Bright, Precious Days
A novel
-
-
4.2 • 57 Ratings
-
-
- $7.99
Publisher Description
From the author of Bright Lights, Big City comes an unforgettable New York story of glamour, sex, ambition, and heartbreak.
“An art form of sustained intimacy. . . . A portrait of a marriage in full.” —The New York Times Book Review
“Our modern-day Fitzgerald.” —Vanity Fair
Russell and Corrine Calloway seem to be living the dream: a calendar filled with high-society parties; jobs they care about and enjoy; twin children, a boy and a girl whose birth was truly miraculous; a loft in TriBeCa and summers in the Hamptons. But beneath the glossy surfaces, things are simmering. Russell, editor-in-chief of a boutique publisher, has cultural clout but is on the edge financially, and feels compelled to pursue an audacious—and potentially ruinous—opportunity. Meanwhile, Corrine’s world is turned upside down when the man with whom she’d had an ill-fated affair in the wake of 9/11 suddenly reappears, and the Calloways find themselves tested more severely than they ever could have imagined.
The third book in McInerney’s celebrated Calloway trilogy, Bright, Precious Days is an aching, extraordinary portrait of a marriage during a period of dizzying change.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
McInerney (The Good Life), in his first novel in nearly a decade, plunges again into the depths of married life in post-9/11 New York City. Hardworking parents to twins, Russell and Corrine Calloway are the embodiment of a strong relationship the couple all their friends look to and envy. Russell, a respected editor for a small fiction publisher, pines for a bygone New York City full of energy and the vanguard of the global art scene, a way of life he tries to emulate at work and with his popular, old-fashioned dinner parties. Tired of her life of cocktail parties and charity benefits, Corrine left her high-powered corporate job in the wake of 9/11 to work for an organization feeding the poor. After reconnecting with an old fling, Corrine is thrown into a tailspin of dishonesty, betrayal, and emotional turmoil. Underpinning the main narrative is the story of Jeff, Russell's best friend from college, who dies tragically young, leaving a novel behind for Russell to edit and publish. Jeff's novel centers on a twisted love triangle a fictionalized version of Jeff, Russell, and Corrine and the wild days in gritty and glamorous 1980s New York. McInerney's tale is an astute examination of the ebbs and flows of a marriage in tumultuous times coming to terms with unfinished relationships, the struggle to stay sane during chaotic events, and the strength to rebuild in a city ravaged by drugs, terrorism, and economic depression.
Customer Reviews
Great NYC marriage story
Liked it a lot. Well developed characters, intriguing plot.
Five Stars
Truly exceptional, deeply poignant and laced with compelling development of emotional themes in context of characters.
The book takes a bit to reach a point where reader realizes the originality of themes and becomes connected to the characters--in other words, the book initially appears to be more pedestrian than it actually is.
Author's past body of work is uniquely engaging, and in a sense, this work is somewhat more "sophisticated" and literary than expected. The book is truly unique in the depth of its exploration of the complexities of marriage in particular, and relations generally. In sum, the work makes evident why it had taken author so long to develop/write, as it is densely packed with development of a number of themes that congeal very effectivelyin as the novel progresses and culminates.