Customer Reviews

Model Behavior

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Many of the reviewers compare this to Bright Lights, Big City, but I only saw the movie. And this book, like the movie, was mediocore. There are indeed some hilarious and well observed moments--I won't dispute that McInerney is a talented word smith--and those are numerous (the thanksgiving dinner, the very last chapter, etc). But this book never quite feels like a story--more odd observations and bizarre plot twists. The email stalker? Why? The best satires also tell a good story, this one fails at times. As the old saying goes, There is no "there" there. As it attempts to prove how shallow the world is (was in the late 1990s), it is victim of its own shallowness. I was really disappointed. Several reviews here adore it, but not me. The author even attempts to mock himself the book. He attempts to make fun of literary critics who have trashed him--he metions himself in a review of the fictional Jeremy Green's book. It was supposed to be funny I guess, but it struck me as too much. The very last chapter had a style and wit about it, I just wish the rest of the book had that feel more often. In the end, it was just sort of blah--like the white t-shirt on the cover.

As other reviewers have mentioned, this is basically a 90's version of Bright Lights, Big City. Again, we have the protagonist who's trying to realize big dreams but lacks the determination to make them come true, and we also have the used-to-be-sweet-and-is-now-a-cold model wife. Furthermore, the style of writing, which seemed hip and clever when I read Bright Lights at age 17, now seems tedious and too-clever-for-its-own-good at age 30. I'm not sure if this is because I'm now older or if perhaps Bright Lights' style has been imitated so much that it's now almost a cliche.

The only part of the book that really came alive was the dinner scene at the restaurant when the hero's father has a tantrum at the table and drops his pants. It showed just what a good writer McInerney can be, and unfortunately it showed just how mediocre the rest of the book is.

I just had to go back and read the Amazon reviews on "Model Behavior: A Novel and 7 Stories" after having finished the book this weekend. Like all good stories, the novel sticks in your head and plays with your memories for days afterward. It's written in a lively, original style and I was lacking for nothing except, occasionally a dictionary! (What a vocabulary!) Out of the seven short stories following, I especially enjoyed "The Business," which, like all McInerney's best work, is smart, funny, and surprising. Read it.

I absolutely adored the author's "Philomena" story when it appeared in The New Yorker years ago, and I was so happy to read this more elaborate version. The style of the writing is rivoting, the wit and sentiments warming and light. There should be more in the marketplace like this; less drama and violence that will never reach you and me. This story captures a city-goer who has shared experiences most of us have, and talks about them in ways we should all appreciate. This and "Story of My Life" are my favorite works from McInerney, and I hope to read more of him in the future.

It has been said that everybody has precisely one authentic story to tell. McInerney clearly told that story in Bright Lights, and hasn't been able to change the formula significantly--alternating between "experimental" books (such as Ransom and Last of the Savages), and the same New-York-professional-whose-life-is-falling-to-sh*t fallback tale (Bright Lights, Story of My Life, Brightness Falls, and Model Behavior).

He's a fantastic stylist, however, and the book is exceptionally well-written and entertaining, as long as you literally expect no new material beyond what you saw in Bright Lights.

If you like the style of McInerney, then I wouldn't discourage anyone from buying the paperback or a used version of this book. I would just skip the title and read the short stories. Some of them are up there with Carver!
-Borden Burns

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.

This book was a great disappointment in every way. The highlight was the discussion of nematodes in Florida. A complete waste of time!

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.

I've read everything Jay McInerney has written, but I was VERY disappointed by this one. Might be enjoyed by people in solitary confinement with nothing except cereal packets to read.