Brat
An '80s Story
-
-
4.0 • 228 Ratings
-
-
- $11.99
Publisher Description
From an actor and director who got his start as a member of the Hollywood Brat Back, an emotionally poignant memoir, perfect for fans of Patti Smith's Just Kids and Rob Lowe's Stories I Only Tell My Friends. The inspiration for the Hulu documentary.
Everyone knows Andrew McCarthy from his iconic movie roles in Pretty in Pink, St. Elmo's Fire, Weekend at Bernie's, and Less than Zero. Part of the legendary Brat Pack (including Rob Lowe, Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, and Demi Moore), his filmography has come to represent both a genre of film and an era of pop culture.
In Brat, McCarthy focuses on that singular moment in time. The result is a revealing look at coming of age in a maelstrom, reckoning with conflicted ambition, innocence, addiction, and masculinity. 1980s New York City is brought to vivid life in these pages, from scoring loose joints in Washington Square Park to skipping school in favor of the dark revival houses of the Village—where he fell in love with the movies that would change his life.
Filled with personal revelations of innocence lost to heady days in Hollywood with John Hughes and an iconic cast of characters, Brat is a surprising and intimate story of an outsider caught up in a most unwitting success.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
If you identified with Kevin in St. Elmo’s Fire or crushed on Blane in Pretty in Pink, you’ll love Andrew McCarthy’s wonderful autobiography. The actor’s account is candid and insightful right from the get-go, when he reveals that the sensitivity of his characters was born out of turbulence at home, which included the stress of his accountant father getting mixed up in organized crime. McCarthy’s love for his profession comes through loud and clear—we were fascinated to learn that even though he made his name in the iconic teen movies of the 1980s, his heart has always belonged to the New York theater scene. Whether he’s addressing his successes or his failures, McCarthy brings the kind of charm and humor that makes people love revisiting John Hughes’ modern movie classics. You don’t have to be a Gen Xer to love this witty memoir.
Customer Reviews
Enjoyable read.
A thoughtful memoir with pacing issues.
Don’t bother
Unless you want to read 100’s of pages of whining about a privileged life don’t bother. It’s on sale for a reason!
Excellent
Whether you are a fan of Andrew’s or not, this is a wonderful book to read. Andrew is very intelligent and an exceptional writer. He has very intriguing stories of the behind the scenes goings on in Hollywood and details his rise from obscurity, to international fame. Andrew is very self-aware, many times critical of himself, but in the end he is the victor as he has grown into the man he was always meant to be.