The Good Life

After two clunkers for cash novels, Jay McInerney comes roaring back. "The Good Life," the author's 9/11 novel, takes its place alongside "Bright Lights, Big City" and "Brightness Falls" as McInerney's best work. Norman Mailer told McInerney to wait 10 years before writing about Sept. 11. Like his decision to ignore advice to drop the second-person narration of "Bright Lights, Big City," we should be glad McInerney stayed the course. Russell and Corinne Calloway of "Brightness Falls" share center stage in "The Good Life" with Luke and Sasha McGavock. Russell is a metaphysical composite of McInerney and Nick Carraway, narrator of "The Great Gatsby" (The Great American Novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, who tripped the New York life fantastic six decades before McInerney). But Russell is the least utilized in "The Good Life." Luke and Corrine get most of the good lines. The book hums with subtle religious, philosophical, and literary references. Luke's departure from the wreckage of the Twin Towers reminds one of Lot's flight from Sodom and Gomorrah (Jewish tradition teaches that Sodom and Gomorrah were actually five cities...Ahem, remind you of any place?). Like Corrine, most readers will dismiss the notion that the abortion capital of the universe was being paid back for its wickedness. Like Lot, Luke ends up in the arms of a forbidden woman. McInerney reckons that people search the Earth for their lost other half/self. Had the author realized this original separation is what occurred when G-d created Eve from Adam (no, it wasn't a "rib") it could have added more to the novel. Guess I shouldn't fault a non-Jew for not knowing the Oral Torah. Luke's story had me thinking of the Talking Heads CD "Remain in Light" especially the song "Once in a Lifetime." If "The Good Life" is ever made into a movie McInerney has his soundtrack already made. Throw in David Bowie's "Space Oddity" for added nuance. Luke does the Oedipus (see Greek mythology) thing with a pleasant twist. He walks the footsteps of another man so as to be closer to his own (Luke's) mother. As Joseph showed us in winning over the Egyptians in the Book of Genesis, the key word is "banks." Luke's life's is what bubbles up when a man can't or won't be as religious as his forebears. His personal calamity stems from the fact that he followed his eyes (after Sasha). This eye disease is characteristic of Esau of the Bible, the spiritual father of the sad wreckage known today variously as Christendom or The West. The elect/minority way of brother Jacob is different. As Rabbi Avigdor Miller ZT"L once taught me - Esau follows his eyes but Jacob follows his teachers. McInerney is right to remind us that goodness isn't measured by church attendance. The agnostic Nora is heroic in a Rick/Victor (see movie "Casablanca") kind of way. Her declaration about renunciation on p. 316-317 (2006 hardcover edition) is the book's great wisdom and spells out what the good life means in practice. Our au

This is the story of two powerful Manhattan couples who are struggling with changes brought into their lives after the events of 9/11. McIninerney offers his readers an honest look at the lives of the privileged, wealthy and famous and shows how no ones life went unchanged after these catastrophic events. A wonderful book by an incredibly talented novelist that was impossible to put down.

Like a couple of the other reviewers I experienced 9/11 in downtown Manhattan, and it still upsets me, obviously, so I was not sure I was ready to read a book about it yet. I almost could not even stand looking at the cover art. But I trust Jay McInerney, one of my favorite New York writers, so despite my initial reluctance I decided to give it a try. I am really glad I did. I was very surprised by a few of the bad reviews here. But I also notice that a lot of the people for whom this book resonated the most were New Yorkers. This book for me, also, is the first post-9/11 piece of creative work (fiction, art, whatever) that I really related to and thought captured a lot of what I felt and still feel about experiencing 9/11 in New York. It did so in a beautifully written, emotionally moving way without exploiting or being trite or missing the point. If you were there (and of course even if you weren't) I think this book is really important to read. The book is not so much about the actual experience of 9/11 but the grieving and healing process afterward that was so particular and shocking and unreal for a lot of us. It is somehow very cathartic to read about these characters going through their recovery from 9/11 in such simple, everyday, yet momentous ways. The emotions in the book are real and they are more complex than they seem. I related to so many of them, especially as they were displayed in the central relationship of the book. Far from being "maudlin," I thought that relationship really beautifully captured the sentimentality and idealism that a lot of people demonstrated even in the face of terror. It was a little more sentimental than your usual McInerney book in that way - but the book also dealt with a lot of dark subject matter and dark feelings, so I thought the sentimentality was okay and hopeful to throw into the mix. For me, this was one of those rare experiences where reading a book can help you understand things better in a way that can almost be described as enlightening. Like another reviewer, I was really moved by the ending, and re-read that part several times. Critiques of how this book only deals with a certain class of people, or that the author is overly impressed with upper-class people, etc. etc., for me sort of miss the point. First of all, that class of people is who McInerney always writes about, and he writes them well. If you have a problem with reading about those people, you shouldn't be reading this author. Second, no matter what class you think you belong to or you prefer to read about, the way this book was written and the issues and emotions it explores will probably move you if you are open to it. Definitely read this book. You won't be sorry.

Five Stars!! From "Bright Lights, Big City" to "The Story of My Life", Jay McInerney has always been a riveting writer, regardless of whether he was hitting the mark or even when the mark was somewhat elusive but close. Here he hits the mark over and over with rich characters and fascinating situations that makes this novel a real page turner and a true '21st century' fiction novel. He coalesces all of his talent into a wonderful character study of what life is like in the Big City before and after the events of "9/11". Russell and Corrine Calloway, the couple from McInerney's excellent novel "Brightness Falls", return as one of the two couples of interest, amid a number of very interesting characters that populate this absorbing version of New York City. From the early hint of complexity of the relationship between Corrine, Hilary, and Jeremy to the entrance of Luke and Sasha and their own complex world, McInerney shows how much of a deep, current thinker he is. The phrases, "Are we really going to do this? Change our lives?", reverberate across the landscape of the novel. The twin influences of sex and love intertwine everywhere. His interjection of real life characters into the mix: such as Salman Rushdie and Betty Bacal came as somewhat of a surprise. The ending is just as it should be, it's life as we now know it, but is it really The "Good Life"? Well, maybe not, just "good enough". This is a wonderful read that proves the mountain-climbing axiom that "the climb is usually more exhilarating than actually reaching the summit". VERY exhilarating!! Highly recommended. Five Big Stars! (Note: Please do read "Brightness Falls" for another view of Russell and Corrine.)

With a New Yorker's heart and masterly pen Jay McInerney has crafted an unforgettable tale of a city and its people. It's a story headline fresh and fraught with the qualities that define our human predicament - some noble, others base. An astute observer, McInerney has a unique sense of New York City, bringing its streets and zip codes to midday vibrancy or nocturnal rest. He captures the quiddity of characters with a portraitist's skill; his brush strokes are glances, expressions, and words. Describing Manhattan as "an existential town, in which identity was a function of professional accomplishment," McInerney introduces two families. Corrine and Russell Calloway share their Tribeca loft with 6-year-old twins, a daughter and son. Yearning for all that motherhood had to offer, Corrine quit her job which left a rather desultory Russell to be the family breadwinner. Now at work on a screenplay, Corrine is hoping to augment the family's dwindling bank account. Sasha and Luke McGavock live on the Upper East Side with their 14-year-old going on 20 daughter, Ashley. Sasha is gorgeous, immaculately groomed, often wearing gowns loaned to her by Oscar (we needn't say Oscar who) and a constant presence at all the important charity benefits. Who people are, what they have, what they're saying about her - this is what matters to Sasha. Luke is the son of a Tennessee minister who has amassed a fortune as a financial expert. He recently left his job, feeling the need to reassess his direction in life. Now, that he's at home he is acutely aware that his daughter has gleefully adopted all the extravagances of her mother and then some. He had failed to notice this, among other things, "while he was so single-mindedly pursuing his career, bring home the prosciuto." As chance would have it, he has made a breakfast date with his good friend, Guillermo Rezzori. The year is 2001 and they're to meet at Windows on the World at 8:00 a.m., but Luke leaves a voicemail canceling their September 11 meeting. Guillermo, along with a host of others, is lost in the devastating attack. Remorseful and unhappy that he and Sasha could not reach out to each other during this time of tragedy, Luke volunteers at a makeshift soup kitchen set up at Ground Zero for the firemen and other rescue workers. There, under the direction of Jerry, "a hulking , bullet-headed carpenter" he sets to his tasks, and meets Corrine. She, too, has sought solace in giving herself over to feeding others. Their attraction is almost immediate, brought together by a cataclysmic event and disappointment in their marriages. McInerney's pictures of daily life by Ground Zero are unforgettable as we see how the tragedy affected the lives of a group of very different people. Their camaraderie is touching; their struggles to overcome sear. New York City is this author's turf, his sharp eye misses nothing. With "The Good Life" McInerney has captured forever a time and a place.