The Last Bachelor

By Jay McInerney

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'Stories of sex and money set in and around New York City, where gentle satire and situation comedy give way to dark epiphanies about doomed marriages or social failures' - Guardian

'Elegant, sly and blackly humorous' - Daily Mail
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An astonishingly funny and poignant new collection of short stories from Jay McInerney - one of the pre-eminent writers of his generation.

In true McInerney style, this new collection of stories examines post 9/11 America in all its dark and morally complex glory.

His characters include a young woman holed up in a remote cabin while her (married) boyfriend campaigns for the highest of all offices, a couple whose sexual experiments cross every line imaginable, a young socialite called home to nurse her mother and an older one scheming for her next husband.

From the streets of downtown New York during the 2003 anti-war march and the lavish hotel rooms of the wealthy social elite, to a husband and wife who share a marital bed with a pot-bellied pig, the people in these stories search for meaning while struggling against each other, colliding as the old world around them fractures and dissolves into a modern era full of new uncertainties, where ghosts of loss hang in the air.

McInerney's writing has crackling humour and a feverish, clear-sighted brilliance that perfectly underpins the lives of people living in modern America. These stories are deftly constructed, subtle, insightful and heartbreaking. Steeped in history but yet alive in the present - this new collection is a companion to the sweet madness of life

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Release date: Mar 20, 2014
• ISBN: 9781408854730

Jay McInerney

Jay McInerney is an American novelist, screenwriter and wine critic. His novels include Bright Lights, Big City, Ransom, Story of My Life, Brightness Falls and The Last of the Savages.

Reviews for The Last Bachelor

[wubsy_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

For me, this was a little strained. The opening story is a strong one, but after that in my opinion McInerney loses his way in a tangle of characters that are too much the same, unlikable and fleeting. Only the 'last bachelor' of the title really captured me as a character. It is certainly not in the same class as earlier works like 'Last of the Savages' or 'Bright Lights'.

[johnny1978_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Chronicling the material excesses, queer vernacular and sybaritic pursuits of the very wealthy can make for a fascinating reading experience - and for most of us the thrill is vicarious. It is used to beautiful effect by Henry James and Edith Wharton amongst others (both New Yorkers like McInerney) who employ it like golden thread

[botogol · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

So good to catch up with Luke and Corrine again. Moving. The rest are great as well.