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tamekamullins's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyable Read Set in Publishing Mecca
I really enjoyed this book. It took me longer to read than normal due to my own book launch for my first novella, but I'm glad I didn't rush through this. I love books about the publishing business and this is one of my favorites to date. As a New York resident, I appreciated the vehicle of using the city as a character and really connected to the passages about the aftermath of 9/11 and the first election of President Barack Obama. I also loved the epistolary elements in this book. I learned afterwards that there are other books by this author featuring these characters and now I want to read those as well. Thanks NY Public Library!
I really enjoyed this book. It took me longer to read than normal due to my own book launch for my first novella, but I'm glad I didn't rush through this. I love books about the publishing business and this is one of my favorites to date. As a New York resident, I appreciated the vehicle of using the city as a character and really connected to the passages about the aftermath of 9/11 and the first election of President Barack Obama. I also loved the epistolary elements in this book. I learned afterwards that there are other books by this author featuring these characters and now I want to read those as well. Thanks NY Public Library!
lola425's review
4.0
I am definitely the demographic for this book. If you like realistic relationship drama, particularly among the literary set, you will like this. Although it is the third part of a trilogy, I think it does fine as a standalone, although if you want to add a layer or two of character depth, reading in sequence would be better.
noellewearscontactsbecuz's review
1.0
melancholy as it comes. makes humans look bad without going into nuance
annabella82's review
3.0
I had high hopes for this novel as I love the Calloways as characters but I must say I was a little disappointed. I felt like Mcinnerney was just regurgitating the same plot that he presented in his earlier novels.
These were the same characters that I had previously loved, it was just that I had a hard time empathize with them this time around. They felt very shallow and self-centered.
I do enjoy McInerney’s writing style because it’s different and a little pretencious. I think that’s what really saved this for me.
These were the same characters that I had previously loved, it was just that I had a hard time empathize with them this time around. They felt very shallow and self-centered.
I do enjoy McInerney’s writing style because it’s different and a little pretencious. I think that’s what really saved this for me.
sheilabookworm3369's review
4.0
3 1/2 stars. Centered around characters in NYC during the bank crisis & Obama's 1st election. The story was interesting in a gritty kind of way, and the characters true to life, (though hopefully just reflecting a small percentage of us). In fact, if you're seeking an argument against marriage, this story is a good start.
dissendiumnox's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I love the authors writing, and the depth with which he depicts his characters. I also love his love for New York which transpires in every page. It is a great book but, to use a friends word about this book, it felt superficial at times, like he didn’t bother to dive deeper in a situation (the conflict between Russell and Corrine is an example, among others) we just get the beginning of a resolution and then he moves on to something else. And that is a pity I find, for I greatly loved the book and I would have loved it even more if the author had spent more time here and there to fill in the gaps.
hickey_mt's review
4.0
A study of the quotidian habits of a bourgeois couple, residents of New York, literary types, as they grapple with their respective mid-life crises in a post 9-11, pre Obama, world on the cusp of the GFC.
There is nothing terribly original about the themes of the book and, in many ways, none of the central characters has much to compel the reader to like them.
But despite that, well written and enjoyable.
There is nothing terribly original about the themes of the book and, in many ways, none of the central characters has much to compel the reader to like them.
But despite that, well written and enjoyable.
rachelshattuck's review
5.0
Bright, Precious Days by Jay McInerney 5/5 ⭐️ - I really liked this book even though it was totally cliche. It was great to escape into a world that is so unlike my everyday life - to peek into the glitzy lives of artists and writers and WASPs living in SoHo, set against the backdrop of the financial crisis of 2008 and Obama’s election. It is the perfect dose of contemporary lit that analyzes marriage, careers, commitment, betrayal, misguided choices, desire, forgiveness, and loyalty in the ultra-American setting of Manhattan, the Hamptons, and beyond. It ended with a powerful lesson for one of the two main characters: “For now, she wants just to be in between.” #rachels2019readinglist
ladygetslit's review against another edition
4.0
Premise: B+. The third novel in McInerney’s series about Russell and Corrine Calloway follows them into middle age and into a rocky period in their lives together, both financially and emotionally.
Writing: A+. McInerney really paints a detailed portrait of New York life that made me homesick for the two years I lived there.
Story: B-. I was much more interested in reading about Russell’s struggles in his career as an editor. He attempts to swing a big-ticket book but things don’t turn out the way they planned. The most fascinating part of the book, for me, were the snippets about a young writer named Jack who falls down the hole into New York life that I’ve personally watched friends go down. I was less interested in Corrine’s renewed affair with Luke.
Characters: B. Again, while I wasn’t interested in Corrine’s attempts to justify her affair, I was interested in the emotional effects of her and Russell’s struggle to survive in an increasingly more expensive environment. There’s more of an exploration of the cost of excess in this third book, similar to in Brightness Falls that really interests me.
Diversity: C+. Washington remains an interesting character here as well, but there’s really not much going on, diversity-wise.
Overall, do I recommend: If you want a good New York novel, McInerney is a great place to start.
Writing: A+. McInerney really paints a detailed portrait of New York life that made me homesick for the two years I lived there.
Story: B-. I was much more interested in reading about Russell’s struggles in his career as an editor. He attempts to swing a big-ticket book but things don’t turn out the way they planned. The most fascinating part of the book, for me, were the snippets about a young writer named Jack who falls down the hole into New York life that I’ve personally watched friends go down. I was less interested in Corrine’s renewed affair with Luke.
Characters: B. Again, while I wasn’t interested in Corrine’s attempts to justify her affair, I was interested in the emotional effects of her and Russell’s struggle to survive in an increasingly more expensive environment. There’s more of an exploration of the cost of excess in this third book, similar to in Brightness Falls that really interests me.
Diversity: C+. Washington remains an interesting character here as well, but there’s really not much going on, diversity-wise.
Overall, do I recommend: If you want a good New York novel, McInerney is a great place to start.