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Glamorama!

Ethan Hawke

11:51 / 04.09.01

The anti-matter twin of the Invisibles? All that was optimistic and liberating about the world, pop culture, sex, drugs, beauty, fashion, and revolution in the Invisibles is turned on its head in Bret Easton Ellis's nihilistic novel.

I know this novel's been discussed before, but I just finished it last week and I'd love to hear people's takes on it. Specifically, what's the deal with Victor's twin? Obviously, as in American Psycho, there is the overt meaning that each person has no intrinsic identity and is replaceable by any other person in the system. But how, in the reality of the novel, is this doppelganger really put into play. Who is it?

autopilot disengaged

21:47 / 04.09.01

it's been a while since i read it, so i think any analysis i had to offer would be pretty slipshod -

- plus it all passed in a bit of a blur for me, but anyway -

i thought it was brilliant.

"DiSA Pp EAR HEre..."

w1rebaby

21:59 / 04.09.01

I was rather disappointed. I felt it could have done with a lot better editing.

The constant repetitive "it's all a dream / you're not who I thought you were / you just died horribly"... yes, I'm aware that the repetition is a device, but it makes for a rather dull read.

In the end I was just flicking over pages. "Yeah, okay, so he's actually him and she's not her and he's dead, is anything actually going to happen?"

The first few chapters are fucking hilarious though.

autopilot disengaged

10:10 / 05.09.01

"Oh yeah?" I ask. "Approved by who?"
"Approved by, well, moi," Peyton says.
"Who the fuck is Moi?" I ask. "I have no fucking idea who this Moi is, baby."

- Catch 22 for the GapGeneration?

Regrettable Juvenilia

10:13 / 05.09.01

There's a previous discussion of the book here. I still maintain it's brilliant. Probably his third best book.

Ethan Hawke

10:51 / 05.09.01

quote:Originally posted by The Flyboy:
There's a previous discussion of the book here. I still maintain it's brilliant. Probably his third best book.

Thanks for the link, Flyboy!

Logos

18:16 / 19.09.01

What I like best about it is that I became convinced, while reading it, that the whole thing was just in Victor's addled head. Then, that the whole thing was NOT just a sign of his insanity. Then I flip-flopped a couple more times.

On the other hand, I thought the middle section was rather long and tedious.

darknes

01:47 / 04.10.01

I kind of allowed this book to influence my life too much; i referred to "the script" in casual conversation, kept looking for a director and forced as many people as i could to sort of live the weirdness with me...i loved it; creating a body of work, building on each idea, pushing the reader farther every time. Definitely full of tricks, but who uses them this well?
b

Regrettable Juvenilia

07:58 / 04.10.01

Keep the faith, darknes...

Apparently his next novel is about politics and set in Washington. I wonder if 'Victor' and his father will reappear.

Ellis says:

18:24 / 18.07.02

Couldn't find the original thread- the link does not work)

I am rereading this at the moment and find myself enjoying it a lot more the second time around.

I'm only halfway through, but it is quite gripping.
Feel quite glad that i don't remember any of the ending at all.

Although so far, there's an X Files kind of feeling, of there being a huge conspiracy only Ellis not knowing where to go with it, so it's all left unexplained.
I hope not.
I hope so.
Hm.

ill tonic

00:16 / 19.07.02

I enjoyed the book immensely. Couldn't tell you who/what the doppleganger represented -- tried to figure it out but that only made my head hurt so I gave it up. Loved the three way/menage trois scene -and also, if I remember it correctly, the descriptive mayhem of their first bombing. Great dialogue.

Roger Avery (co-writer of Pulp Fiction, director of Killing Zoe) owns the film rights and is supposedly working on the script as we speak.

Now that I think about it, I may have to go out and give that sucker another read.

Ellis says:

19:42 / 19.07.02

Who is Mr. Leisure?

He was mentioned really early on in the novel and I can't remember...

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