The good life, a social commentary set twentytwo years later, skillfully weaves a love story into a tale that comments on and discusses presentday people and society. A sequel to his 1992 novel, brightness falls, it takes place immediately before, during, and after the events of september 11, 2001. Buy a cheap copy of story of my life book by jay mcinerney. At his best, jay mcinerney is a scathing portraitist of urban life. Hailed bynewsweekas a superb and humane social critic with, according tothe wall street journal,all the true instincts of a major novelist, jay mcinerney unveils a story of love, family, conflicting desires, and catastrophic loss in his most powerfully searing work thus far. But on a september morning, brightness falls horribly from the sky, and people. Read the good life by jay mcinerney available from rakuten kobo.
In this bestselling novel, the author of bright lights, big city unveils a story of love, family, conflicting desires, a. Clinging to a semiprecarious existence in tribeca, corrine and russell calloway have survived a separation and are wonderstruck by young twins whose provenance is nothing less than miraculous. Buy the good life by jay mcinerney 9781408876961 from boomerang books, australias online independent bookstore. With bright, precious days, jay mcinerney brings his. The good life is mcinerneys most fully imagined novel as it is his most ambitious and elegiac. His latest book, the good life, is, in my opinion, his best book since bright lights, big city. It also captures the atmosphere of new york following the attacks, describing the sidewalk picture galleries and the firefighters working at ground zero. The good life book central rappahannock regional library. Time cited jay mcinerney s bestselling debut, bright lights, big city as one of nine generationdefining novels of the 20th century. Jay mcinerney is the author of bright lights, big city, ransom, story of my life, brightness. Jay mcinerney is the author of bright lights, big city, ransom, story of my life, brightness falls, the last of the savages, model behaviour, how it ended and the good life. I was invested in understanding how their future played out. Mar 11, 2006 the good life by jay mcinerney 354pp, bloomsbury.
The characters created in the original novel were very human and lived lives i readily understood. Clinging to a semiprecarious existence in tribeca, corrine and russell calloway have survived a separation and are wonderstruck by young twins whos. Sep 28, 2016 if youre a fan of jay mcinerneys series of novels which began with brightness falls way back in 1992, you wont need to be told who the calloways are nor will you need to have explained to you why i was thrilled at the prospect of a new one despite my disappointment with the good life which picked up russell and corrines story around the time of 911. Author of bright lights, big city, the good life, story of my life, ransom, a hedonist in the cellar, last of the savages, brightness falls, model behavior jay mcinerney open library donate. Clinging to a semiprecarious existence in tribeca, corrine and russell calloway. As i waded through the first chapters i wasnt sure why i was reading it at all. Jay mcinerney s 1984 novel, bright lights, big city, earned him immense acclaim for its biting social satire.
Jay mcinerney came to prominence in 1984 with his first novel bright lights, big city. Of all american metropolises, new york has become one of the most interesting and representative cities for writers, some of whom, after the 911 terrorist attacks, have tried to reflect in their fiction the consequences of this traumatic event. I would contend that this is a much better book than brightness falls. Essential new york novels jay mcinerney on five books. In the good life, jay mcinerney unveils a story of love, family, con. He edited the penguin book of new american voices, wrote the screenplay for the 1988.
His novels include bright lights, big city, ransom, story of my life, brightness falls, and the last of the savages. The author of bright lights, big city, jay mcinerney, tells us what changed after 911 and which books best capture the ambition, romance and creativity of new york. Anyhoo the good news is that part one was mercifully short and the novel got much better as it went along. He edited the penguin book of new american voices, wrote the screenplay for the 1988 film adaptation of bright lights, big city.
Mcinerney has always been recognized for the felicity of his prose, and for the most part the good life is his bestwritten novel, although there are passages tinctured with bodiceripping purple. In bright, precious days, jay mcinerney reprises the couple we met in brightness falls 1992 and caught up with again in the good life 2006. On a september morning, brightness falls from the sky, and people worlds apart. The events of september 11 made him want to tell corinne he had had an affair. The good life, by jay mcinerney the new york times. Jay mcinerney audio books, best sellers, author bio. In 1984 the author hit the bestseller lists with his debut novel bright lights, big city. Television and history books have claimed the dry facts and the archival images of 11 september. Jay mcinerneys new novel, bright, precious days, is the third volume in. The good life, a social commentary set twentytwo years later, skillfully weaves a love story into a tale that comments on and discusses presentday people and.
Mar 29, 2006 im not sure why i like reading jay mcinerney. The good life is about a group of privileged new yorkers who are led to reassess their livesand become in many ways better peoplein the wake of the 911 attacks. The good life105302 is a much more nuanced and sensitive portrait of adult desire, love, and the various kinds of intimacy we taste as we age. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the good life. The good life provides horrific descriptions of the events of september 11 itself, particularly about the people who jumped from the world trade center.
Last september, jay mcinerney wrote a curious essay for the british newspaper the guardian. A famous drawing of by saul steinberg shows a view of the world from 9th avenue, the foreshortened perspective of the new yorker for whom. Adventures in the wine cellar by jay mcinerney and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Jay mcinerney, the acclaimed author of bright lights, big city and brightness falls brings his acute eye on the upper class to this story of two families who have their lives turned upside down by the events of september 11, 2001. It tells the story of two manhattan couples around the days of the events of september 11th. The good life explores through the lens of catastrophe that territory between hope and despair, love and loss, regret and fulfilment. In 2006, time cited his 1984 debut, bright lights, big city, as one of nine generationdefining novels of the twentieth century. The good life by jay mcinerney, 9780375725456, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Mar 04, 2006 the good life by jay mcinerney bloomsbury. He chooses his list of essential new york novels interview by eve gerber.
With the good life, jay mcinerney has drawn that future in a compelling and poignant way. The good life by jay mcinerney overview in this bestselling novel, the author of bright lights, big city unveils a story of love, family, conflicting desires, and catastrophic loss in a powerfully searing work of fiction. Jay mcinerneys new novel seems from the outside to be composed of the most disheartening elements. The good life king county library system overdrive. The good life book pima county public library bibliocommons. Jay mcinerney books list of books by author jay mcinerney. We use cookies to give you the best possible experience. Luke has been helping to dig bodies out when he meets. Jay mcinerneys the good life joins the body of fiction grappling with the events of september 11, 2001, and the various landscapes literal, personal, political forever altered by that day.
Originally published by atlantic monthly press in 1988, and now reissued by grove press, the story of my life by jay mcinerney is a hilarious, sobering portrait of 1980s new york city featuring twentysomething actress alison poole and her coterie of clubhopping, cokeaddicted friends. The good life jefferson county public library overdrive. This is a solid followup to one of my alltime favorite books, brightness falls. Jay mcinerney chronicles the lives of diverse charactersincluding luke mcgavock, a man searching for a sense of purpose in life. With bright, precious days, jay mcinerney brings his yuppie. Someday a writer will produce a fine novel about the way the terrorist attacks of sept. Mcinerney bright lights, big city focuses his attention largely on corinne calloway and luke mcgavock, two strangers who have an otherworldly encounter in the early hours of september 12, then meet again. On 12th september, 2001 luke and corrine meet and start volunteering at a soup kitchen to.
Mcinerney first came to notice in 1984 with bright lights, big city, a novel about the cocaineaddled manhattan of the 80s. The good life is a 2006 novel written by jay mcinerney. His previous novels, one about the cokefilled club scene of the early 80s, for example, and another about the postboom stock market minicrash, seem almost trivial next to the loaded setting of the good life. Ransom, story of my life, brightness falls, the last of the savages, model behaviour and the good life, two short story. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
The novel follows a young man, living in manhattan as if he owned it, through nightclubs, fashion shows, editorial offices, and loft parties as he attempts to outstrip mortality and the recurring approach of dawn. Chronicles the lives of diverse charactersincluding luke mcgavock, a man searching for a sense of purpose in life. Jay mcinerney s the good life if push comes to shove, i would have to say that jay mcinerney is one of my favourite living authors though his books tend to creep up on me a few years after theyve come out perhaps a legacy of that early fame with bright lights, big city. But ultimately this is jay mcinerney doing what he does best, presenting us with the life of new york city in all its moral complexity. In the good life, jay mcinerney unveils a story of love, family, conflicting desires, and catastrophic loss in his most powerfully searing work thus far. A conversation with jay mcinerneywhat is the good life about for you. Its his third book about russell and corrine calloway, the new york couple that makes their friends believe a. Browse jay mcinerneys bestselling audiobooks and newest titles. The first draft of the good life was sprawling and unfocused, so he kept working, through two more.
The schmoozing that goes on in the early chapters of this book was so self indulgent i dont know if there is anything that i enjoy less than that kind of industry centered writing it has been done to death. Stream and download audiobooks to your computer, tablet or mobile phone. Its too small a book, concerned with too narrow a stratum of characters. In favour of very many scathing and scandalous descriptions of excess, book. I mean come on, can you really say that the stock market crash of the eighties was just as bad as 911 1 person found this helpful. Clinging to a semiprecarious existence in tribeca, corrine and russell calloway have.
But on a september morning, brightness falls horribly from the sky, and people worlds apart suddenly find themselves working side by side at the devastated site. With bright, precious days, jay mcinerney brings his yuppie trilogy. In this bestselling novel, the author of bright lights, big city unveils a story of love. Clinging to a semiprecarious existence in tribeca, corrine and russell calloway have survived a separation and are wonderstruck by young twins whose provenance is nothing less than miraculous several miles uptown and perched near the top of. The attack of 11 september itself is left to our memory, appropriately realizing that the images from television were scorched into consciousness, and no author. Its a sweltering day in august, and the author has just returned from his home in bridgehampton to find that the airconditioning in his greenwich village penthouse is bro. A book about a bunch a self obsessed rich new yorkers who keep lameting that the good life has come to an end right around the time 911 happened. A books editor in manhattan, russell gets involved in a dodgy. Aug 04, 2016 jay mcinerneys new novel, bright, precious days, is bright and precious. Story of my life book by jay mcinerney thriftbooks. Sunday, april 12, 2009 how it ended new and collected stories. But, ultimately, this is jay mcinerney doing what he does best, presenting us with the life of new york city in all its moral complexity.
The good life is undoubtedly one of mcinerney s finest novels, yet it seems unlikely to be remembered as the definitive response to the events of 11 september. Apr 24, 2007 this is a solid followup to one of my alltime favorite books, brightness falls. Jay mcinerney s the good life joins the body of fiction grappling with the events of september 11, 2001, and the various landscapes literal, personal, political forever altered by that day. The good life, by jay mcinerney the new york times book. It is in this wellbalanced, intrinsically human portrayal that mcinerney succeeds with the good life. Last september, jay mcinerney wrote a curious essay for the british. Published originally as part of the american vintage contemporaries series, jay mcinerneys high octane novel is written from the point of view of a young woman, specifically 21year old alison poole, a rich, gorgeous aspiring actress living the cocainefueled revvedup life in 1980s manhattan, a gal who tells her friends how after meeting and spending a night in bed with dean, her new boyfriend, she is totally in lust. Then mcinerney skips to 12 september, with the ruins of the twin towers still burning. Jay mcinerney s the good life is not that novel mcinerney first came to. Hailed by newsweek as a superb and humane social critic with, according to the wall street journal, all the true instincts of a major novelist, jay mcinerney unveils a story of love, family, conflicting desires, and catastrophic loss in his most powerfully searing work thus far.
Mcinerney is good on details the internet trade in gasmasks that followed the disaster. With the publication of bright lights, big city in 1984, jay mcinerney became a literary sensation, heralded as the voice of a generation. Hes a moderately popular novelist with a shallow intellectual range and a levelheaded narrative tone, and yet i felt inexplicably excited to read his new the good life, which is about two married manhattan couples before and after september 11, 2001. The good life npr coverage of the good life by jay mcinerney. Uncorrected proof copy edition october 24, 2006, 272pp. External links edit the good life on lower manhattan project, a french canadian site dedicated to 911 culture.
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