Today, Experience The Good Life

When I first started writing, I searched through the library for young men like me. My college literature classes were filled with old guys from what seemed like ancient periods. Although I loved Fitzgerald and Joyce, I couldn’t connect with flappers and Irish pubs in terms of picturing myself as a writer. I devoured Melville and Hawthorne, but ruffled shirts, powdered wigs, and buckle shoes didn’t do much for me either.

But then I discovered Jay McInerney and Bret Easton Ellis. These were young, hip, cool guys who made writing seem glamorous. I got sucked in and by the time I learned this shit is back-breaking work it was too late.

I’ve remained a huge McInerney fan over the years. Brightness Falls is still one of my favorites and during a recent organization of my library, I discovered I have eight copies of it, accumulated through various travels and apartments, moments caught in a strange town where I had to read it for the umpteenth time. So I’m thrilled that today brings the release of a new McInerney novel. The Good Life hits bookstore shelves today and it’s well worth the cover price.

We’ll have an in-depth interview with McInerney and a book review of the novel here on Slushpile.net this week so please keep an eye out for that. But in the meantime, I’m left thinking about this great line in the book. Corrine Calloway, first introduced in Brightness Falls, tells Luke McGavock, “books are the most amazing objects, aren’t they?”

When it’s a new release from one of my favorite authors, I have to wholeheartedly agree.