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Bright Lights, Big City

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Bright Lights, Big City

By: Jay McInerney
Narrated by: Daniel Passer
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About this listen

 With this publication in 1984, Jay McInerney became a literary sensation, heralded as the voice of a generation. This remarkable novel of youth and New York remains one of the most beloved, imitated, and iconic novels in America.

"A brilliant and moving work—unique, refreshing, imaginatively powerful and authentically conceived."—The New York Times

The novel follows a young man, living in Manhattan as if he owned it, through nightclubs, fashion shows, editorial offices, and loft parties as he attempts to outstrip mortality and the recurring approach of dawn. With nothing but goodwill, controlled substances, and wit to sustain him in this anti-quest, he runs until he reaches his reckoning point, where he is forced to acknowledge loss and, possibly, to rediscover his better instincts.

"Bright Lights, Big City defined, and even determined, the mood of this whole town."—Vanity Fair Classics Coming of Age Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction

Critic reviews

"Bright Lights, Big City is a brilliant and moving work—unique, refreshing, imaginatively powerful and authentically conceived."
—The New York Times

"Bright Lights, Big City defined, and even determined, the mood of this whole town."
—Vanity Fair

"Short, sleek and very funny.... Beneath it's surface, though, a heart's cry for a saner, sweeter, more thoughtful and restrained existence."
—Chicago Tribune

"Each generation needs its Manhattan novel, and many ache to write it. But it was McInerney who succeeded."
—The New York Times Book Review
All stars
Most relevant
2022 52 Book Challenge - 1) Second person narrative

I quite enjoyed this book. It was a good piece on grief and losing yourself, and to an extent the second person narrative does tend to pull you in. My main complaint is that the book feels very slow, and I tended to have to put it down before I got bored.

Good but Slow

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The book's a bit dated now, but I was surprised that it held up as well as it did. I listened to it on my first trip to New York, as I walked around the upper east side. A special word of commendation for the reader – Passer has a lovely, youthful voice, with just the right mixture of irony, cynicism, and naiveté. He gets the tone of the novel exactly right, and gives it just the mixture of pathos and comedy it needs. A pleasure to listen to.

Smooth read

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The prose of Bright Light, Big City are eloquent and amusing, narrated to perfection by Daniel Passer, who seems to relish the complex wordplay of Jay McInerney. The story resonates with the surreal and alienating surroundings of life in a major city, the mundane mixed with excitement. The book perfectly captures the strangeness of everyday life, and the derailing effect of life events on our equilibrium. These themes reflect a point many of us will find ourselves at in our own lives, all bundled up in the vivd fiction of McInerney's book. Unexpectedly poignant, nostalgic and well worth visiting.

A lyrical journey through the Big City

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I was recommended this book due to me liking American Psycho. I can see the similarities but this board me. The narrator didn’t bring the story to life. Very dull. Couldn’t finish it.

Dull, boring.. that could be the narrator.

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