Sellevision
- Book Review,
by Augusten Burroughs
Amazon.com
Light and funny, with a bitter aftertaste, the action of Sellevision takes place behind the scenes (and on the set) of a successful television shopping network, where a feminine role model, Peggy Jean Smythe, the married, Christian mother of three, begins receiving suspicious e-mail from a viewer who insists that Peggy's hairy earlobe is obscuring her presentation of jewelry during the broadcast. When Peggy fails to respond to the e-mail, but silently waxes her lobe, the cruel notes escalate, until Peggy believes herself to be suffering from a hormonal crisis that has given her a mustache, a gruff voice, and the manner of a lumberjack. Meanwhile, one of her cohosts, Max Andrews, has been fired for accidentally exposing himself during a children's special, and learns just how undesirable a commodity a penis-baring ex-Sellevision host can be on the job market. The book is an unusually smooth read for a first novel, with six or seven truly inspired lines. --Regina Marler
From Publishers Weekly
A relentless spoof of cable's home-shopping mania shamelessly borrows from gossip tabloids, TV talk shows and the endlessly loopy world of advertising. This first novel dives behind the scenes of Sellevision, "America's premier retail broadcasting network," as the channel confronts its first juicy scandal. Much-loved and handsome host Max Andrews has accidentally exposed his private parts during a "Toys for Tots" segment, and the flood of invective from outraged viewers forces the network to fire him. Though Max struggles to find another job, he bounces back nicely by segueing into an adult-film career. Meanwhile, another beloved host, prim and perky Peggy Jean Smythe, receives insulting e-mail from a mysterious fan named Zoe, whose snide commentary about Peggy's hairy earlobes and clumpy mascara sends Peggy over the edge into Valium addiction and heavy drinking. Peggy Jean's picture-perfect family is on the rocks, too: her husband, John, is happily seducing the nubile and willing 16-year-old next door. While Peggy Jean seeks solace through the guidance of Debby Boone and rehab, someone else must step in to peddle the Princess Diana memorabilia and the Dazzling Diamonelle merchandise. Either of two lead candidates for the job may also be the creepy e-mail stalker: Trish Mission, the innocent, young newcomer, or Leigh Bushmore, executive producer Howard Toast's mistress. This kaleidoscope of gleefully salacious intrigue aims to titillate and amuse in a purposefully over-the-top way. Advertising copywriter Burroughs throws in some witty zingers but, overall, the energy of this satire of commercial madness almost peters out before the last FuturePop Popcorn Popper or Moisture-Whik Control Panties are sold. (Sept.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
First-time novelist Burroughs writes fluidly and shows a flair for fun, campy material. He has assembled a menagerie of oddball characters in this lively send-up of TV home-shopping-network culture. Each of the on-air hosts is certifiably loony, and the novel traces their stories separately. One host, Max, is fired on page one when he accidentally exposes himself on the air; after that, it's downhill all the way: awkward interviews with other networks, commercial auditions, even porn. Bebe, another host, thinks she's finally found a man she can bring home to Mother. Only one problem: he may be Bebe's biological brother. Peggy Jean, the sunny, unflappable host with the perfect family, discovers she has a menacing stalker; when the stalker draws closer, Peggy Jean starts to unravel, popping pills and washing them down with the hard stuff. As a bubbly soap opera, Sellevision is good company for the beach or the plane. Its literary value may be low, but the material sparkles, just like the Diamonelle earrings on the shopping channels. James Klise
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
From Kirkus Reviews
A first novel that tries for the fierce bite of satire but ends up with not much more than nasty little nibbles at the familiar.Pity the talent on the shop-at-home channel dubbed-yes-Sellevision. During the "Toys for Tots" segment of Slumber Sunday Sundown, gay, lonesome Max inadvertently exposes himself in front of 60 million kids and their parents and loses his job-and any possibility of another. On-air person Peggy Jean Smythe, meanwhile, is a clueless, churchy mother, the oldest of whose three sons would rather play with C-4 than Silly Putty because of issues he has with mother dear. When she's bundled off ranting to detox and rehab for 30 days to get in touch with her addiction to Valium and alcohol, her much deprived husband takes up with Nikki, the almost 16-year-old Lolita from next door whose issues are a whole lot more fun-not to mention kinky-than Peggy Jean's. Then there's Leigh, who is having an affair with married boss Howard Toast, who shows no signs of leaving his own wife. Until, that is, Leigh, after consulting with already-exposed Max, exposes Toast on air and gets him fired and kicked out of his wife's house-whereupon Leigh becomes a feminist icon and much-sought-after talk show guest. And then there's Bebe, Sellevision's most successful host, who finds Mr. Right through a personal ad she puts on the Internet-except that he just might turn out to be the long-lost brother her mother put up for adoption before she was born.Et cetera. The concept of mid-tier celebrities on the nation's hottest shopping channel may have enormous possibilities, but greater wit and sophistication than Burroughs seems able to summon-so far-are needed to raise this outing from the banalities of soap and silliness to the power of real satire. -- Copyright © 2000 Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Review
“Savvy, very entertaining. Is there a funnier combination than fast-moving soap-opera and tawdry comedy? Underneath all the lunacy lies a grim truth: the thin line separating grotesque satire and everyday reality has been erased and will never exist again.” —Brett Easton Ellis
“An absolute howl ...wicked fun.” —New York Daily News
“One of the hoots of this fall.” —People
“Acidic entertainment.” —Entertainment Weekly
People
"...one of the hoots of this fall."
Review
“Savvy, very entertaining. Is there a funnier combination than fast-moving soap-opera and tawdry comedy? Underneath all the lunacy lies a grim truth: the thin line separating grotesque satire and everyday reality has been erased and will never exist again.” —Brett Easton Ellis
“An absolute howl ...wicked fun.” —New York Daily News
“One of the hoots of this fall.” —People
“Acidic entertainment.” —Entertainment Weekly
Book Description
Darkly funny and gleefully mean-spirited, Sellevision explores greed, obsession and third tier celebrity, in the world of a fictional home shopping network.
Welcome to the troubled world of Sellevision, America’s premier retail broadcasting network. When Max Andrews, the much-loved and handsome (lonely and gay) host of “Slumber Sunday Sundown” accidentally exposes himself in front of sixty million kids and their parents during a “Toys for Tots” segment, Sellevision faces its first big scandal. As Max fails to find a job in television, another host, the popular and perky Peggy Jean Smythe is receiving sinister emails about her appearance from a stalker. Popping pills and drinking heavily, she fails to notice that her husband is spending a lot of time with the very young babysitter who lives next door. Then there’s Leigh, whose affair with Sellevision boss Howard Toast is going nowhere, until she exposes him on air; and Bebe, Sellevision’s star host, who finds Mr. Right through the Internet— if she can just stop her shopping addiction from taking over.
About the Author
Augusten Burroughs is the author of Running with Scissors. He lives in New York City.
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