Ten years on from Brightness Falls, Russell Calloway is still a literary editor although in a diminished capacity; his wife, Corrine, has sacrificed her career to watch anxiously over their children. Across town Luke McGavock, a wealthy ex-investment banker, is taking a sabbatical from making money, struggling to reconnect with his socially resplendent wife, Sasha, and their angst-ridden teenage daughter, Ashley. These two Manhattan families are teetering on the brink of change when 9/11 happens. The "Good Life" explores through the lens of catastrophe that territory between hope and despair, love and loss, regret and fulfilment. 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.
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Review
`A tender analysis of the slow disintegration of two young
families ... Moving, thoughtful and altogether surprising' -- Arena
`His best book since Bright Lights, Big City ... a very subtle,
incredibly insightful, heartbreaking story' -- James Frey
`Humane and emotionally gripping'
-- Daily Mail
`McInerney writes with compassion and wit and is never better than
when observing the social mores of his contemporaries' -- Tatler
families ... Moving, thoughtful and altogether surprising' -- Arena
`His best book since Bright Lights, Big City ... a very subtle,
incredibly insightful, heartbreaking story' -- James Frey
`Humane and emotionally gripping'
-- Daily Mail
`McInerney writes with compassion and wit and is never better than
when observing the social mores of his contemporaries' -- Tatler
About the Author
Jay McInerney is the author of the novels, Bright Lights, Big City, Ransom, Story of My Life, Brightness Falls, The Last of the Savages and Model Behaviour, as well as one story collection How It Ended. He lives in New York and Nashville.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I've read McInerney's Brightness Falls twice, and greatly enjoyed its portrayal of a specific historical event (the stock market crash of 1987) and its impact on Russell and Corrine, a stylish, likeable but flawed couple, and their friends and life in Manhattan. In this book, he places them in the path of an even bigger event, and traces out their trajectories as their lives are shattered and remodelled in the wake of September 11. He brings back a few other characters from the earlier book, but also introduces some new ones - retired investment banker Luke, his socialite wife Sasha and their unstable teenaged daughter Ashley.
It's not hard to guess what the role of Luke is going to turn out to be as he stumbles up West Broadway, away from the nightmare of ash, smoke and death, and encounters Corrine, who offers him "a bottle of Evian" (even in moments of crisis, McInerney's knack for product placement doesn't falter). And, from that point onwards, the event fades into the background as we concentrate on their relationship. On the whole, this is probably a wise move, since writing more directly about the cataclysm and its aftermath is probably too challenging to pull off convincingly.
And McInerney deftly traces out the themes of desire, betrayal, duty and fidelity in a way that's thoroughly engrossing, particularly when he gives us Corrine's point of view. Only at the very end does he bring the story full circle with an elegaic connection between the way in which this all started, and the way it ends.
It's not hard to guess what the role of Luke is going to turn out to be as he stumbles up West Broadway, away from the nightmare of ash, smoke and death, and encounters Corrine, who offers him "a bottle of Evian" (even in moments of crisis, McInerney's knack for product placement doesn't falter). And, from that point onwards, the event fades into the background as we concentrate on their relationship. On the whole, this is probably a wise move, since writing more directly about the cataclysm and its aftermath is probably too challenging to pull off convincingly.
And McInerney deftly traces out the themes of desire, betrayal, duty and fidelity in a way that's thoroughly engrossing, particularly when he gives us Corrine's point of view. Only at the very end does he bring the story full circle with an elegaic connection between the way in which this all started, and the way it ends.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Domestic squabbles involving bored, betrayed and battered well-off middle-aged Manhattanites set against the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade center in New York. The author does not try to recreate the devastating attack or the immediate aftermath and the damage and horror is expressed more in terms of its effect on the characters, their fear for the future and how they can recreate their shattered lives. Since most of their lives were already emotionally shattered the attacks serve to provide them with an excuse to start again. The result is a series of doomed affairs and attempts to rebuild bridges to their children and other relatives.
The book is worth reading and although it has some dramatic and melodramatic scenes, the overall tone is rather subdued. Much of the ending even takes place far from New York, in Tennessee, although this part comes over as rather trite.
Overall, the book is like one of those Woody Allen films or the Seinfeld TV show in which grown adults living in New York act like silly adolescents and you wonder if they will ever grow up. If you have read McInerney's most famous books "Brightness Falls" (in which some of the characters of The Good Life appear) or Bright Lights, Big City you'll know what I mean.
The book is worth reading and although it has some dramatic and melodramatic scenes, the overall tone is rather subdued. Much of the ending even takes place far from New York, in Tennessee, although this part comes over as rather trite.
Overall, the book is like one of those Woody Allen films or the Seinfeld TV show in which grown adults living in New York act like silly adolescents and you wonder if they will ever grow up. If you have read McInerney's most famous books "Brightness Falls" (in which some of the characters of The Good Life appear) or Bright Lights, Big City you'll know what I mean.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
In this tale of love and infidelity in the aftermath of 9/11, fashionable Manhattanites Corrine Calloway and Luke McGavock embark on an adulterous affair and are forced to confront painful questions of familial responsibility, personal fulfilment and the need for social affirmation.
Told with a characteristic light touch, in prose that is funny, poignant and always utterly compelling, the novel poses the ultimate question: In the shadow of death, what is the essence of the good life?
This weighty topic is something of a departure for McInerney, who is best known for his mordant social satire of the rich and famous. But he carries off the task with extraordinary aplomb. While his eye for ironic detail is as keen as ever, he proves that he has matured to a storyteller of the highest order, capable of conveying the magnificence, tragedy and absurdity of the human condition. A masterpiece.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Funny, sad, perfect
Ah! Finally! A good book! Don't worry: I've had it stuffed and mounted on my wall. Beautiful, simply-structured, sparsely written account of New York couples struggling with the... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Frootle
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not just another 9/11 novel
Very often a book comes along which you can't put down; more rarely is it the case where you become bitterly disappointed when a book finishes, and that's how I felt at the... Read more
Published on 29 Oct 2009 by MJA Smith
1.0 out of 5 stars
It is just dreadfull
This book kept springing up in my recommend list so in the end I bought it.
I can honestly say it is one of the worst books I have ever read. Read more
I can honestly say it is one of the worst books I have ever read. Read more
Published on 9 Jun 2009 by G. R. Fullam
3.0 out of 5 stars
A bit disappointing
After `Brightness Falls' (I read it years ago and liked it), `The Good Life' is a sort of sequel for some of the characters previously depicted: we find Russell and Corrine... Read more
Published on 6 Nov 2008 by I LOVE BOOKS
4.0 out of 5 stars
Worth a read
This is the first McInerney work that I have read and indeed the first novel I have read in some time, having given myself over to crosswords, su doku and the like. Read more
Published on 22 Aug 2007 by ronaldobiscottini
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Good Life
This is a wonderful sequel to Brightness Falls. It gives insight into how New Yorkers reacted to 9/11, as well as raising the larger question as to how life should be lived. Read more
Published on 7 April 2006
4.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining and thought-provoking
I couldn't put this book down. Very well-written; the characters, with all their imperfections - many of which I could relate to - come to life. In short, I loved it. Read more
Published on 13 Mar 2006
5.0 out of 5 stars
ENTERTAINING, ENTHRALLING, AND POIGNANT
With a New Yorker's heart and masterly pen Jay McInerney has crafted an unforgettable tale of a city and its people. Read more
Published on 31 Jan 2006 by Gail Cooke
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