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Beemer: A Novel
 
 
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Beemer: A Novel [Hardcover]

Glenn Gaslin (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)


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Book Description

July 1, 2003
"Sharp and entertaining . . . Beemer™ is a blisteringly funny satire on the acquisitive self, a welcome detour out of the mounting rubble of Terminators, Hulks and Living Histories into the dark heart of the American dream."—Chris Lehmann, Washington Post

"Gaslin’s scorching satire of consumerism hits like a mallet to the funny bone . . . A jolt of pure wicked fun."––Boston Herald

"Beemer™ is the genuine article; a novel of ideas and comedy . . . what you’d get if Thomas Pynchon and Mark Leyner had somehow been joined at the head." —St. Petersburg Times

"Giddy, gaudy, inventive, slapdash satire. Loads of fun, often over-the-top, yet in its way as simple and earnest as On the Road."—Kirkus Reviews (starred)

"Gaslin is officially pledging the fraternity of J.G. Ballard and Chuck Palahniuk, and he’s certainly earning his letters . . . A blitzkrieg of sharp, unpredictable consumer satire."––Seattle Weekly

At twenty-five, living (and working) in your Honda Civic may seem like a dead end. But Beemer Minutia intends to make it very big very fast, turning his name into a cash magnet––a trademark splashed across billboards around the globe: Beemer™.

His four-wheeled home is parked in Orange County, Calif., where the constant sun casts an "exclusive preview" glow on the strange mallscape rising out of the desert around him. The taco stands look like food courts, the gas stations look like movie theaters, and the movie theaters look like small cities whose streets are paved with golden possibilities. "Goddammit," Beemer cries, "I feel sorry for anyone who doesn’t live in a America."

Glenn Gaslin has worked in fast food and newspapers. This is his first novel. His journalism has appeared in Slate, Entertainment Weekly and the Los Angeles Times. He lives in Southern California (where else?).


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Beemer Minutia, a 25-year-old Southern California drifter, has already lived in 15 different cities at the start of this breezy debut novel, a paean to consumerism. Currently, Beemer lives out of his Honda Civic, sustaining himself with makeshift meals from the 7-Eleven, and moves from strip mall to parking lot in search of his big break. Reared in the '80s by two detached parents ("Reagan watched over us, and Atari kept us busy"), he entertains visions of his name mass-marketed on everything from "motion pictures to action figures." His more immediate, practical future, however, involves a decision to move in with his feisty, power-obsessed girlfriend, Paulina ("Paul") and her family in "Regularland." Beemer scores entry-level work at an advertising firm, and his creativity is rewarded with a promotion to more high-profile assignments on another floor of the building (accessed via an otherworldly porthole in the men's room). Random explosions mark the first in a series of random anti-consumerist attacks, and Paul flees the drama to tour with Eunuch Town, the boy band she manages, leaving our dejected hero alone at the mercy of Paul's Uzi-toting mother and computer-whiz brother. Is there any hope for L.A.'s laziest slacker? Worldwide success for Eunuch Town and a surrealistic long-term project for Beemer seem to point toward pseudohappiness. Gaslin's story meanders along at a comfortable clip, though the plot has a tendency to detour into chatty psychobabble. A behind-the-scenes sequence at a fast food restaurant and Beemer's unique marketing campaign for "Death" are both clever and insightful, demonstrating Gaslin's potential for greater things. But like Beemer's sugary soda habit, this novel's empty calories supply a modest rush but little else. Coupland does it better.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

An affectionately lethal sendup of Orange County suburbia . . . sharply observed. -- The Orange County Register, June 15, 2003

Sharp and entertaining . . . Beemer is a blisteringly funny satire on the acquisitive self. -- Chris Lehmann, Washington Post, July 22, 2003

Slapdash satire. Loads of fun, often over-the-top, yet in its way as simple and earnest as On the Road. -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review, June 1, 2003

The future is scary . . . at least a good imagination like Gaslin's can add some humor. -- Rocky Mountain News, July 2, 2003

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Soho Press; First edition. edition (July 1, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1569473293
  • ISBN-13: 978-1569473290
  • Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,951,581 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews
5 star:
 (9)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The real, super-size deal, July 11, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: Beemer: A Novel (Hardcover)
The word "Pynchonian" gets tossed around a lot when it comes to literary phenoms these days, but BEEMER (TM) is the real thing. This novel is an answer to where you go when you reach the end of the road, what you do when irony fails you and all the old modes of dealing are suspect. The language is fluent and stark at the same time, bringing a new life to what most writers treat as background noise.
And it's funny. Because, God knows, in a world like this, we need a few laughs...
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars 261 pages of Americana, June 25, 2003
By 
Kevin F. Sherry (Ventura, CA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Beemer: A Novel (Hardcover)
This is a fun read. Newbie author Glenn Gaslin takes loving aim at the wonders of America, while poking fun at absurd cultural institutions like monster SUVs, militant gated communities, ... boy bands, giant convenience-store beverages and the emerging, soon-to-be-dominating power of the next generation.

The story centers around Beemer Minutia, a young man alternately living and hunting for the American Dream. All he wants to do is drive and discover, but he's willing to settle down for love. As long as it's in the biggest, most extreme housing development ever.

For the record, my favorite lines are:
"Ask him what kind of name's that: Beemer."
"Hey, what kind of name's that?"
"German."

The story if fun and the cover is pretty. Buy it. You'll like it. If not, the cover is still pretty.

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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars This CAN happen, July 28, 2003
By 
This review is from: Beemer: A Novel (Hardcover)
A cautionary tale, told in the form of a heavily-exaggerated satire, that, after looking around middle America for a while, seems none so exaggerated. These people are real. This absolutely CAN and HAS happened.

Funny enough to depress. Real enough to induce laughter. Far out enough to be real.

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