READING VLOG

Hot take: Actually enjoyed this a lot more than The Shards.

Where The Shards lingers too long in moments, this book has enough tactility and inventive voice that creates something fresh, something breathtaking, like teen spirit mixed with Drakkar Noir for the first time. Effortless too. Bret's latest just doesn't have the same effect. Perhaps because of age, perhaps because of the times.

It's important to note that Bret's latest could not exist without this. If anything,

It took me a long time to finish this book. Part of it was the busy holidays, part of it was pneumonia, part of it was busy with work, and part of it was the first part of this book.
The first part is a common Ellis character being shallow, self absorbed, celebrity, and brand obsessed. This section might go on too long. It lost my interest and really brought my reading to a halt for a while. But once you get to the club opening and on the boat, its worth it.
The beginning part may be necessary to setup the character of Victor. Victor is not a good person, but I did empathize with him by the end. He is probably one of the most innocent of Ellis's characters and probably ends up in the worst ending situation.

Spoilers:
I think Victor is mentally ill, but most of the stuff happening around him is real. My opinion is that the camera crews are in his head and his way of dealing with the reality of the situation. I think he really was replaced by a double, as were others. I think Bobby was really a terrorist and Palakon was a double agent, just out to protect himself and further his own agenda.

Because I read this book over such a long time period, it really got in my head. It changed my attitude on everyday life, affected my emotions and anxiety, and gave me some bad dreams. I felt sorry for Victor by the end and wished he could have just gone home.

I think this book is a good story. The second half really hooked me. The writing really did affect me. I know others will argue it is no good and has no merit, but if it can connect with me and affect me so strongly there must be something to it. I had some bad anxiety for a week or so. I couldn't even come write this review for several days. This may not be Ellis's best based on literary merit, but it was the best to me. Definitely way better than Imperial Bedrooms.

The second half with spy fiction and terrorists acts was a good surprise and really brought enjoyment and contrast from the first part.

Great read!

At first I didn't this book was too telling of the '90's'. But the more I read and the deeper I got into it (the guzzling of Snapple, the celebrity obsession tinged with the lackluster desire to apply 'substance' to the incredibly hollow world that Ellis himself detailed in American Psycho) the more I appreciated the nuance and care that this story was constructed with. Like a bizarro mirror of American Psycho where instead of the apparent "hero" is alone in an isolating world lashing out to no effect. Here he's now a part of the group at large and finding that they're just as bad, actually much worse, then he could ever imagine. Great book and it's actually made a little funnier when compared to Zoolander...apparently there was some bad blood between the respective writers from this book and the movie. Hard to imagine Stiller or frankly, any, actor pulling off the role of Victor Ward (Johnson), but then, they also said American Psycho was unfilmable...

Difficult

Story of my life

Okay, I'm just beginning the part of the book where the "action" truly begins.

But I think I have to stop.
And it's not because it's boring, or shallow, or intensely materialistic. I've actually been kind of digging that stuff (the celebrity name lists, the hilariously shallow conversations, the utter stupidity of Victor as he moves from fuck to dangerous fuck..)

I honestly am not sure I can finish reading the book without being sucked into this FUCKED-UP SHIT. Please, please, excuse my french, but I don't think I was ready to read this book. Maybe its the fact that I'm sixteen, maybe it's that the first half was so banal, so utterly ridiculous, such an anesthetic to the violence splayed out on the pages I'm reading now. Its like a literary blood spatter. On these pages. I didn't sleep last night. Well, I slept, but in a very odd state of thinking about this book while I was sleeping, and being conscious that I was thinking about it. I recently read the first torture scene (of Sam Ho) and the words keep running through my head. Just... ahhh.

The whole boat sequence was like an insane trip. I was on that boat. And it was so eerie, and pointless, and offsetting (the altered photograph, Marina's disappearance, the teeth, the blood, the family friends...) It was haunting. Victor was falling into something more serious than he ever imagined, and I didn't know why or how.

It goes without saying that this book is amazingly written, displaying a kind of literary genius that actually freaks me out in its ability to create a universe so complete there is NO way this could come out of one man's mind.

I just... am lost for words.
But I think I might have to read more. I keep on looking over my shoulder, and speaking like Victor, and saying "baby" a lot, and having a general sense of paranoia and pervasive fear. But I still might read more.

Se lee con facilidad. Tiene un estilo inconfundible. Quizá esta novela sea muy larga, pero no flaquea en ningún momento. De momento no tengo más para comentar.

Will I, for the love of me, ever stop repeating ad nauseam the simple fact: that Glamorama is BEE's top work, and that, yes, its better than American Psycho? No I don't think so.

If you really want to dig deep into meta fiction at its highest levels you should definitely read this one. A lot of reviews had talked abt how this novel is just "too complicated", that is just a long running "tangent", or hell, that its too "long". However, if you really try to read the novel with some attention paid to the amount of details-not vis à vis the plot or the story itself- w/r/t style, format, pop culture, film and literary references, it will just jump @ your eyes-unless ur blind ofc, which I mean srry for you I guess-that this novel is not just a dark comedy critique of celebrity extravaganza and, yeah, glamour, but also a meta work abt the process of fiction writing itself. The whole split-in my opinion- of if is whats happening reality or a movie being shot ( along with the characters talking abt events happening as scenes, the constant references to the "script", the interference of the director while propping Victor regarding what is going to happen to his "character", etc) is just sooo meta I don't even understand how ppl are still whining abt how hard and confusing the novel is, its just sooo in your face sheeple!

Notwithstanding the rivalry between the two, I always thought BEE work should be read in // with DFW's. Thematically speaking, we can see similarities between American Psycho and most definitely Glamorama with not only the whole entertainment and tv culture and mass consumerism critique in Infinite Jest, but also with the essay E-unibus Pluram. American 80's and 90's writers, musicians and movie makers ig were kinda swimming around the same cultural zeitgeist and when it comes to the autistic anxious and self conscious encyclopedic egomaniac "Wallace" and the eternal bully and enfant terrible "Ellis" the thematic // and similarities cant stop appearing infront of me.

Ps: should I also repeat that this novel is funny af? Like really. Or that it has one of the weirdest intense threesome that could never be written but by a super gay writer?

Just read the damn novel already!

I usually love Brett Easton Ellis, so it pains me to write this review.

The characters just lacked any depth whatsoever - I know that it's supposed to be commentary and satire of modern celebrity culture but this was actually just not pleasant to read, as the characters just didn't feel developed at all in any way or form.

Dialogue felt very very stilted, and so full of references to real celebrities that it just seems overkill *sigh* Honestly, long stretches of this felt just dull, and I really hate to say this!

Считаю ли я, что эта книга затянута? Да. Но считаю ли я, что это скучный кусок дерьма? Тоже да. На самом деле, достаточно удивительная книга, если без шуток. С одной стороны, это было буквально самое сложное чтение в моей жизни: эту бесконечную графоманию читать ну просто невозможно. Но если Элиас Канетти был просто невыносимо хуевым, скучным и тупым и я его дропнул, то "Гламорама" периодически подбрасывала какой-то (хотя бы какой-то!) материал для чтения. И я продолжал эту каторгу. Слава Богу, что я все прошлую неделю на работе херней маялся, иначе бы никогда не дочитал. В общем, дотянуть эту муть до конца было одним из самых сложных опытов для меня как читателя.
С другой стороны, книга, очевидно, не лишена плюсов. Ее самый главный минус — это графомания, повторение, скучно, продолжительность, местами просто обсасывания одного и того же. Основную суть я вроде уловил: ужасы культа знаменитостей и вообще массовой культуры, отчуждение личности, политизированность всего предыдущего. Я полагаю, что если бы я еще и американцем был, тут были бы какие-то вздохи по ушедшей культуре былой Америки. Но все это было так долго, так скучно. Он вообще вроде способен выдавать колкости и, по идее, все это должно работать, заводить интерес. Но нет, читаешь по диагонали и чем больше автор хочет тебя зацепить снафф контентом и теорией заговоров (я так понял, что это вообще любимая американская тема), тем больше становится плевать вообще на всех в этой книге. Короче, не знаю я как это оценивать. Вроде мысля есть, даже местами было как будто интересно, ну или хочется верить в то, что было интересно. Но в целом это было невероятно сложно. Никому бы не порекомендовал читать этот талмуд, никакие умные мысли этого ужасного времяпрепровождения не стоят. Тем более, что все эти умные мысли можно послушать в 10 минутном интервью с каким-нибудь мимо проходящим леваком на ютубе.

I read this book like eleven years ago, or maybe it was twelve, or inevitably even longer in the future. I don't remember much about it. I remember taking it out of the library, it was in the new release section, so I only had ten days to read the book. I then remember reading part of it sitting at the counter of a coffee shop that would be soon banning me from being their customer, but that has nothing to do with the book. I do remember that the part of the book which I remember reading at the above mentioned counter took place in a boat.

I liked this book. I remember that. I remember thinking that it was a let-down after the amazing American Psycho (which I do not care if you agree or disagree with my opinion about AP, even mentioning this book causes extreme reactions from people. I liked it, if you didn't that's ok. If you feel the need to froth at the mouth about liking or disliking the book take it too another review, I don't feel like being a part of a discussion about the book), and that the book was disjointed, with the first half and the second half being night and day, and that the links between high fashion / celebrity culture and international terrorism were a little, eh.

But I also remember that silly Bret Easton Ellis was still an enjoyable read. And that I feel like I've been a major douche bag by being a Bret Easton Ellis hater of sorts; just because every hipster that can read, or at least wants to make it look like he or she can read, has asked for his books, doesn't mean that I can't still like him becasue he was good, and maybe the books that came after this one are still good (or book, does he have anything more than Lunar Park? as of this writing? I know he has one this summer, and once again he will be reading at our store, and I will try not to think bad thoughts of him this time, even if the store fills to capacity with the turdiest of the turds from Williamsburg).

I kind of miss reading him, now that I think of it. I think I'm going to go find a copy of Less than Zero read the fuck out of it in preparation for the sequel coming out this summer to his debut novel. And maybe I'll enjoy it, that's right hipsters I'll enjoy it in spite of you!!

I remember that I had to quit in the middle of this book because it felt like the world was collapsing in on itself. And literally, Glamorama does. It is so dense, that just like a black hole, it sucks everything in, even gravity.
It is the story of Victor post-Camden, now a high profile model/celebutante!?! This is the reason why I picked it up. I love how B.E.E. makes for creating a whole new world for his characters. The novel is half espionage and half drug-induced. If you want to escape into another world, jump on in.