Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner
Glamorama
Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Bret Easton Ellis
Class/Genre: Mystery Thriller
Knopf, Jan 1999, $25.00, 482 pp.
Victor Ward relishes the night life of Manhattan's famous. Deciding to take advantage of what he knows best, Victor and his partner open up what is expected to be THE nightclub. The anticipation is extremely high amidst the jet set. Details Magazine has sent a reporter just to do a feature on The Making of a Club. Though Victor seems to constantly lose his cools with his staff, he remains the current "it-boy".
His idyllic life among the rich and famous radically changes when he meets F. Fred Palakon, who informs him that an old friend of his, Jamie Fields, is missing. Victor has no idea who the hell Jamie is. Furthermore, he refuses to give up his lifestyle for one nanosecond to find the missing individual in spite of the large sum of money Palakon offers him to locate Jamie. A dangerous incident forces Victor to change his mind. He searches Europe and soon finds her. However, he has entered a different celebrity world than the one he left behind in America. This one is the dark side frequented by terrorists in which one false move leaves the "in" people highlighted in the fashionable world of the obituary column.
The first half of GLAMORAMA presents an in-depth character study into one of New York's more renowned pleasure seekers, a person who believes Amani suits are the norm. The second half of the novel places that same individual in the mirror image of his celebrity life where Amani suits lined with bullet proof vests are the norm. This diabolical twist savagely works due to the brilliant ability of Bret Easton Ellis to spin a fascinating study that delves into two sides of the same glamorous coin.
Harriet Klausner
Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner
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