First published 1990
In a world where authenticity has become another commodity to be packaged and sold, the characters in Norman's novel navigate the treacherous landscape of modern media culture. The protagonist finds themselves caught between genuine expression and the demands of an industry that transforms everything into pastiche. As traditional boundaries between high and low culture collapse, they must decide whether to embrace the carnival of imitation or fight for something real. The story examines how parody has evolved from gentle ribbing into the dominant mode of cultural discourse, leaving its characters struggling to find solid ground in a hall of mirrors. At its heart, this is a story about the human need for meaning in an age that has learned to mock everything, including itself.
Genres: satire, literary-fiction, contemporary, 21st-century
Vibes: meta-fictional, satirical, thought-provoking
Tropes: commentary-on-genre, unreliable-narrator
Period: 21st-Century
256 pages · Hardcover · Hamish Hamilton