This has to be a work of non fiction...
Having worked at a 'Sellevision'-esq place, although I won't get into specifics, I was rolling on the floor- laughing while reading this. It was so much like the real thing, it amazed me. I'm a HUGE Burroughs fan and wasn't too sure if a novel would be a good read by him, but I was wrong. Being able to relate to the subject made Sellevision a million times more enjoyable, and I can see how many readers weren't big fans. Being able to connect made it easier to visualize the situations and characters. If you work for/worked for QVC, HSN or any of the other 20 or so shopping channels, you MUST read Sellevision!
Another Great Showing From Burroughs
Sellevision was recommended to me by a friend, who suggested the book because I love the writing of Max Barry (of Company and Syrup fame). It turned out to be a great match.
Sellevision is a hilarious book -- simultaneously dark humored and lighthearted. It follows the lives of four hosts on the Sellevision network, a home shopping network. It might sound a little boring, but in the course of a year there is incest, genitals on live television, a nervous breakdown, a dead rat, and copious amounts of alcohol.
Good first try
I didn't know that Augusten Burroughs had written a novel, so when he mentioned in his memoir Possible Side Effects that his first novel Sellevision is about a host of a home shopping channel whose penis slipped out while on the air, I knew that I'd be reading it.
Burroughs is the author of four best selling memoirs, the most famous being Running With Scissors, which has also been made into a movie. According to Burroughs's official website, Sellevision is in production to be made into a movie as well, and is scheduled to begin shooting in November of 2008. In his memoirs Burroughs has running themes, the main ones being: his weird family upbringing, his battle with alcoholism, and his relationship status as a gay man.
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Terrible
This is the first book I've read by Augusten Burroughs and honestly, I can't believe I read it through the end. The plot is formulaic and implausible and the characters are one-dimensional. Now, I understand that Sellevision is "comedy" and because of that, doesn't have the same conventions of a regular novel. But unfortunately, the humor smacks of lazy writing and lack of imagination. In short, it's just plain bad, bad, bad.
The only people I imagine finding this funny are people who think Jay Leno's monologues are a hoot. If you appreciate good comedy, pass by this one and thank me later.
Would have made a better script
I like this author, and the book has a great premise. Unfortunately, I don't think the author cared enough about them to ever bring them to life. The situations in Sellevision are quite hilarious -- and they would work really well as a popcorn movie. It's just not a book.
