In his latest novel, Model Behavior, McInerney offers us the portrait of a doubting devotee of the city where vocation, career, and ambition (which only occassionally coincide) run head-on with friendship and love--or merely desire. We see Conor McKnight's well-earned ennui fast becoming anxiety as he tries to protect himself from the harrowing fate that unfolds before his bleary eyes. McInerney is at the peak of his craft in what is sure to become a classic at the end of the century.
Similar to: McInerney's Bright Lights Big City, Delillo's Falling Man, Bret Easton Ellis' Imperial Bedrooms
Highlights:
I enjoyed having a version of Bright Lights Big City that was more updated for the new millenium. As usual with this type of book, my favorite part was the pop culture references, and the disillusionment and ennui of people living superficial lives. The thing I like about McInerney is that he manages to tell just as real and raw of a story as Bret Easton Ellis, but without the gore and disturbing scenes that haunt you (in a bad way, not in a Joan Didion-esque way). He's able to do something that few people can do--tell a relatively clean, PG-13 story that still manages to pack a punch.
