- Paperback: 298 pages
- Publisher: Pocket Books; New edition edition (5 May 1997)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0671855670
- ISBN-13: 978-0671855673
- Product Dimensions: 17.6 x 11 x 2.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 728,432 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Douglas Adams
‘One of the most brilliantly sustained and focused pieces of satire I’ve ever read’
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
The Sunday Times
‘Killer prose…a viciously funny satire that also works as a tongue-in-cheek thriller’
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
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.
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
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.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is one of the most balanced books I have ever read. Not only does Popcorn have a genuinely fixating plot with a brilliant storyline, it also has some fantastic humor with dry sarcasm in some places and blatant comedy in others. But the book's by far most impressive aspect is its social commentary. Elton casts an eye over the daytime chat show media and reproduces it in a totally believably, yet intrinsically funny, way.
Of course, however, the most important aspect is the aspect on the 'film violence' debate. Elton presents the views of Bruce Delamitri in such a way that even the most hardened antagonist of violent imagery would surely be drawn about to his views. The minds of two killers are concisely portrayed to the point that their plight, and solution to it, is completely reasonable. This book, then, is a true masterpiece of readability and debate.
Of course, however, the most important aspect is the aspect on the 'film violence' debate. Elton presents the views of Bruce Delamitri in such a way that even the most hardened antagonist of violent imagery would surely be drawn about to his views. The minds of two killers are concisely portrayed to the point that their plight, and solution to it, is completely reasonable. This book, then, is a true masterpiece of readability and debate.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Good black comedy from Mr Elton
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. Read more
Published 2 months ago by H. Kaye
"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 15 months ago by book fan
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 21 months ago by Mr. Gh Pooles
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
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
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
Utterly absorbing
Couldn't put this down. Not his best novel but short enough to be read in a day or two, and very absorbing. The plot is full of the twists and turns that Elton fans know and love. Read more
Published on 7 Aug 2009 by Little Me
Overstretching credibility
Having read 'High Society', thought I'd try another Ben Elton book.
By comparison to 'High Society' (which I thoroughly enjoyed), I found 'Popcorn' one-dimensional and... Read more
By comparison to 'High Society' (which I thoroughly enjoyed), I found 'Popcorn' one-dimensional and... Read more
Published on 21 May 2009 by nielsrey
Out Tarantino's Tarantino with a higher body count than Rambo
As always with Elton there is a little bit of politics. This is a novel about white trash acting out the movie of a Tarantino like director called Bruce Delamitri. Read more
Published on 10 Jan 2009 by Andrew Dalby
A book you really can't put down
I went out in my lunch break to buy something to read on the train that evening and from when I started the daily commute to 3am I didn't put it down once. Read more
Published on 5 Nov 2005 by Craig Swatton
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