Ilhem and Elizabetta are joining forces for this review on “Glitterland” by Alexis Hall. The blurb pulled us and that title and cover... intriguing. Hall is an emerging author with a strong, compelling voice. Glitterland... what’s it all about? We have two very different characters, Ash, a serious writer with bipolar disorder, and Darian, a glitzy fashion model from Essex. That these two come from very disparate backgrounds is an understatement. The story is from Ash's POV and this guy requires patience, He's gray-- just like his name: clinically depressed, in a writer’s slump, an attempted suicide in his past. Then, one night at a stag party... enter Darian, silver epaulettes, silver nail polish, hair slicked up in a fierce pompadour. Glitter-boy. He catches Darian's eye, how could he not? But is he more than meets the eye?Elizabetta: Hey Ilhem... I think he’s more than that guy on the cover-- he's a sweet, sunny, sparkle-boy! Ash’s exact opposite, in fact! What did you think about these guys? Did you like them? What did the title say to you?Ilhem: When I first read the title, I thought of an otherworld where everything would be shiny, sparkling and flashing. Like Darian's smile and a photo flash, or the silver reflection of a blade, now that I've read the book. I thought of superficiality too, because, really, glitter! I was expecting a rom com, I guess, a good old feel-good story. In this regard, the beginning was an amazing shock!Ebetta: Yes! It was so much more, wasn’t it? Darian, the glitter-pirate, as Ash calls him, ‘sticks’ to Ash in a way, like glitter on skin. He may seem superficial at first, but Ash finds otherwise...Ilhem : Oooh, clever! I had absolutely not caught on to the sticky glitter! Um...Sorry...Go on, please...Ebetta : …you mentioned a silver blade... the author is clever with all these metaphors-- knives show up a lot for Ash... he used one in his (pre-story) suicide attempt. He is numb, and he needs Darian's light... Here's another one for Ash:"...the truth lay somewhere between, a thin grey line, slender as the edge of a knife.”Before Darian, Ash tries to find his truth in a knife blade. With Darian, he is dazzled by his beauty. But he's not always nice to him, is he?...Ilhem: Let's get this straight, I do not like Ash. I've been in his head for the entire book, followed his every thought, understood his pain and my heart went out to him, but I don't like him. The author portrayed someone not only consumed by his disorder, but being his disorder, and he also made him interact in a way so that we can see the bipolarity, and then, there is Ash. His actions reveal an obnoxious, conceited and disloyal peacock. That’s not all what he is, but I was mad at him, okay! I didn't like him and I didn’t need to, but I have hope for him. I like Darian, his probably hard-won ability to be happy, his position that bipolarity just is. He is ridiculous and ridiculized. He’s beautiful (under the orange) and has a gift for life. I think that the author played with appearances and superficiality when he portrayed them. He gave us something enormous to see and latch on to, and he made them show against their knowledge who they are.I’m curious to see if people will take sides and for whom! What’s your final verdict?please read part II chez Elizabetta
