BOOK CLUB: June - The Good Life by Jay McInerney

June's book club book was Jay McInerney's The Good Life and all I'm going to say here is that I loved it... mostly. I don't want to put any spoilers here, but what about the ending. What did you think of the ending?

It's the first McInerney book I've ever read, but it certainly won't be the last. I have certain scenes - and the emotions they created - fixed in my mind. It also managed to make me think of 9/11 in a new way, which is impressive considering how much I've read about the tragedy.

So what did you think? (Spoilers are fine in the comments so if you don't want to know how it ends, don't click through.)

Comments

[Diane]

I'm afraid I didn't get very far with this one.

The last McInerney I read, Story of My Life, was SO GOOD ( http://www.trashionista.com/2007/01/more_on_monday_.html ) but while the first couple of pages of this one grabbed me with their great pace and sense of humour, it quickly became pretentious and annoying. I'd barely got used to the first awful characters when we switched to another pretentious idiot (um, it seemed to me).

And then I read this bit:
"From the window, Luke looked out over the water towers...studying the senescence of the daylight, which seemed almost viscous, ready to coagulate" and I threw up in my mouth a little.

First of all, what? I mean, yes, I do know what all those words mean, but in this sentence they're just meaningless, showing off. The book is about pretentious people (who presumably are going to learn the meaning of life, blah blah) but McInerney is the most pretentious of all.

I literally threw the book to the ground, shouted "Go and have dinner with Salman Rushdie, then!" (totally normal behaviour... ahem) and opened something else. I can't stand this type of sub-John Updike/Philip Roth, middle-aged man woe-is-me-ism masturbatory writing. I don't like it that much when Roth and Updike do it but at least their attempts to sound literary don't sound tacked on.

Writing is about communicating feelings and ideas in the clearest ways possible, and making the audience feel for the people you write about (at least one character has to be sympathetic). It's not about "I just used senescence, viscous and coagulate in a sentence, yay."

From what I read, I felt this book would be a waste of my time, and was a waste of McInerney's talents.

(Sorry!)

[Keris]

Ha, that made me laugh out loud, Diane! I don't even remember that sentence, how funny. I must admit, I very nearly gave up quite early on, for the same reasons: why would I want to read about these spoilt people and their midlife crises, but I pushed on (because of this book club, you slacker!) and ended up really enjoying it. And I so wanted to discuss a couple of aspects with you. How disappointing!

I must insist you read the next one, though, because I really want your take on that! (It's going to be Sarra Manning's Unsticky, btw.)

[Diane]

Ooh, I really do want to read that one! I promise I'll finish it.

I'm sorry I didn't push on with this one, I just think life's too short to read books I hate, and I couldn't make myself finish it. I would have liked to discuss it with you though, so I'm sorry to make you miss out. (My insights would have been fabulous, LOL).

But that sentence!!!!! ;)

[Diane]

Did anyone else read this one - Wendy? Stella? Debs? Bueller?

I've now ordered Unsticky and promise to read it all :)

[Diane]

Ooh, and are we doing the Guernsey potato pie one at some point? I've read that already ;)

[Wendy]

Apologies, I'm afraid I hated the first few pages too and stopped. I'm very short of time at the moment and this was what fell through the cracks. I'll accept the slacker rebuke Keris ;o)

"Must try harder" D-

[Diane]

Yay, I wasn't the only slacker (sorry, Keris!)

[Keris]

Yeah, we can do the Potate Pioe one at some point, Diane.

And I accept your apologies, Wendy! I was glad I kept going though, because I really liked it and I'm finding it easier and easier to give up on books these days.