Scan barcode
sharon_geitz's review
4.0
Not really sure if that should be three or four stars. Well written, interesting analysis. A good account of the privileged elite of the age.
arisbookcorner's review
3.0
I'm not sure how I came across this book but the name sounded cool, 'Bright Young People'. Of course after I read the description it became clear that the author was not necessarily referring to their brains when he said 'bright'. But it's definitely a term that I can see making a resurgence. Hell I'd like to be a part of a group known as the Bright Young People, fun but also smart. The group in the 1920s that he profiles is mostly fun. They have brains but they focus more on throwing outrageous parties. Parties that reminded me of sorority and fraternity parties in college life today since they have lots of alcohol and crazy themes.
Someone else who reviewed this book mentioned their frustration with the photos in this book and I concur. The captions were vague and I hated that several characters were mentioned with no photos. Maybe if you're British you're already pretty familiar with the cast of characters but I'd never heard of any of them and I like to visualize. The Ponsonbys were interesting as were the Mitfords and I wish more time had been spent on them. But I really liked the contrasts the author drew between the BYP in the 1920s and the rude awakening they had with the rise of Hitler, it was nice to see that they didn't stay apathetic (although some of them veered towards Fascism so I do wish they had just stayed out of it) and began to grow up and form real opinions. There was no name for the BYPs in America but they were a part of the 'Lost Generation' and resemble most characters in Fitzgerald's novels so I'm glad Taylor shone a new light on a group of people who had been forgotten, even if they didn't make significant historical contributions, they ushered in the beginnings of paparazzi culture and a few did make good (Evelyn Waugh for example).
Someone else who reviewed this book mentioned their frustration with the photos in this book and I concur. The captions were vague and I hated that several characters were mentioned with no photos. Maybe if you're British you're already pretty familiar with the cast of characters but I'd never heard of any of them and I like to visualize. The Ponsonbys were interesting as were the Mitfords and I wish more time had been spent on them. But I really liked the contrasts the author drew between the BYP in the 1920s and the rude awakening they had with the rise of Hitler, it was nice to see that they didn't stay apathetic (although some of them veered towards Fascism so I do wish they had just stayed out of it) and began to grow up and form real opinions. There was no name for the BYPs in America but they were a part of the 'Lost Generation' and resemble most characters in Fitzgerald's novels so I'm glad Taylor shone a new light on a group of people who had been forgotten, even if they didn't make significant historical contributions, they ushered in the beginnings of paparazzi culture and a few did make good (Evelyn Waugh for example).
sharon4d046's review
4.0
Not really sure if that should be three or four stars. Well written, interesting analysis. A good account of the privileged elite of the age.
mattleesharp's review
3.0
After watching the 2013 documentary Teenage, I found myself revisiting this image of maybe 8 young people dressed as babies, sitting in strollers with a narration about the "Freak Parties" the Bright Young People were throwing. I thought to myself, this is it. This is the party I want to be at. The whole scene had me entranced. It was the sort of eccentric androgynous 80s coke binge thing I had never really seen associated with the 20s youth culture, and it was a thing I desperately wanted to read more about. This is not that book. This book is more focused on the history, on the opinions of the adult culture, on the family connections, and inevitably on how these young people came to become contemplative boring adults. There's a pretty tame but interesting chapter titled "Gay Young People." There is excitingly a lot of material from journals and diaries. And maybe I wanted to make this history something it wasn't. Maybe I should've known that since even in this hyper speed celebrity stalking culture we never really know what's going on, it was unreasonable to want to get in the pants of people a hundred years ago. Maybe this book is the most authoritative thing we've got. But damn it I was let down by this book, and I had to vent.
kjcharles's review
A good overview of the Worst Generation, aka the Bright Young People of the 20s and 30s. These were pretty much all absolutely awful posers and showoffs who needed a slap, but fortunately the author knows this. Highly readable with lots of useful refs for further reading and a specific chapter on homosexuality in the BYTs/20s.
More...