Bret Easton Ellis
Bret Easton Ellis (born March 7, 1964) is an American author and screenwriter. Ellis was one of the literary Brat Pack (literary), Brat Pack and is a self-proclaimed satirist whose trademark technique as a writer is the expression of extreme acts ...
. ''Glamorama'' is set in, and satirizes, the 1990s, specifically
celebrity culture
Celebrity culture is a high-volume exposure to celebrities' personal lives on a global scale. It is inherently tied to consumer interests where celebrities transform their fame to become product brands.
Whereas a culture can usually be physically ...
and
consumerism
Consumerism is a socio-cultural and economic phenomenon that is typical of industrialized societies. It is characterized by the continuous acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing quantities. In contemporary consumer society, the ...
. ''
Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' describes the novel as "a screed against models and celebrity".
Development
Ellis wanted to write a
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...
-style ghost story novel, which would eventually become '' Lunar Park''; finding it difficult at the time, he began work on the other novel which he had in mind. This was a
Robert Ludlum
Robert Ludlum (May 25, 1927 – March 12, 2001) was an American author of 27 Thriller (genre), thriller novels, best known as the creator of Jason Bourne from the original ''Bourne (novel series), The Bourne Trilogy'' series. The number of copi ...
-style thriller, with the intention of using one of his own vapid characters who lack insight as the narrator.
Ellis composed the book between December 1989 and December 1997.
Plot summary
In the first section of the novel, male model Victor Ward is involved in opening a club in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
owned by Damien Nutchs Ross. Victor is cheating on his model girlfriend Chloe Byrnes with Alison Poole, Damien's girlfriend. Victor obsesses over the celebrity seating plan for the dinner on the club's opening night and struggles to find a DJ, while poorly attempting to cover up his affair with Alison and his plans to open another club behind Damien's back. Victor appears to suffer from memory loss, which he blames on Klonopin, and is often sighted in two places at once.
Victor also reconnects with Lauren Hyndes, who he dated at Camden, a fictionalised version of
Bennington College
Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont, United States. Founded as a women’s college in 1932,
. The club's opening night ends in disaster. A photo of Victor and Lauren kissing — which Victor believes is altered — makes the news, causing chaos. Victor is also beaten up by actor Hurley Thompson, due to Victor earlier leaking rumours about Hurley to the press in exchange for not publishing an "embarrassing" photo of Victor and Alison.
After Chloe breaks things off with him, Victor is contacted by the mysterious F. Fred Palakon. Palakon offers Victor $300,000 to travel to London and bring back Jamie Fields, a girl who Victor knew at Camden. Victor accepts despite having only vague memories of Jamie.
Victor travels to London on the QE2 cruise ship. From this point onwards, Victor describes being followed by a camera crew and instructed to follow a script; however, he frequently becomes agitated when he believes others are not following the script and that some scenes are not filmed. On the ship, Victor meets Marina and intends to follow her to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. However, Marina mysteriously disappears and Victor ends up in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
.
Victor quickly finds Jamie, who is filming a movie. Victor stays with Jamie's friends — Tammy, Bruce and Bentley — in Notting Hill, led by hyper-successful male model Bobby Hughes. Bobby instructs Victor to bring home Sam Ho, the son of the Korean ambassador. Victor walks in on Sam being brutally murdered in the house's basement gym. Bobby explains that Victor cannot leave, since Bobby has created altered photographs incriminating Victor in Sam's murder.
Victor is forced to participate in Bobby's project, which involves planting bombs in London and Paris, killing civilians and passing the blame onto other groups. Bobby explains he recruits models because they don't draw suspicion and they are used to being told what to do. Bobby also shows Victor "PhotoSoap for
Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented operating system developed by Microsoft and the first of its Windows 9x family of operating systems, released to manufacturing on July 14, 1995, and generally to retail on August 24, 1995. Windows 95 merged ...
", the software he uses to alter photographs. Victor is distressed, especially after witnessing Tammy's suicide, and wants to leave. Victor becomes increasingly confused over the role of Palakon, not knowing whether various photographs are real or altered. Palakon may already know Bobby, and may also be involved with Victor's father, a US senator who wants Victor out of the way to avoid bad press. Many of Victor's associates in New York believe they still frequently see him around there.
Victor returns to Bobby's house, where he witnesses the deaths of Bentley and Jamie. Jamie suggests everything is part of a larger conspiracy with "the Japanese"; that Bobby, Palakon and Victor's father are all working together and against each other; and that Victor has accidentally given Bobby a formula for a new plastic explosive concealed in Alison Poole's hat, which Victor brought on the cruise ship. Jamie suggests Lauren Hynde is actually dead, and that she is not really Jamie Fields.
Victor meets Chloe in a hotel. Chloe claims to have seen Bruce, who Victor thought was dead. After drinking poisoned wine meant for Victor, Chloe dies gruesomely. Still believing he is being filmed, Victor manages to shoot Bobby, although Victor is unsuccessful in stopping another aeroplane bomb. Victor returns to New York and begins attending law school.
In the last section, Victor is taken to
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
under the guise of filming, seemingly with the same potentially-hallucinatory crew as before. Interspersed with flashbacks from Victor's Camden days, Victor appears to have a breakdown in Italy. He phones his sister in Washington D.C., who claims Victor is right beside her; the other Victor even speaks to Victor on the phone. In a flashback, Chloe tells Victor that if he wants to know how this ends, he has to buy the rights.
Literary devices, plot, and themes
The novel is a satire of modern celebrity culture; this is reflected in its premise, which features models-turned-terrorists. A character remarks, "basically, everyone was a sociopath ... and all the girls' hair was chignoned." The novel plays upon the
conspiracy
A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...
thriller conceit of someone "behind all the awful events", to dramatize the revelation of a world of random horror. The lack of resolution contributes to Ellis' artistic effect. The obsession with beauty is reflected in consistent namedropping; this satirizes (the main character) Victor's obsession with looks, and perhaps is indicative of the author's own attraction to glamor.
Ellis drops names in ''Glamorama'' so often that ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' describes "Nary a sentence ... escapes without a cameo from someone famous, quasi-famous, or formerly famous. In fact, in some sentences, Ellis cuts out those pesky nouns and verbs and simply lists celebrities." Namedropping and commoditization have a depersonalizing effect (a world reduced to "sheen and brands"); as the reviewer for ''
The Harvard Crimson
''The Harvard Crimson'' is the student newspaper at Harvard University, an Ivy League university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The newspaper was founded in 1873, and is run entirely by Harvard College undergraduate students.
His ...
'' observes, "When Victor undergoes a transformation to a law student, we know he is different because he now wears a Brooks Brothers suit and drinks
Diet Coke
Diet Coke (also branded as Coca-Cola Light, Coca-Cola Diet or Coca-Cola Light Taste) is a sugar-free and low-calorie soft drink produced and distributed by the Coca-Cola Company. It contains artificial sweeteners instead of sugar. Unveiled on ...
. London and Paris become nothing more than a different collection of recognizable proper nouns (
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a wikt:cosmopolitan, cosmopolitan and multiculturalism, multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting ...
and
Irvine Welsh
Irvine Welsh (born 27 September 1958) is a Scottish novelist and short story writer. His 1993 novel ''Trainspotting (novel), Trainspotting'' was made into a Trainspotting (film), film of the same name. He has also written plays and screenplays, ...
in the first case; ''Chez Georges'' and Yves Saint Laurent in the second)." A writer for the ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' observes "much of his prose consists of (intentionally) numbingly long lists of his characters' clothes and accouterments ... out of which his loft-dwellers somewhat hopefully attempt to assemble something like an identity". In speech, his writing demonstrates the ways in which his characters, too, have internalized the language of consumerist advertising and marketing. According to the ''
Lakeland Ledger
''The Ledger'' is a daily newspaper serving Lakeland, Florida, and the Polk County area.
History
The paper was founded on August 22, 1924, as the ''Lakeland Evening Ledger''. In 1927, it bought its main competitor, the morning ''Lakeland S ...
'', ''Glamorama'' is something of a ''
Through the Looking-Glass
''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' is a novel published in December 1871 by Lewis Carroll, the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a mathematics lecturer at Christ Church, Oxford, Christ Church, University of Oxford. I ...
''
allegory
As a List of narrative techniques, literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a wikt:narrative, narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political signi ...
and a
cautionary tale
A cautionary tale or moral tale is a tale told in folklore to warn its listener of a Risk, danger. There are three essential parts to a cautionary tale, though they can be introduced in a large variety of ways. First, a taboo or prohibition is ...
navigating the perils of dissolving identity.
In parody of how people now think in modern terms, Ellis "annoying y lists "the songs that are playing in the background, or even quoting them, as he does with
Oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentChampagne Supernova"; in effect, the novel is provided with a movie soundtrack. As such, the book feels at times like a movie, and sometimes more specifically, a snuff film. New technology such as
photo manipulation
Photograph manipulation involves the transformation or alteration of a photograph. Some photograph manipulations are considered to be skillful artwork, while others are considered to be unethical practices, especially when used to deceive. Mot ...
software (e.g. "PhotoSoap for
Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented operating system developed by Microsoft and the first of its Windows 9x family of operating systems, released to manufacturing on July 14, 1995, and generally to retail on August 24, 1995. Windows 95 merged ...
") are featured in the novel. This creates an ironic situation in which Victor, the character obsessed by appearances, is haunted by fake images that appear real which implicate him in a murder; it becomes hard to tell what is real in the 'modern' world. As such, "meaningful identity is obliterated"; this furthers the recurring joke from ''American Psycho'' wherein "characters are always getting confused by their friends with other people, with no noticeable consequences".
The book prominently features a conceit wherein Victor's life is being filmed by a camera crew "introduced a third of the way into the book". As well as a
postmodern
Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting the wo ...
device to examine the questionable "reality" of the situation, it also functions as a "tidy commentary" on the advent of
mass surveillance
Mass surveillance is the intricate surveillance of an entire or a substantial fraction of a population in order to monitor that group of citizens. The surveillance is often carried out by Local government, local and federal governments or intell ...
in the 1990s. ''EW'' interprets the scene to mean "Modern life has become a movie (a point made more cogently by Neal Gabler's new book, ''Life the Movie'')." The ''
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving Greater Pittsburgh, metropolitan Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the fi ...
'' took the same meaning from the conceit, and described it as a "not-so-deep observation" that "has no real pay-off". The ''New York Times'' felt it was a "halfhearted narrative device ... suggesting that the novel's action is actually part of a film that's being made." The reviewer felt that allusions to "the director" or to the fact that this or that scene is a " flashback" was used to retroactively suggest cohesion in the novel's plot.
"As much as celebrity itself, our collective celebrity worship becomes the real target of Ellis' satire", writes the ''
Star Tribune
''The Minnesota Star Tribune'', formerly the ''Minneapolis Star Tribune'', is an American daily newspaper based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As of 2023, it is Minnesota's largest newspaper and the List of newspapers in the United States, seventh- ...
''. Models in the novel act as a
synecdoche
Synecdoche ( ) is a type of metonymy; it is a figure of speech that uses a term for a part of something to refer to the whole (''pars pro toto''), or vice versa (''totum pro parte''). The term is derived . Common English synecdoches include '' ...
of the larger culture. Reviewer Eric Hanson writes, "Their odels'selfishness and brutality, he implies, are simply an extreme manifestation of what consumer culture encourages in everyone." Victor's own pursuit of being cool or too hip "destroys him". A
CNN
Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
reviewer gives the example of Victor not wanting to explain his impersonator, "because the places he was seen were always hot spots he should have frequented."
Characters
Victor Ward is the novel's lead character, who had previously appeared as Victor Johnson in '' The Rules of Attraction'' (1987). In ''Glamorama'', now an "A-list model, would-be-actor and current " It boy", "an uberstereotype of the male model", Victor lives by his catchphrase mantra "the better you look, the more you see". As ''Harvard Crimson'' observes, "His lifestyle is the extreme of everything the current culture worships: he can't avoid thinking in brand names and image and speaks with lines from pop songs." Uncharacteristic for an Ellis protagonist, as the ''Crimson'' notes, Victor is "terrified by" the "coldbloodedness" he encounters when he becomes embroiled in international terrorism. As an unintelligent narrator, Victor (through his inability to comprehend his situation), underlines how "the world of celebrity in ''Glamorama'' is inescapable". Compared to other Ellis protagonists, Victor is less "sensitive and insightful" than '' Less than Zero'''s Clay, neither the "preening psychopath" that is ''
American Psycho
''American Psycho'' is a black comedy horror novel by American writer Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1991. The story is told in the First-person narrative, first-person by Patrick Bateman, a wealthy, narcissistic, and vain Manhattan investmen ...
'''s Patrick Bateman", he is nevertheless an " nympathetic protagonist (in his own way, he's as morally bankrupt as ... Patrick Bateman)." As narrator, "Victor's perceptions" sum up " he glamor world'sdisconnection from what the rest of us consider "real life"... hereEverything he sees is a brand name". CNN speculates when Victor begins speaking to the novel's "film crew" (one of its literary devices), that this could mean that the character is
schizophrenic
Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...
. Victor comes across "oddly
homophobic
Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...
for a member of the pansexual New York fashion scene"; when his gay assistant accuses "I know for a fact you've had sex with guys in the past", he retorts that he did "the whole hip bi thing for about three hours back in college".
The mysterious F. Fred Palakon first appears a quarter of the way into the novel, when he offers to pay Victor $300,000 to track down his former Camden classmate Jamie Fields, a double-agent working in the terrorist organisation with which Victor becomes involved. It is never clarified exactly which political organisation Palakon appears to be working for; he even appears alongside Senator Johnson, Victor's father, a
United States senator
The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress.
Party affiliation
Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...
with ambitions to become
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
. Of Palakon, 'the director' says "We've been through this a hundred times ... There is no Palakon. I've never heard that name. Victor's girlfriend Chloe Byrnes is a supermodel and a recovering drug addict. Alison Poole, the main character from
Jay McInerney
John Barrett "Jay" McInerney Jr. (; born January 13, 1955) is an American novelist, screenwriter, editor, and columnist. His novels include '' Bright Lights, Big City'', ''Ransom'', '' Story of My Life'', '' Brightness Falls'', and ''The Last o ...
's 1988 novel '' Story of My Life'', appears, having also previously appeared in ''American Psycho'' in 1992. In ''Glamorama'', Alison is " ictor'sboss's girlfriend (another supermodel)", "here playing Lewinsky". Bobby Hughes is a successful male model and the leader of his international terrorist group. Victor engages in a bisexual threesome with him and with Jamie Fields. Lauren Hynde from ''The Rules of Attraction'' also reappears, having become a successful actress with ties to Hughes' terrorist organisation; other ''Rules'' characters appear (e.g., in flashback) such as Bertrand Ripleis, who is now a terrorist also.
Adaptations
In 1999, the contemporary Italian composer Lorenzo Ferrero wrote a composition for chamber ensemble entitled '' Glamorama Spies'', which was inspired by the novel.
'' Glitterati'' is a
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
film directed by
Roger Avary
Roger Roberts Avary (born August 23, 1965) is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known for his work with Quentin Tarantino on the script for ''Pulp Fiction'' (1994), for which they won Best Original Screenpla ...
assembled from the 70 hours of video footage shot for the European sequence of '' The Rules of Attraction''. It expands upon the minimally detailed and rapidly recapped story told by Victor Ward, portrayed by Kip Pardue, upon his return to the United States after having travelled extensively around Europe. In regard to expanding upon those events, the film acts as a connecting bridge between ''The Rules of Attraction'' and the upcoming film adaptation set to be directed by Avary. Avary has called ''Glitterati'' a "pencil sketch of what will ultimately be the oil painting of ''Glamorama''".
In 2009, Audible.com produced an audio version of ''Glamorama'', narrated by
Jonathan Davis
Jonathan Howsmon Davis (born January 18, 1971), also known as JD, is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He is the lead vocalist and frontman of nu metal band Korn, which is considered a pioneering act of the nu metal genre. Davis's ...
, as part of its ''Modern Vanguard'' line of audiobooks.
In 2010, when a film adaptation of ''Glamorama'' was mentioned in an interview with Movieline.com, Bret Easton Ellis commented, "I think the days of being able to make that movie are over." From the same interview, Ellis mentioned that an idea for a mini-series adaptation was brought forth to
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
though it was ultimately declined and further stating the movie would be left in Roger Avary's hands if one was to be made.
On October 13, 2011, Bret Easton Ellis reported on Twitter the following:
''Zoolander'' controversy
Fans have noted similarities to the 2001
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. Known for his blend of slapstick humor and sharp wit, Stiller rose to fame through comedies such as ''There's Something About Mary'' (1998), ' ...
comedy '' Zoolander''. Ellis stated that he is aware of the similarities, and went on to say that he considered and attempted to take legal action. Asked about the similarities in a 2005 BBC interview, Ellis said that he was unable to discuss them under the terms of an out-of-court settlement.
Reception
Much criticism of the novel noted its length. ''Time'''s Joel Stein noted "The idea—models so
solipsistic
Solipsism ( ; ) is the philosophy, philosophical idea that only one's mind is sure to exist. As an epistemology, epistemological position, solipsism holds that knowledge of anything outside one's own mind is unsure; the Reality, external world ...
that they become terrorists—is a good-enough one for a short story of 15 pages, but it's unsustainable at 482." He describes the book's first 185 pages as "inanely repetitive". ''Entertainment Weekly'' opines "It's like reading
Page Six
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American conservative
daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost.com; PageSix.com, a gossip site; and Decider.com, an entertain ...
of the ''
New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative
daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...
'', but for 482 pages." One reviewer found the opening scenes "funny enough" although noted that it "gets tired easily". Contrarily, the ''
Star Tribune
''The Minnesota Star Tribune'', formerly the ''Minneapolis Star Tribune'', is an American daily newspaper based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As of 2023, it is Minnesota's largest newspaper and the List of newspapers in the United States, seventh- ...
'' felt "the satiric early half is Ellis in peak form, the thriller-style second half is less successful." In fact, the humor in the novel was praised by multiple critics. The ''Star Tribune'' notes Victor's lack of depth,
malapropism
A malapropism (; also called a malaprop, acyrologia or Dogberryism) is the incorrect use of a word in place of a word with a similar sound, either unintentionally or for comedic effect, resulting in a nonsensical, often humorous utterance. An exam ...
s, overuse of the word "baby" and the novel's "enchantingly disaffected monotone" of "a been-there-done-that Valleyspeak". Hanson felt that the horror elements in the "labyrinthine" thriller section of the novel seemed "recycled from ''American Psycho''." ''Entertainment Weekly'' also state their preference for the "first 189 pages". Contrarily, the ''New York Times'' felt that the book was devoid of fun, where even the blackest satire (e.g.
Evelyn Waugh
Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...
's ''
The Loved One Loved Ones, Loved One, The Loved Ones, or The Loved One may refer to:
Films
*The Loved One (film), ''The Loved One'' (film), a 1965 American satire based on the Evelyn Waugh novel
*The Loved Ones (film), ''The Loved Ones'' (film), a 2009 Australia ...
'') are more humorous.
''EW'' places ''Glamorama'' within an emerging tradition of celebrity satire, noting "the glitterati are the satirical target du jour, what with
Woody Allen
Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...
's limp, oral-sex-filled film ''
Celebrity
Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...
'', and
Jay McInerney
John Barrett "Jay" McInerney Jr. (; born January 13, 1955) is an American novelist, screenwriter, editor, and columnist. His novels include '' Bright Lights, Big City'', ''Ransom'', '' Story of My Life'', '' Brightness Falls'', and ''The Last o ...
's clever novel ''Model Behavior''" (both 1998). McInerney (a friend of Ellis) noted the novel's comparative darkness to his own ''Model Behaviour'' (also about 90s nightlife and supermodels), published the same year, saying "I deliberately wrote a comic novel because you don't go chasing butterflies with sledgehammers". (Regarding McInerney's novel, Stein had felt that the novelist's attempt at a
zeitgeist
In 18th- and 19th-century German philosophy, a ''Zeitgeist'' (; ; capitalized in German) is an invisible agent, force, or daemon dominating the characteristics of a given epoch in world history. The term is usually associated with Georg W. F ...
novel was one "looking at the '90s through an '80s lens".) ''Harvard Crimson'' noted, similar to McInerney, that "Celebrity by itself teeters so often into self-parody that it seems too easy to bash it" but remarks that "Fortunately, Ellis does more than that injecting ''Glamorama'' with a sharper plot than those of earlier novels, a plot which kicks in about a quarter of the way into the novel." The ''New York Times'' question the choice of subject matter as well: "Ellis's satirical message is, essentially, a one-liner, and hardly an original one at that – celebrity culture is vapid, yes, and?" The reviewer furthermore suggested "''Glamorama'' is itself just another artifact of the culture it pretends to criticize."
The book's style is summarized by one reviewer as "a book that reads like a movie", and another notes that Ellis' writing "can be sharp", and succeeds in creating a "creepy sense of dread about our culture". On its influence, ''Time'' felt that the novel's "contribution" to the world comes in Victor's catchphrase, which they describe as
Tom Wolfe
Thomas Kennerly Wolfe Jr. (March 2, 1930 – May 14, 2018)Some sources say 1931; ''The New York Times'' and Reuters both initially reported 1931 in their obituaries before changing to 1930. See and was an American author and journalist widely ...
an. In an otherwise damning review, the ''New York Times'' commented " llishas an uncannily keen eye for the tiny details of the lives of the abel-obsessed yuppies and would-be celebs he's sending up". A CNN reviewer felt, upon reading the book, that "Bret Easton Ellis is a gifted writer"; he praised his "unflinching eye" in capturing the details of "the ensemble worn by a notorious clothes horse, or the grisly aftermath of a hotel bombing, or the graphic details of a menage a trois ." The world Ellis evokes, through the eyes of the male model, ''Harvard Crimson'' notes is one "where no one has any emotions beyond the visceral response, where all the sex scenes are described in purely pornographic terms."
A.J. Jacobs of ''Entertainment Weekly'' did not enjoy the book's more "meta" conceits, and gives the novel a 'C'. Daniel Mendelsohn of the ''New York Times'' opines derisively that "Like its predecessors, ''Glamorama'' is meant to be a withering report on the soul-destroying emptiness of late-century American consumer culture, chichi downtown division; but the only lesson you're likely to take away from it is the even more depressing classic American morality tale about how premature stardom is more of a curse than a blessing for young writers." The CNN reviewer concludes that "in the end, ''Glamorama'' is less than the sum of its parts".
Ellis himself has claimed that, as of 2018, the novel has failed to break even for its US publisher, Knopf.
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.
In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...