a spritz-of-consciousness romp about kid-club entrepreneur Victor Ward, "the It boy of the moment," an actor-model up for Flatliners II. Ellis has perfect pitch for glam-speak, and he gives nightlife the fizz, pace, and shimmer it lacks in drab reality. Anyone could cite the right celeb names and tunes, but like a rock-polishing machine, his prose gives literary sheen to fame-chasing air-kissers. He's coldly funny: when Victor's girl tries to argue him out of a breakup, she angrily snorts six bumps of coke, stops, mutters, "Wrong vial," snorts four corrective doses from whatever she has in her other fist, then objects to a rival at the party wearing the same dress she's wearing.
You had to be there; Ellis makes you feel you are. But such satire is a very smart bomb targeting a very large barn. Models' status anxiety doesn't merit Ellis's Tom Wolfe-esque expertise. Glamorama gets better when Victor gets drafted into a mysterious group of model-terrorists who bomb 747s and the Ritz in Paris, wearing Kevlar-lined Armani suits. Oh, they still behave like shallow snobs, pronouncing "cool" as if it had 12 o's. But now when somebody swills Cristal, it's apt to be poisoned, to horrific effect, which Ellis expertly, affectlessly describes. His enfant-terrible debut, Less Than Zero, aped Joan Didion. Now Ellis has grown into a lesser Don DeLillo--and that's high praise. --Tim Appelo
Book Description
"Arguably the novel of the 1990s...
Glamorama should establish Ellis as the most fearless and ambitious writer of his generation...A must read." --The Seattle Times
The author of
American Psycho and
Less Than Zero continues to shock and haunt us with his incisive and brilliant dissection of the modern world. In his most ambitious and gripping book yet, Bret Easton Ellis takes our celebrity obsessed culture and increases the volume exponentially.
Victor Ward, a model with perfect abs who exists in magazines and gossip columns and whose life resembles an ultra-hip movie, is living with one beautiful model and having an affair with another. And then it's time to move on to the next stage. But the future he gets is not the one he had in mind.
Customer Reviews:
The title is fun, but not much else.......2007-07-25
Didn't even finish the book. I didn't care enough about the characters to continue. What do I care about what happens to a witless, self indulgent male model? I couldn't relate to it and it wasn't original enough for that not to matter.
Ellis always gets thrown into a litery catagory with Chuck Palahniuk but at the end of the day, Palahniuk's books feel fresh and original whereas the Ellis novels seem redundant and not all that interesting.
Glamorama.......2007-05-30
This book is terrifying and exhilarating. I find Ellis' wording to be peotic. He is very good at describing every moment of the models life. If you enjoyed American Psycho, you will love this book.
Ellis' Best Work.......2006-11-29
I will admit that it took a couple tries at this book to really get into it--however, it takes some effort to get the maximum impact. I am surprised by how many self-described Ellis fans do not like this book. In my opinion, Ellis ended up taking many of the familiar themes of his previous works - the moral vacuity of high society, the darkness hidden behind glossy veneers (while adding very welcome attacks on fame, celebrity, the media, Hollywood, etc.) and simply taking them to an almost epic scale (in terms of both the size of the novel and his experimental methods in dealing with them.)
I believe Ellis is a highly calculating, methodical writer. Every word here is carefully chosen - so those long, rambling, banal-sounding passages are not by accident or haste.
The true magic of this novel comes in the second half, when the narrative fractures off into a complete and total expressionistic nightmare. The "normal" satire in the first half is both validated and eviscerated by the astonishing second half. Ellis gives up on all the rules, and pushes his thematic and moralist elements to their logical extremes. The entire "plot" of the novel (the models and the terrorism and whatnot) is really rather unimportant, and it's more about the emotions and insanity that remain once the thin threads of decency in Ellis' take on modern society completely break.
Double the confusion of American Psycho, half the quality.......2006-11-17
I just finished this 481 page monster of a book and I'm feeling a bit shell-shocked. Ellis plays with the idea that he worked on in American Psycho, where the reader and even the character may not know what reality is. I think he was more successful in American Psycho.
Victor Ward (a.k.a. Victor Johnson, who makes a brief appearance in Rules of Attraction) is a clueless model who spends the first half of the book wandering around aimlessly and never really paying attention to anything. He spends the second half in a world of confusion involving international terrorism and more. But is any of it real? Or is it all real? He's constantly checking his "script" to see what his lines are. This could be viewed as a commentary on the idea that nothing is real in the world of celebrities (and semi-celebrities). I don't really know what it is.
Interesting note: several characters from other books appear. Lauren Hynde, Sean Bateman, Bertrand Ripleis, and Jamie Fields from Rules of Attraction show up and Allison Poole from Jay McInerney's Story of My Life is a pretty prominent character. Even Patrick Bateman makes a brief appearance.
This book gets a little long and boring sometimes, but the exciting times make up for that. There's more descriptive gore than in American Psycho and more explicit sex scenes as well. They're borderline unbearable. I feel like Ellis got a little out of control with this one, but on the other hand, I feel like it's just such a big concept it's hard to wrap any understanding around it, and maybe that's the point. If you're interested in Ellis, check this one out, but only after you've read all his other stuff, because this is not his crowning achievement.
So is this where Zoolander got it's inspiration?!.......2006-11-03
This is the first book I have read by Ellis, and I wish I had read this before I saw Zoolander. That stupid movie kept lingering at the back of my mind as I read this. In a nutshell, the book is a convoluted, twisted version of the flick, add or subtract a fact or two. The book was redundant about halfway through (the tone Ellis wants to convey to the reader about Victor and the vapidity and absurdity of his "glamorous" lifestyle got a bit long in the tooth) but after that, I couldn't put the book down. I was enthralled by the storyline, and I was repulsed, yet drawn to the gratuity of his prose. It was an interesting read, to say the least.
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Glamorama
Bret Easton Ellis
Manufacturer: Editions 10/18
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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ASIN: 2264031913 |
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Glamorama
B. Ellis
Manufacturer: Tornton i Sagden
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 5939230326 |
Product Description
''Glamorama'', poslednij roman populyarnogo amerikanskogo pisatelya Breta Istona Ellisa (''Amerikanskij psikhopat'', ''Informatory''), - blestyaschaya satira na sovremennoe obschestvo, pretenduyuschaya na pokaz vsej glubiny ego dukhovnogo i nravstvennogo raspada. Mir, uvidennyj glazami sovremennogo Kandida, modeli-neudachnika Viktora Barda, okazyvaetsya chudovischnym mestom, propitannym nasiliem i oputannym zagovorami. Avtor s legkost'yu perekidyvaet svoego geroya iz N'yu-Jorka v London, iz Londona v Parizh, zaputyvaya ego vse sil'nee i sil'nee v pautinu neponyatnykh i tainstvennykh sobytij i sozdavaya masshtabnoe polotno sovremennosti, zhivuschej apokalipsicheskimi ozhidaniyami.
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Glamorama
Manufacturer: Anthos Manteau
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: B000FLGTA4 |
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Glamorama
Bret Easton Ellis
Manufacturer: Picador
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Binding: Paperback
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Ellis, Bret Easton
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ASIN: 0330435361 |
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Glamorama.
Bret Easton Ellis
Manufacturer: Kiepenheuer & Witsch
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ASIN: 3462028340 |
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Glamorama
Bret Easton Ellis
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000GR5OXA |
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Glamorama
Bret Easton Ellis
Manufacturer: Alfred A. Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0330937685 |
Book Description
While organizing a murder mystery game for a village festival, an inescapable feeling of dread settles on crime novelist Adriane Oliver. In desperation, she summons her old friend Hercule Poirot. Her instincts are proved correct when the “pretend” victim is discovered with an all-too-real rope wrapped around her neck. The two sleuths soon discover that in murder hunts, whether mock or real, everyone is playing a part.
Book Description
Eccentric mystery lover Ariadne Oliver's weekend game of mock murder is a big hit. But if it's just a game, then why all the blood? Luckily, one of the players is Belgian sleuth, Hercule Poirot.
"The solution is one of colossal ingenuity." (Times Literary Supplement)
Agatha Christie is still mystery's #1 bestselling author.
Download Description
Whilst organising a mock murder hunt for the village fete hosted by Sir George and Lady Stubbs, a feeling of dread settles on the famous crime novelist Adriane Oliver. Call it instinct, but it's a feeling she just can't explain¿or get away from.
In desperation she summons her old friend, Hercule Poirot ¿ and her instincts are soon proved correct when the 'pretend' murder victim is discovered playing the scene for real, a rope wrapped tightly around her neck¿
But it's the great detective who first discovers that in murder hunts, whether mock or real, everyone is playing a part¿
Customer Reviews:
Hercule Poirot performs a miracle . . . .......2006-06-02
and solves this crime in the last few pages of the book, with little to go on and less proof than usual that what he says is right. Agatha doesn't let us see the wheels working in this book, as she usually does, which is disappointing. The solution suddenly came about in a big rush after many chapters spent dithering around with a story. Granted, it's an interesting story -- but in the end, I was left wanting more.
I just love Mrs. Oliver.......2006-05-16
I started reading this story but lost interest part way through. when I finished it, it was by listening to David Suchet's excellent reading on an audio book. One of the chief attractions for me in this book is the wonderfully random Mrs. Oliver. She just cracks me up with her hairdos and outfits and idiotic comments. Of course the story is great, Christie at her best...I didn't guess the murderer, but I like to be surprised.
The worst one from Christie's I've read........2006-04-04
This is easily the worst mystery I've read from Dame Agatha. It's drab in comparison to her other works, and the big set-up ends in a big let-down. It's simply forgettable and pedestrian.
If you skip it, you won't miss anything.
Suggestions: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Death On the Nile, Murder On the Orient Express, Peril At End House, and the non-Poirot one, And Then There Were None.
Mark of genius.......2005-07-09
Having read and re-read most of Christie's famous works, I decided to sample this lesser-known story set in post-war England. Christie delivers as she always has; the story is gripping, perplexing, witty, and charming.
The premise is nothing new for Christie; most of her mysteries are domestic murders, where one of the household must have done it. This book follows the same pattern. What makes this story different and interesting is the Murder Hunt, organized by the character of Adriane Oliver. Since it will be obvious to the reader from the very beginning that Mrs Oliver is based on Christie herself, the whole Murder Hunt plays very effective mind tricks with him. It is as if the author has jumped into the mystery to give vital clues.
The rest of the mystery is the typical blend of varied and fascinating characters, in a sprawling setting. The exotic foreigner, trophy wife, country squire, efficent secretary, all well-recognized mystery story hallmarks are present. Of particular interest is the character of Mrs Folliat, the old and mysterious ex-owner of the estate in which the story is set. As Hercule Poirot quickly divines, there's something about Mrs Folliat...
The only problem with this book arises towards the end. With the exception of Oliver, Folliat and obviously the incomparable Poirot, the other characters are a shade disappointing. I have always appreciated Christie's shrewd analysis of the psyche of the domestic murderer. The reason why it is always near impossible to guess whodunnit is that the ruthlessness is always so neatly concealed within the character of the murderer. However, in this particular story, the characters are not as well-developed as they should be. They are interesting and plausible people, but rather simple. There is little of the shadowy bent of mind that makes them possible murderers. This leads to the actual solution sounding a tad contrived. A further disappointment is that the ending fails to tie up the Murder Hunt with the parallel tale of the actual murder. All along, the Murder Hunt has proven suggestible and exciting, but in the end nothing comes of it.
Having said that, there is nothing seriously wrong with Dead Man's Folly. It possess all of Poirot's cunning and idiosyncratic charisma. And the true mark of the genius is that the reader will neither be able to guess at the solution before Christie herself decides to reveal it, nor will he be able to put the book down.
Gripping till the end ..........2005-05-21
This is another gripping mystery from the master story teller "Agatha Christie". The story starts with a simple call from "Agatha Christie" like character "Ms Oliver" (an author) to "Hercule Poirot" about her six sense indicating something afoul but unfortunately she cannot put her fingers on what it is.
From that simple beginning to the curious end, there are large number of characters with interesting stories of their own. The author has done an excellent job of creating the characters and in general bringing out the attitue of Englishmen towards foreigners. The story is interspersed with clues for the reader. One of the best "whodunnit's" I have read ... I was biting my nails till the final chapter.
I would highly recommend this book ...
-Sachin
(fyi ... "folly" means an often extravagant picturesque building erected to suit a fanciful taste.)
Customer Reviews:
A sampler of a wonderful banquet........1998-06-12
If you are a Christie fan or someone looking to try Aggie, this compliation of 5 novels is the way to go. The hardest part is puting the book down after you read one story! Start this on a weekend when you don't have anything planned for the day. No wonder she is the Queen of Mysteries!
Christie is the unchallenged master........1998-04-10
Although I am not fond of Jane Marple, she makes a good showing in the Christie classic MURDER AT THE VICARIGE. And that unsurpassed, portly little man with the egg-shaped head cannot be beat. The intrigue of N OR M? held me breathless, and the classic novels TOWARDS ZERO and DEAD MAN"S FOLLY are definately keepers. Everyone loves the Queen of mystery; check out this book today!!
Familiarity breeds love.......1998-04-09
Watch out when Miss Marple, part way through an Agatha Christie novel, muses over her breakfast newspaper and notes, randomly, three headlines. One of those headlines will become a clue. Bless Dame Agatha's heart! We can depend on her.
"The Murder at the Vicarage" lacks this trademark, for Jane Marple was making her first appearance and she, like Dame Agatha, had not yet got the hang of it. She makes her entry spouting gossip; later she knew better and kept such things to herself, only pursing her lips when all others, including the police, were exclaiming over a red herring.
Dame Agatha writes to a pattern. (Let's not say "formula" which lacks charm, a quality she oozes, even if somewhat mustily .
In the canon of mystery writers she takes a place well below Ruth Rendell, whose every book is different. But do we tire of "Cinderella?" of "Romeo and Juliet"? Should we chastise our little children when they insist at bedtime on every syllable in the story?
Once a man listed the books he would select for a shipwreck on a desert island. One was "Anything by Agatha Christie" because as soon as he finished the last page he would forget "whodunit" and be able to start all over. A form of immortality.
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great reading for those who love to read
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- A great Spider-Man story with a shocking twist at the end!
- The Way Spider-Man should be done
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Amazing Spider-Man: The Death of Jean DeWolff (Spectacular Spider Man) (Marvel Comics)
Peter David
Manufacturer: Marvel Entertainment Group
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Spider-Man: Birth of Venom
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Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
ASIN: 0871357046 |
Customer Reviews:
A great Spider-Man story with a shocking twist at the end!.......2002-08-05
Published in 1990, The Amazing Spider-Man: The Death of Jean DeWolff is a trade paperback collection that reprints Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #'s 107-110 (October 1985-January 1986). This story was about the death of police officer Jean DeWolff, who was a recurring character in the various Spider-Man comic books at the time. Her unfortunate death was committed by the Sin-Eater, a crazed madman. Written by Peter David and illustrated by Rich Buckler, this story has a shocking twist at the end. It's also interesting as the events of this story unfold, Spider-Man himself ends up in some extreme fury and rage, which is usually not the case with everybody's favorite neighbourhood wallcrawler. One of writer Peter David's early comic book works, The Death of Jean DeWolff is a must have in anyone's library.
The Way Spider-Man should be done.......2000-05-06
This is some of the earliest comics work of Peter David, and is a great example of how Spider-Man should be written.
Jean DeWolff was a recurring police officer in the Spider-books. Her death at the hands of a serial killer named the Sin-Eater was a major crisis for Spider-Man. The webbed one is usually a fairly light-hearted guy, but this story had an edge to it that made it stand out.
If this book becomes available again, and you have any interest in the character, the author, or comics in general, pick this one up!
Book Description
It should be a time of joyous anticipation–the happiest time in a woman’s life. But for many women, the joys of pregnancy are clouded by feelings of fear, sadness, and confusion. And unlike postpartum depression, which is widely portrayed in the media and embraced by the medical community, depression during pregnancy has been rarely discussed and often misunderstood–until now. In this groundbreaking book–the first to focus exclusively on depression in pregnancy–Dr. Shaila Kulkarni Misri, a leading reproductive psychiatrist, draws on her twenty-five years of clinical practice and research to offer hope, help, and healing–as well as a provocative, myth-shattering examination of a subject that has too long been shrouded in darkness.
The numbers are surprising: up to 70 percent of pregnant women experience some degree of depressive symptoms, and of those, 12 percent meet the diagnostic criteria for major depression. Although it is at least as common as postpartum depression, which occurs after a child’s birth, pregnancy-related depression is often cloaked in silence, shame, and denial. Pregnancy Blues lifts the veil on this heartbreaking–and very treatable–
illness, examining the key social and biological factors that can come together during pregnancy to create a climate in which depression and anxiety thrive, as well as offering the many effective treatments that are available. Discover:
• How to recognize the signs and symptoms of depression–and know when to seek help
• The role of female hormones: why women are more vulnerable to depression than men
• How depression can “hide” behind physical complaints, such as back, stomach, or even chest pain
• The unspoken connection between infertility and depression
• The antidepressant controversy: the facts on specific drugs, their safety–and when medication is the right choice
• Breastfeeding and medication–the risks and benefits
Plus helpful self-tests and resources, information on alternative treatment options–from therapy to acupuncture–and much more. A work of daring and compassion,
Pregnancy Blues challenges the underlying traditions and beliefs surrounding pregnancy and motherhood–and explores how those misconceptions have led to the drastic underdiagnosis and undertreatment of depression during pregnancy. A must-read for women and those who love them,
Pregnancy Blues is at once an extraordinary roadmap to healing and an eye-opening report on a medical issue that no woman can afford to miss.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
never got through it.......2007-05-08
My friend recommended this to me, and I began reading it about mid-way through my pregnancy. Instead of being informative, I found it very depressing! I decided to stop reading it and looked for more positive ways to address my depression, like exercise and visiting with friends. For those who enjoy lots of information and statistics, you may appreciate this book. I, however, did not find it useful.
Informative And Beneficial.......2006-10-29
Dr. Misri has done an excellent job of educating women and men about depression in women in general, depression during pregnancy, and depression after pregnancy. She clearly shatters the myth that pregnancy is a time of joy for all women by offering stories from her clinical practices, research, and lectures. She offers the pregnant woman and couple at large a thorough education about the risks and benefits of continuing or even starting treatment during and after pregnancy. She also made sure to stress that depression doesn't discriminate and even affected a social worker who used to remove infants from parents, a well known OB/GYN, and a Therpaist! Any one can experience it, there is nothing to be ashamed of, but the good news is that she explains your many options along with your many possibilities. And finally Dr. Misri does indeed value her patients and all women as she states that she finds hope and encouragement in her patients, and respect them seeing them as courageous people trying to manage an emotional illness in addition to other challenges of pregnancy and parenthood.
Amazing Essential Reference Plus enjoyable read.......2006-06-22
I love this book. There are others that have gotten awards for pregnancy and depression and I don't know why. This is the A#1 book. It is written from a multi-cultural perspective. It is not fear based but filled with great information. I have not read any other book by anyone with as much experience as this author. She sees over 3,000 women a year in her Canadian based pregnancy depression clinic. She has so many resources to share. She treats depression as a regular normal health condition. She does not act like all medicine is bad. She does not make you feel evil for selecting to take care of yourself. She is just lovely. This book has a fantastic balance of clinical information - in easy to understand language and cultural nuances of birth and pregnancy. It really takes in the whole person. I love this book. I wish I would have had it before I got pregnant or I would have had an easier pregnancy. I can't recommend this book highly enough.
Books:
- Handling Sin
- In Danger's Path: Corps 08 (Corps)
- Indecision: A Novel
- Kokoro
- Last Car to Elysian Fields: A Dave Robicheaux Novel
- Life on the Color Line: The True Story of a White Boy Who Discovered He Was Black
- Loamhedge (Redwall, Book 16)
- Me & Emma
- Missing Mom: A Novel (P.S.)
- Oceans Apart
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