Bruce shoots movies. Wayne and Scout shoot to kill. In a single night they find out the hard way what's real and what's not, who's the hero and who's the villain. The USA watches slack-jawed as Bruce and Wayne together resolve some serious questions. Does Bruce use erection cream? Does art imitate life or does life simply imitate bad art? And most of all, does sugar-pie really love his honeybun?
Popcorn
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Review
Serious, morally complex, structurally rich and bitterly funny (Independent on Sunday )
Fierce, garish and frighteningly funny (Spectator )
An absolute coup of black comedy (Daily Telegraph )
One of the most brilliantly sustained and focused pieces of satire I've ever read (Douglas Adams )
Killer prose...a viciously funny satire that also works as a tongue-in-cheek thriller (The Sunday Times )
Fierce, garish and frighteningly funny (Spectator )
An absolute coup of black comedy (Daily Telegraph )
One of the most brilliantly sustained and focused pieces of satire I've ever read (Douglas Adams )
Killer prose...a viciously funny satire that also works as a tongue-in-cheek thriller (The Sunday Times )
Book Description
The No.1 bestselling, topical, award-winning, high-octane thriller.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
The story concerns a hot-shot film director, famed for his violent movies, who finds himself taken hostage in his own home by a young 'trailer-trash' couple who have been travelling around America killing for fun.
The book opens up the debate of how acceptable violence (especially gratuitous violence) is in films, when, in reality it's not that entertaining, especially when it's happening to you.
I was quite shocked at the brutality in the book but it is saturated with irony and is laced with Ben Elton's observant humour.
Be warned though: the ending is grim and if you like nice tidy conclusions then this may not be the book for you. However, if you're after something thought-provoking and enjoy being unnerved by an uncomfortable combination of humour and violence, give it a go.
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
By Mr. D. Clark
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
If your experience of Ben Elton the novelist is through "Past Mortem", "Dead Famous", "Inconceivable " and others, you may be forgiven for thinking that he is a very British novelist, concerned with british themes, concerns, and media phenomena. "Popcorn" blows that idea out of the water. Its set exclusively in the USA, mostly in Hollywood, and its sharp, streetwise, shocking and funny.
I tend to think of Ben Elton as an issue-concerned novelist , and the issue at the heart of "Popcorn" is gratuitous violence in films, and whether it breeds violent behaviour in the audience for such films. The main character, Bruce Delamitri, is the director of a film called "Ordinary Americans" who seems a certainty for the oscar for best director. The events unfold throughout the day of the actual Oscar presentation, and the hours following it.
I took longer to get into "Popcorn" than into his other whodunits - "Past Mortem" and "Dead Famous". This isn't because its not as good - in some ways its better - but because it's a very different novel to the other two. Predictably, Elton depicts a Hollywood full of neurotic, shallow, self obsessed people whom nobody would ever want to pass the time of day with if they were not famous. Yet the world and the characters which he depicts are compelling not in spite of their awfulness, but because of it. The pace of the narrative accelerates to a remarkable climax, remarkable in as much as you continue reading even though you don't really care what happens to any of the protagonists. Except possibly the murderers.
One thing you can't help doing is matching up the fictional celebrities to their real life counterparts. If I was, lets say, Quentin Tarantino, I'd be pretty angry with this book, and I'd love to know what his reaction was to it.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By H. Kaye
Format:Paperback
Never been a big fan of Ben Elton as a stand-up comedian, but I do rate him as a writer and Popcorn is a very good read. I would think that Quentin Tarantino and his films are the inspiration behind Popcorn with its explicit and extreme theme of violence.
The book centres around Bruce, a film director renown for making violent (Tarantino type) movies, who is taken hostage by a Wayne and Scout - a couple who kill for kicks.
Popcorn is rightfully described as a 'high-octane thriller', but although it is set in the USA, it does have a very English feel about it and that's what I really like about this book: It's a very British dark comedy/crime novel and on par with two of my other favourite novels in this genre Not the End of the World by Christopher Brookmyre and the hysterical The Dealer by Tony Royden.
If you are new to the literary works of Ben Elton, I would definitely give Popcorn a read, you will be pleasantly surprised.
The book centres around Bruce, a film director renown for making violent (Tarantino type) movies, who is taken hostage by a Wayne and Scout - a couple who kill for kicks.
Popcorn is rightfully described as a 'high-octane thriller', but although it is set in the USA, it does have a very English feel about it and that's what I really like about this book: It's a very British dark comedy/crime novel and on par with two of my other favourite novels in this genre Not the End of the World by Christopher Brookmyre and the hysterical The Dealer by Tony Royden.
If you are new to the literary works of Ben Elton, I would definitely give Popcorn a read, you will be pleasantly surprised.
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3.7 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant
This is the third ben Elton book I've read and so far the best, very easy to read and i couldn't put it down, couldn't recommend it highly enough.
Published 3 months ago by B. Kermode
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic
This book, for me, is Ben Elton's best. Not for the faint of heart as ruthless killing is involved, but a greatly gripping, tense,and witty read. Read more
Published 4 months ago by SeanHickman
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good book
Bought as a Christmas gift - Ben Elton's always a good bet. No idea if they actually read it or not though
Published 4 months ago by Gavin Dytham
5.0 out of 5 stars
Popcorn - a real pageturner!
I thought it was hilarious,(I love dark humour and satire) but at the same time it said something serious and true about the times we live in (also here in Norway). Read more
Published 5 months ago by Lisbeth Wigdahl
5.0 out of 5 stars
easy, funny, gripping
With Ben Elton's satirical outlook on life you will find this book amusing but also a sence of realism in the point he is trying to make. Read more
Published 11 months ago by campbellblade
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Pop Corn"
What joy! Crack the spine on Ben Eltons' novel "Pop Corn" and settle back for a good old laugh fest. Read more
Published on 13 Feb 2011 by book fan
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very interesting read
I thought this book was very interesting, and the story line was fascinating. Towards the end of the book, I couldn't put it down and it made me laugh as well as nearly throw up! Read more
Published on 7 Sep 2010 by Mr. Gh Pooles
4.0 out of 5 stars
Look past the image
This is provocative and combative but is not the rant that many people familiar with Mr Elton in his early career may have expected. Read more
Published on 10 April 2010 by Officer Dibble
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wow!
This is an incredibly clever book. I have read quite a couple of Ben Elton books already and this one has exceeded my expectations. Read more
Published on 6 Nov 2009 by Mr. J. Richards
4.0 out of 5 stars
excellent comic thriller
Ben Elton is on top form in 'Popcorn'. This is the type of story he does best: a short, punchy, exciting, funny thriller. Read more
Published on 16 Aug 2009 by H. Seymour
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