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Carregando... Brightness Falls (1992)de Jay McInerney
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Registre-se no LibraryThing tpara descobrir se gostará deste livro. Ainda não há conversas na Discussão sobre este livro. I decided to re-read this book in anticipation of the publication of the third book in this series coming up in August ("Bright, Precious Days"). It has always lived in my mind as one of my favorite books from the time I lived in New York (1992-94) and I was concerned that as with so many things when I revisited it I would be disappointed. I'm happy to say that was not the case. I don't know how I would rate it if I were rating it as "art" per se, but as a book I personally was reading it is still a 5 of 5. I think what it does best for me is communicate the feeling and emotion of the time and place where it is set, it feels like the late 80s in NYC. While that does appear dated now, it is entirely appropriate. It is set about 30 years ago! I am looking forward to seeing where the characters are in the new book. ( ) I loved The Good Life so much, that when I found out it was the second part of a trilogy, I had to read the rest. Well, Brightness Falls was a good story, but I don't think it would have inspired me to read the rest of the trilogy. I have high hopes for the final installment, Bright, Precious Days, which I'm reading now. In his novel Brightness Falls, Jay McInerney pieces together all the important elements that make a great novel. The accuracy with which he depicts the characters and their situations is intimate and thorough. His characters’ development shows the true irregular rhythms of real life: they evolve naturally and organically. He achieved truth in detail physically, psychologically, socially, culturally, emotionally. The difficult thing, which he pulled off exquisitely, is to not (noticeably) compromise realism while keeping the story compelling. He honed in on the characters during situations, scenes, that have dramatic narrative impact. And every line has a point that is important in the overall novel. Every incident is important in the novel’s progression. Of course much of real life is dull. But his characters simultaneously have narrative interest consistently while having detailed, realistic lives. That is the master stroke: he surgically extracted dull segments of their real lives without compromising realism and without leaving any transitional scars or seams. He imperceptibly bridges (without the reader sensing ever being on a bridge) from one dramatic or interesting point to another. This is an amazing accomplishment in artistic style. But piecing together seamlessly all the elements that make a great novel doesn’t guarantee a great novel. That requires an impalpable quantity, an aesthetic genius or something. He has found that quantity. Brightness Falls is a great novel, a real work of art. It is clear that McInerney worked under a severe discipline when he wrote Brightness Falls. Readers of contemporary novels should be aware of this fact, and then go out and buy this book and read it as soon as possible. Going into this review I had this funny little idea about 1991-2 being a year of growing up for the literary brat pack (a marketing and a journalistic invention that would be long forgotten if it weren't for the fact that we reviewers love it), I made a connection between McInerney, Ellis, Janowitz, Tartt, et al. and the rise and fall in fortunes of the teen pop stars of the late 90s in 2002-03: Timberlake, Aguilera and Spears redefined and ramped up their image while others failing to do so effectively, the Carters, Halliwell, Chasez, etc. faded from the spotlight. Those kind of comparisons are always fun to make and the possibility for debate is endless: How apt is it to compare the by turns serious and comic McInerney to Timberlake, or Ellis, always deviant and a little sexual, by releasing 'American Psycho', always be a good match for the explicit Xtina? And newcomer Tartt with her 'The Secret History', who was she, Avril? I had a whole notebook page scribbled with this stuff, embarrassing myself with the amount I remembered about the fluctuating world of pop music from a time I was an ardent fan of Jimmy Eat World and The Strokes and considered pop music beneath me, when the ridiculousness of the project stopped me. What does any of this have to do with 'Brightness Falls', I asked myself. Nothing. Well, almost nothing. It's just another case of pop eating itself (ooo, remember them?), feeding on nostalgia and prone to be self-referential to the point of absurdity. My point was that McInerney, the same way he tried with his second novel 'Ransom', is with 'Brightness Falls' making a bid for a serious novel that couldn't be dismissed as a gimmick as the innovative and affecting 'Bright Lights, Big City' is often talked of as. But 'Ransom' was too-far removed from McInerney's comfort zone and, though not a bad book, was not a 'hit.' 'Brightness Falls' is a fat book and, perhaps just because I've been going over vocabulary a lot this month I notice, makes full use of the English language to convey the subtle nuances of the relationship of Russell and Corrine Calloway, as well as a large supporting cast of friends, family, associates and acquaintances. McInerney has a lavish elegance in his style that threatens to be too flush, too verbose, but he remains in control and the effect is almost old-fashioned in its lyricism. But if the book were stripped down of exposition and the tone modernized it would turn into just another book about pretty rich people with problems. What really struck me, about two-thirds into the book, was that these people were my parents exact contemporaries, in their early 30s in the fall of '87, and how little their worlds resembled each other. Not that that's a strange thing in fiction, but what exactly draws me to such stories, of the bored or debased wealthy and cultural elites of cities that I barely know? Novelty is a part of it, but mostly it has to do the main pleasure I have in reading - recognition. Whatever the plot or the setting or context of the story in question, I most often enjoy the authors who are able to observe and explicate the common ground people share, wherever or whatever their existence. McInerney has that talent, a talent that is shared by many other writers to be sure, but who display it in the innumerable variations that keep books interesting. I was drawn deep into this story, and I love title by the way, it's the best book I've read by McInerney and I'm looking forward to its sequel, 'The Good Life'. Obviously this book stands on its own and seems to have said everything that could be said about Corrine and Russell Calloway at this point of their lives, so we'll see what happens. The Calloways Next: 'The Good Life' There was something wonderfully escapist and other-worldly about reading this - set in New York (a place I've never been) amongst people who just love socialising (I hate socialising). Fascinating and informative and safe, reading about all that mingling without actually having to mingle myself. Perfect. It manages to make management buyouts sexy, and it also contributed vast swathes of new words to my vocabulary - at one point in the early stages I was having to consult the online dictionary around once a page. But the writing is razor sharp, and when a long and unfamiliar word is used, it's always perfect for the job. How come I have never encountered this author before? Discovering that this is just the first in a trilogy about these characters came as very welcome news indeed. sem resenhas | adicionar uma resenha
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he bestselling Brightness Falls--now in trade paper from the author of Bright Lights, Big City. In the story of Russell and Corrine Calloway, set against the world of New York publishing, McInerney provides a stunningly accomplished portrayal of people contending with early success, then getting lost in the middle of their lives. From the Trade Paperback edition. Não foram encontradas descrições de bibliotecas. |
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Google Books — Carregando... GênerosClassificação decimal de Dewey (CDD)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999Classificação da Biblioteca do Congresso dos E.U.A. (LCC)AvaliaçãoMédia:
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