Misplaced Pages

The Savage Girl (novel)

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
2001 novel by Alex Shakar
This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Misplaced Pages. See Misplaced Pages's guide to writing better articles for suggestions. (October 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (February 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
(Learn how and when to remove this message)
The Savage Girl
AuthorAlex Shakar
LanguageEnglish
GenreFiction
PublisherHarperCollins
Publication dateSeptember 18, 2001
Publication placeUnited States
Pages288
ISBN0-06-620987-0

The Savage Girl is the first novel by American author Alex Shakar. It was published in 2001.

Plot summary

Main character Ursula Van Urden is introduced arriving in Middle City, a fictional American metropolis built around a volcano. She plans to care for her younger sister Ivy, a model who has recently suffered a much-publicized schizophrenic meltdown. After arriving in Middle City, Ursula begins working for Ivy's former boyfriend, Chas Lacouture, at the trendspotting firm Tomorrow, Ltd. She is trained as a trendspotter by both Chas and a new coworker, Javier Delreal.

Javier, a manic optimist, takes Ursula on rollerblading and party-crashing expeditions, predicting a new megatrend he calls the "Light Age," a "renaissance of self-creation," which he believes will coincide with the defeat of irony. By contrast, Chas, a cynical ex-philosophy professor, takes her to skulk in supermarkets and spy on customers, and introduces her to the concept of "paradessence," the "broken soul" at the center of every product, consisting of two opposing desires that it will promise to satisfy simultaneously.

As Ivy resumes her modeling activities, Ursula's trendspotting work focuses on a homeless girl who lives in a city park, makes her own clothing, and hunts pigeons for food. This eponymous "savage girl" forms the basis of a marketing campaign for a new product, "Diet Water," and serves as a harbinger for Chas and Javier alike, of the new age to come.

Characters

  • Ursula Van Urden – Protagonist
  • Ivy Van Urden – Ursula's younger sister, a schizophrenic fashion model
  • Chas Lacouture – Ursula's boss, a trendspotter
  • Javier Delreal – Ursula's coworker, a trendspotter
  • The Savage Girl – a homeless girl, the basis for Ursula's marketing campaign
  • Gwennan – Ursula's and Ivy's mother, a retired plastic surgeon
  • James T. Couch – Ursula's coworker, über-ironist and trendspotter
  • Ed Cabaj – head of marketing for General Foods' New Beverage division
  • Camille Stypnick – art director for the ad agency Mitchell and Chennault
  • Eeven – an inner-city boy for whom Javier becomes a Big Brother

References

  1. Alex Shakar, The Savage Girl, p. 24
  2. Alex Shakar, The Savage Girl, p. 60

Release details

External links

Categories: