Jay McInerney: Classic or Dud

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From the *other* brat pack. Bright Lights, Big City was about regaining humanity. Brightness Falls was about how depressing humanity is when you get down to it. Big press at the time, smacked by the backlash. Rilly, if you took out the coke, he was nothing at all like Ellis. What say you?

― Sterling Clover, Tuesday, 7 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Back when I was still reading new fiction, I 'did' 'Bright Lights, Big City' and also his third novel (can't remember what it's called - 'The Story of My Life'? - sort of 'Catcher In The Rye' updated w/a female protaganist blah blah). Easy to digest. McInerney an ex-New Yorker staffer, and his stuff seemed more in line with that witty, polished, urbane NY tradition than anything else (except with added coke, obv.) Quite funny sometimes, but never felt compelled to read 'em again, or anything else by him - longer, more 'serious' bks look pretty deadly. Comparisons w/Fitzgerald and 'voice of generation' hype v. foolish.

― Andrew L, Tuesday, 7 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I really liked Bright Lights, Big City. It's not a difficult book, really, despite the flirtations with weighty subject matter - I would put on a par with High Fidelity as a good read but hardly a masterwork. Anybody read Brightness Falls?

― Dave M., Tuesday, 7 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Bright Lights, Big City struck me as v. slight (10+ years ago; can't recall more than "v. slight" as impression). Story of My Life was improvement due to increased raucousness, its sex & drug "nihilism" not so far from Ellis's same. Brightness Falls, didn't think I'd like (being allegedly "serious" vs. shock friviolity of earlier wurks). But it wuz best: McInerney's writing technique, specifically descriptive capacity of emotion, much improved. Would recommend that & Story fersure. (Haven't read further; half stopped reading books when the wubblewibblewobble came along.)

― AP, Tuesday, 7 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Completely DUD. Search all of his books and destroy.

― nathalie (nathalie), Wednesday, 8 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Care to expand?

― Sterling Clover, Wednesday, 8 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

No. I always block out bad memories. Strange, no? I know I hated his books. They seem so devoid of any... emotion. So empty. I could not empathize at all with the characters. It's the same with Rushmore. I hated it. Then I realized it was probably because I couldn't understand what the main character was going through.

― nathalie (nathalie), Wednesday, 8 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Massively underrated, most of all Model Behaviour, which is very good indeed. No, really. And Brightness Falls. Last Of The Savages not much cop. The fact that he has become a full time wine writer mildly disconcerting...

― Mark Morris, Wednesday, 8 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Not enough of a writer to hold elisses spoon. His best work was in Daft Punks Homeless video.

― anthony, Thursday, 9 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

two years pass...

http://nymetro.com/images/news/03/12/100yearsofhotscenes/odeon.jpg

― felicity (felicity), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 21:21 (twenty-two years ago)

He would have been bigger if the eighties were the you decade.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 21:24 (twenty-two years ago)

Spencer, did you ever see this?

― felicity (felicity), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 21:25 (twenty-two years ago)

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