Reviews

Bright Young People: The Lost Generation of London's Jazz Age by D.J. Taylor

mattleesharp's review against another edition

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.

thevalkyriereader's review

3.0

Meh. Informative sure but not the most exciting.

philippam's review against another edition

informative slow-paced

1.0

Interesting topic, but it's a bit of a slog to actually read. Thought-provoking, and really demonstrates how though the slang and fashion may have changed, people have always been people, and all of human history is just an endless loop of the same games with different players.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Homophobia

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, and Drug abuse

mireanthony's review

dark funny informative slow-paced

2.5

I’d been meaning to read this book since 2019 and last November I finally got it from the library. It had some interesting information but it was a slog. On the bright side, it added some primary sources on this era and this bit of culture to my TBR. 

steve1213's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

4.0

libkatem's review

2.0

Interesting, but what I liked most was the short mini-chapter/bios. I don't know that much about about London's jazz age.

quietjenn's review against another edition

2.0

Given the subject matter, it would be difficult not to write a readable, interesting book, no? But, if you aren't already an aficionado of the Bright Young Things, I don't think this would be a good introduction. You're better off reading Waugh or Mitford or Powell. The luxury of fiction is that one can cut out the boring bits ... This is not fiction and as a scholarly text, it can be a bit dry and snooze-inducing after a while. Also, the organization seemed somewhat disjointed - lots of jumping around - and too much reliance on certain figures - I assume because Taylor had cooperation from their families. I also wish the American version had the original cover (which is much better) and more pictures.
That being said, if you are a fan of the Bright Young Things/20s Brit lit already, it's great to learn about the real-life people behind the characters and even about specific events that gave inspiration to literature.

irishannie's review against another edition

3.0

This book is probably a little too esoteric for me. I found the story of Elizabeth Ponsonby and her parents Arthur and Dorothea heartbreaking. "The Bright Young People" were the Paris Hiltons, Lindsay Lohans, and the reality stars of their day. It's sad that some bright young things never know when to leave the party.

cupiscent's review

4.0

I found this intriguing, entertaining, thought-provoking and generally interesting, even though it's been more than ten years since I read any nonfiction, and I found the general language construction occasionally difficult, and the author's vocabulary a little self-indulgent. Self-indulgence seems an apposite decision when dealing with this topic and these people, though, so I can hardly mark him down for it.

An interesting look at the birth of "just because" modern celebrity - or rather, the metamorphosis from high society to celebrity society. Amazing how things stay the same.

mwgerard's review

4.0

Considering my obsession with this period in history, and some of its tenants, I cannot believe it took me so long to find this book. I have heard, anecdotally, of the Bright Young People but I knew little about their specifics. Even with this marvelous history as a guide, they are still a fluid, amorphous bunch. Which I suppose was the point.

Read my full review here: http://cineastesbookshelf.blogspot.com/2010/07/review-bright-young-people.html