Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney
Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney
4 Rating(s)
List: $14.00 | Sale: $9.80
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Bright Lights, Big City

Author: Jay McInerney

Narrator: Daniel Passer

Unabridged: 6 hr 55 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/25/2009

Synopsis

With the publication of Bright Lights, Big City in 1984, Jay McInerney became a literary sensation, heralded as the voice of a generation. 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. With nothing but goodwill, controlled substances, and wit to sustain him in this anti-quest, he runs until he reaches his reckoning point, where he is forced to acknowledge loss and, possibly, to rediscover his better instincts. This remarkable novel of youth and New York remains one of the most beloved, imitated, and iconic novels in America.

About The Author

The author of seven novels and two collections of essays on wine, Jay McInerney is a regular contributor to New York, The New York Times Book Review, The Independent and Corriere della Sera. His short fiction has appeared in The New Yorker, Esquire, Playboy and Granta. In 2006, Time cited his 1984 debut, Bright Lights, Big City, as one of nine generation-defining novels of the twentieth century. He was the recipient of the 2006 James Beard Foundation’s M.F.K. Fisher Award for Distinguished Writing and his novel The Good Life received the Prix Littéraire at the Deauville Film Festival in 2007. He lives in Manhattan and Bridgehampton, New York.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Glenn on July 04, 2023

“Your brain at this moment is composed of brigades of tiny Bolivian soldiers. They are tired and muddy from their long march through the night. There are holes in their boots and they are hungry. They need to be fed. The need the Bolivian Marching Powder.” Quote from the opening scene of this 1984 J......more

Goodreads review by Andy on June 18, 2023

This was SO much better than I thought it would be. I expected some shallow tale of decadence and debauchery; what I got was a heartfelt tale of a young man's struggle to cope with the heartache of loss. Every page dripped with style, humour and empathy, and McInerny's portrayal of depression and lo......more

Goodreads review by Fabian on November 01, 2020

So it remains to say, which one's better? This, or Bret Easton Ellis's smash mid-80s literary debut, "Less Than Zero"? These two novels are comparable because they crystallized the 1980's and with style to spare. They both have that quality that makes a reader almost fanatically impatient for their......more

Goodreads review by Lisa on April 26, 2013

You've been meaning to read BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY for years, ever since hearing that it's written in the second person. You were intrigued, understandably. Point of view in fiction has always been an area of interest, and you might be described as a sucker for narrative gimmicks. While preparing fo......more

Quotes

"Bright Lights, Big City is a brilliant and moving work—unique, refreshing, imaginatively powerful and authentically conceived."
—The New York Times

"Bright Lights, Big City defined, and even determined, the mood of this whole town."
—Vanity Fair

"Short, sleek and very funny.... Beneath it's surface, though, a heart's cry for a saner, sweeter, more thoughtful and restrained existence."
—Chicago Tribune

"Each generation needs its Manhattan novel, and many ache to write it. But it was McInerney who succeeded."
—The New York Times Book Review

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