The good life, the authors 911 novel, takes its place alongside bright lights, big city and brightness falls as mcinerneys best work. The good life explores through the lens of catastrophe that territory between hope and despair, love and loss, regret and fulfilment. 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. The good life is mcinerneys most fully imagined novel as it is his most ambitious and elegiac. Time cited jay mcinerneys bestselling debut, bright lights, big city as one of nine generationdefining novels of the 20th century.
Meeting the main characters, after so many years, is a real treat. Jay mcinerney s 1984 novel, bright lights, big city, earned him immense acclaim for its biting social satire. Last september, jay mcinerney wrote a curious essay for the british newspaper the guardian. He edited the penguin book of new american voices, wrote the. If you are the publisher or author of this book and feel that the. His short fiction has appeared in the new yorker, esquire, playboy and granta. Great book and great narration jay mcinerney captures the new york scene post 911 with great insight. 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. The good life npr coverage of the good life by jay mcinerney. That is not to say that the good life is a gentle book or a less powerful book. 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.
The good life, by jay mcinerney the new york times book. His novels include bright lights, big city, ransom, story of my life, brightness falls, and the last of the savages. Ransom, story of my life, brightness falls, the last of the savages, model behaviour and the good life, two short story collections, and two nonfiction books on wine, one of which was the acclaimed a hedonist in the. The good life is undoubtedly one of mcinerneys finest novels, yet it seems unlikely to be remembered as the definitive response to the events of 11 september. He edited the penguin book of new american voices, wrote the screenplay for the 1988 film adaptation of bright lights, big city, and cowrote the screenplay for the television film gia, which starred angelina jolie.
The good life by jay mcinerney and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. He seems to know the city and its characters and portrays them with great. Clinging to a semiprecarious existence in tribeca, corrine and russell calloway have survived. Luke mcgavock, in the enviable position of having made more money than he can spend, has chosen to take a sabbatical in which he might recover the sense of purpose suddenly lacking in his life. The good life is mcinerney s most fully imagined novel as it is his most ambitious and elegiac. Corrine, the heroine of jay mcinerney s new novel, the good life knopf. Jay mcinerney is the author of eight novels, a collection of short stories and three collections of essays on wine. A day in the life of jay peter sweetly by golis, paul ebay. 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 the good life, jay mcinerney unveils a story of love, family, conflicting desires, and catastrophic loss in his most powerfully searing work thus far. Access free the good life jay mcinerney the good life jay mcinerney the good life jay mcinerney jay mcinerney is the author of eight novels, a collection of short stories and three collections of essays on wine. Jay mcinerney came to prominence in 1984 with his first novel bright lights, big city. In this breathlessly paced novel, jay mcinerney revisits the nocturnal new york of bright lights, big city. The good life, by jay mcinerney the new york times.
The subject ensures that mcinerney will generate more attention than he has since his debut bright lights, big city, 1984. It began as a dissent from the contention, which appeared in these pages during the summer of 2005, accompanying an interview with v. Mcinerney first came to notice in 1984 with bright lights, big city, a novel about the cocaineaddled manhattan of the 80s. Now that the novelist is a couple decades more mature, the urban hipsters he once chronicled have begun to suffer from marital malaise and mid life. Hes got a deadline and he leaves on his book tour tomorrow. Jay mcinerney came to prominence in 1984 with his first novel bright lights, big city he is the author of six further novels. In the good life, jay mcinerney unveils a story of love, family, con. Essential new york novels jay mcinerney on five books. 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. Jay mcinerney has picked a more serious backdrop for his new novel, the good life, but he cant help. Written by jay mcinerney, audiobook narrated by dylan baker. 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.
Mcinerney s novel of 911 and its aftershocks offers acute cultural observation before sinking into a sappy romance. The good life is a 2006 novel written by jay mcinerney. In 2006, time cited his 1984 debut, bright lights, big city, as one of nine generationdefining novels of the twentieth century. Instead, the novel is served best by the near perfect pitch and tone of mcinerney s portrayal of that difficult time.
A sequel to his 1992 novel, brightness falls, it takes place immediately before, during, and after the. Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include previous owner inscriptions. A day in the life of jay peter sweetly by golis, paul a copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. A graduate of williams college, mcinerney writes about travel, culture and wine for numerous publications including vanity fair, the. Corrine could tell he was disappointed, though he liked to act as if. The good life by jay mcinerney popmatters mcinerneys novel of 911 and its aftershocks offers acute cultural observation before sinking into a sappy romance. Get this book free when you sign up for a 30day trial. Jay mcinerney makes use of new yorks altered state in the good life, but he offers the same old lives, jay parini finds. Ransom, story of my life, brightness falls, the last of the savages, model behaviour and the good life, two short story collections, and two nonfiction books on wine, one of which was the acclaimed a hedonist in the cellar. This story is a simple one, but mcinerney delivers it with grace and wit. Jay mcinerney s new novel seems from the outside to be composed of the most disheartening elements. 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 about a group of privileged new yorkers who are led to reassess their lives. Naipaul, that fiction had finally been rendered irrelevant by the events.
But mcinerney rather quickly veered into an account of his own struggle to write the kind of novel naipaul had decreed unnecessary. Inveterate gothamites will especially appreciate this love story between kindred spirits and between city dwellers and their wounded mecca. Near the start of brightness falls, jay mcinerneys fourth novel, during one of the books many manhattan dinner parties, a character named. Norman mailer told mcinerney to wait 10 years before writing about sept. Ransom, story of my life, brightness falls, the last of the savages, model behaviour and the good life, two short story collections, and three nonfiction books on wine, one of which was the acclaimed a hedonist in the cellar. Signin to download and listen to this audiobook today. Jay mcinerney revisits ten years on some of the characters that populated brightness falls.
New york tads mission in life is to have more fun than anyone else in new york city, and this involves a lot of moving around, since there is always the likelihood that where you arent is more fun than where you are. After two clunkers for cash novels, jay mcinerney comes roaring back. The good life by jay mcinerney 9781408876961 booktopia. Its too small a book, concerned with too narrow a stratum of characters.
He lives in new york city and bridgehampton, new york. Jay mcinerney has picked a more serious backdrop for his new novel, the good life, but he cant help being seduced by glamour and wealth, says adam marsjones. Mcinherheys use of language, his strong and muscular sentences are a strong mark of his authorial voice and the good life is without a doubt a mcinherhey book. Mcinerney is good on details the internet trade in gasmasks that followed the disaster. How to do good things in life and still win with jay buys jay buys is the cofounder and ceo of visceral, a boutique creative agency that crafts digital products for the worlds leading causes and socially conscious organizations. 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. In this bestselling novel, the author of bright lights, big city unveils a story of love, family, conflicting desires. Alison poole, twenty going on 40,000, is a budding actress already fatally well. The mastery of the good life lies not in plot twists or stylistic pyrotechnics. Jay mcinerney books list of books by author jay mcinerney. But his wife is more than up to the task of spending and very.
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