News from NY #3: Book Report

When I was in high school I was fascinated by New York City life, and New England as well so I read whatever fiction I could that took place there. I've liked Jay McInerney's writing for a long time (not sure how much I like him as a person but whatever). I am not sure how he's seen in the greater literary universe although I remember one of my creative writing teachers in college saying he is crap.*

Anyway he has a new book out called The Good Life and because it's been so long since I've read anything by him, I bought it in hardback. I'm reading it this trip because I thought it'd be appropriate to read it in NY since it takes place here.

As I started reading it I realized that some of the characters are the same as one of his previous books, Brightness Falls. I don't remember much about that book, other than really loving it, and of course -- bizarrely enough -- the characters' names. I mean, if you had asked me last week, "What are the characters' names?" I would have been like "Fark if I know!" but when I saw them on the page this past Sunday they rang familiar, although it took me a while to figure it out. I read it back in 1993 (I had to look up the copyright date for that) and reading about these people again gave me a weird collegey feeling, back when literature and writing were all that mattered to me. And having fun of course.

So, The Good Life is about the same characters ten years older, with kids now, living in Manhattan. And then Sept. 11 happens. I don't read reviews until after I finish a book so I don't know what folks are thinking about this i.e. is it too soon to write about Sept. 11? Is he profiting from it? From my perspective, it's well written. Then again obviously I don't live in New York. I wonder what people who lived through it here think.

Anyway the conference I'm here for is several blocks away from where I'm staying so as I walk to the conference I try to imagine what it was like on that day and days afterwards. I'm in mid-town (not near the World Trade Center) but I still try to imagine. What's kind of weird to me is that reading about it through fictional characters' eyes somehow makes it more real, like I'm living it, or closer to it, than seeing the tragedy on the news, reading about real people, seeing photos.

I wonder what that means? Am I bonkers?

* I'm putting this out there in case any of you think he is crap, you can comment to that end and I won't cry, I love a good discussion. For some reason, I've been racking (sp?) my brain why, I have a feeling that The Great Rambini thinks JMcI is crap. I wonder if he said something like that once, or if I'm just projecting, because I know he has refined taste, and I can envision him seeing through JMcI for a load of crap? Hmmm.

p.s. I've never read Ransom.