Vapor (novel)
Encyclopedia
Vapor is the second novel
by American writer Amanda Filipacchi
. It was translated into French, Italian, Dutch, Russian, and Polish.
The novel was praised for an energetic originality showcasing a “prodigious postfeminist talent.”
Author Alain de Botton
stated on its back cover: "Amanda Filipacchi has pulled off the rare feat of writing a novel which is at once great fun and extremely thought-provoking. She takes the Pygmalion myth and through a surreal twist, helps us to see the reality of human relationships with new, valuable clarity."
Author Dale Peck
wrote, "Vapor is the funniest damn book I've ever read."
, Ralph Fiennes
, Anjelica Huston
, and Aaron Eckhart
was cancelled at the last minute by Warner Bros., even as some media reports were stating that filming on the production had begun. Neil LaBute
, who had written the screenplay and was about to direct, was subsequently profiled in New York magazine which described Vapor’s axing as the director’s “first truly bitter experience in film.”
At the Irish Film and Television Awards, Ralph Fiennes said of Vapor: “It's a quirky dark love story—surreal, fantastic!"
"Wildly imaginative and intelligent, Vapor is as good as any long-awaited second novel can get."—Time Out New York
"Mercilessly witty and outrageous... [Filipacchi's Vapor] showcases a prodigious postfeminist talent. Her energetic originality never falters and her unforgiving eye for the fluidity of human weakness never blinks."—Publishers Weekly
"Original and beguiling."—Kirkus Reviews
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by American writer Amanda Filipacchi
Amanda Filipacchi
Amanda Filipacchi is an American writer best known for her humorous, inventive, and controversial novels.Her fiction has been translated into 13 languages and has received critical acclaim in the U.S. and around the world.-Writing career:...
. It was translated into French, Italian, Dutch, Russian, and Polish.
The novel was praised for an energetic originality showcasing a “prodigious postfeminist talent.”
Author Alain de Botton
Alain de Botton
Alain de Botton is a Swiss writer, television presenter, and entrepreneur, resident in the UK.His books and television programs discuss various contemporary subjects and themes in a philosophical style, emphasizing philosophy's relevance to everyday life. In August 2008, he was a founding member...
stated on its back cover: "Amanda Filipacchi has pulled off the rare feat of writing a novel which is at once great fun and extremely thought-provoking. She takes the Pygmalion myth and through a surreal twist, helps us to see the reality of human relationships with new, valuable clarity."
Author Dale Peck
Dale Peck
Dale Peck is an American novelist, critic, and columnist. His 2009 novel, Sprout, won the Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Children's/Young Adult literature, and was a finalist for the Stonewall Book Award in the Children's and Young Adult Literature category.-Biography:Peck was raised in Kansas,...
wrote, "Vapor is the funniest damn book I've ever read."
Plot summary
Vapor is the story of Anna Graham, an aspiring actress who one night saves the life of a stranger being attacked in the subway. The stranger, Damon Wetly, an unconventional scientist, decides that he will repay Anna’s selfless act by making her dream of becoming a great actress come true. In a twisted reworking of the Pygmalion myth, Damon abducts Anna, imprisons her in a house filled with experimental clouds, and spends months putting her through a grueling training regimen which allows her acting skills to reach unprecedented heights and Anna to achieve her Hollywood ambitions.Film
A planned Warner Bros. movie adaptation of Vapor starring Sandra BullockSandra Bullock
Sandra Annette Bullock is an Academy Award winning American actress and producer who rose to fame in the 1990s after roles in successful films such as Demolition Man, Speed, The Net, A Time to Kill, and While You Were Sleeping. She continued with films such as Miss Congeniality, The Lake House,...
, Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes is an English actor and film director. He has appeared in such films as The English Patient, In Bruges, The Constant Gardener, Strange Days, The Duchess and Schindler's List....
, Anjelica Huston
Anjelica Huston
Anjelica Huston is an American actress. Huston became the third generation of her family to win an Academy Award, for her performance in 1985's Prizzi's Honor, joining her father, director John Huston, and grandfather, actor Walter Huston. She later was nominated in 1989 and 1990 for her acting in...
, and Aaron Eckhart
Aaron Eckhart
Aaron Edward Eckhart is an American film and stage actor. Born in California, he moved to England at the age of 13, when his father relocated the family. Several years later, he began his acting career by performing in school plays, before moving to Sydney, Australia, for his high school senior year...
was cancelled at the last minute by Warner Bros., even as some media reports were stating that filming on the production had begun. Neil LaBute
Neil LaBute
Neil N. LaBute is an American film director, screenwriter and playwright.-Early life:LaBute was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Marian, a hospital receptionist, and Richard LaBute, a long-haul truck driver. LaBute is of French Canadian, English and Irish ancestry, and was raised in Spokane,...
, who had written the screenplay and was about to direct, was subsequently profiled in New York magazine which described Vapor’s axing as the director’s “first truly bitter experience in film.”
At the Irish Film and Television Awards, Ralph Fiennes said of Vapor: “It's a quirky dark love story—surreal, fantastic!"
Reviews
"Rewardingly escapist."—Time"Wildly imaginative and intelligent, Vapor is as good as any long-awaited second novel can get."—Time Out New York
"Mercilessly witty and outrageous... [Filipacchi's Vapor] showcases a prodigious postfeminist talent. Her energetic originality never falters and her unforgiving eye for the fluidity of human weakness never blinks."—Publishers Weekly
"Original and beguiling."—Kirkus Reviews