Model Behavior

Rating:
Summary: "Bright Lights" for the nineties
Review: As it's been stated before, Jay McInerney's "Model Behavior" is basically his own "Bright Lights, Big City" updated for the late nineties. The stories are similar -- a young professional in the New York City publishing business is unable to cope with the absence of his estranged model girlfriend. Fortunately, the story was good enough the first time around so that an updated version is still enjoyable. McInerney has a great ear for dialogue (and doesn't feel compelled to drop names as much as his best-known contemporary, Bret Easton Ellis), and Connor McKnight, the lead character in the story, has a hilarious, world-weary personality. As a magazine writer, Connor has interviewed countless celebrities, and his frustration of shallow movie stars and supermodels had me laughing out loud. The subplot involving Connor's e-mail stalker, however, gave the book a creepy realism. There are plenty of interesting characters to keep this story entertaining, and even though it is a story we've all read before, it's fairly short (less than 200 pages). Recommended for McInerney fans. A lack of originality keeps it from getting four stars.

Rating:
Summary: Model Behavior, model storytelling.
Review: I picked up McInerney's book on the remainders table at Barnes & Noble for a modest price. Little did I know I would be purchasing a rarity in current fiction: A very good and readable book. I literally had trouble putting it down and I never have that problem. 'Model' follows the exploits of Connor McKnight, an emotionally stunted alcoholic with an anorexic sister fixated on third-world suffering, a model girlfriend who may or may not have left him and a crappy job at a fashion mag he hates. Throw into the mix a brooding writer-best friend with a huge chip on his shoulder, a Chip with a huge ego, a stripper/wannabe-actress/train wreck love interest/unattainable goal named Pallas and many other, well conceived and executed characters and what you get is a very convincing voyeuristic view of a down-and-out man that is searching for something no one can seem to find, let alone the writer's protagonist. Did I fail to mention the ongoing Japanese cultural lessons throughout the work? Or the kidnapped and ransomed pet dog? What about the acidic, plastic she-demon boss? No? Well, you'll just have to buy the book and find out for yourself because Model Behavior is a real treat to read and no review could do the mix-mash of personalities and situations justice. McInerney is a very witty writer with a penchant for poking fun at the person you can expect him to be in real life, which makes the reading even more pleasurable. The book has a weird flow that at first is distracting, but works well once one gets used to the pacing. Please, do consider this book. It will have you laughing, commiserating and wishing it would have been a couple hundred pages longer.

Rating:
Summary: Clever Storytelling!
Review: I picked up the book to read on a flight to New York. I didn't know anything about the author or the story, I just picked it based on it's cover. (Not this one, it has a plain white t-shirt on a hanger against a blue background) By the end of the flight I had finished it! I love this book!

McInerney tells you a story of a writer named Connor McKnight, the relationships between his friends and his former girlfriend who leaves him by telling him she's going on a shoot. Yup! A relationship with a model. A writer and a model, how clique right! It's more than you think. While telling you his story you come to realize how sad and completely empty this man is. But only by choice. He is surrounded by friends who trust him and love him but he still pins for his ex-girlfriend Philomena. McInerney's writing is exceptionally charming because the way he describes events and emotions include every detail of the situations. A book by one of his writer friends Jeremy Green, 'Walled In', even tells their story, Jeremy and Connor's combined. Their story inside the narration. A delightful coincidence!

This book shows McInerney's sharp and quick witted observation of the society we live in. If he can do this, he can write on just about anything!

Also recommended: THE LOSERS' CLUB by Richard Perez