Next: Young American Writers on the New Generation (Paperback)

~ (Editor) "When my grandmother was young, she would sometimes spot the emperor Franz Josef riding down the cobbled roads of the Austro-Hungarian Empire..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York, American Dream, Los Angeles (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Most of the writers collected here fall deep into muddy generalizations such as those in David Greenberg's idyll to his own halcyon version of the '60s: "They had communes; we get Melrose Place. They had the Pill; we get AIDS." One wonders, has he heard of Vietnam? Greenberg isn't the only 20-something writer who muffles his voice by burying it under the pillow of the past. Ian Williams starts his selection by telling how much he hates "ain't-we-kids-got-angst" generalizations and then proceeds to rant for 10 pages against the baby boomers. Eric Liu, the book's editor doesn't fare much better in his "A Chinaman's Chance: Reflections on the American Dream." He chews the cud with phrases like "national creed," "freedom and opportunity" and "common responsibility." Surely we can expect more from "Young Writers." Aren't they supposed to have new phrases that are combustible and arch? Not all the selections are dim. The good pieces are like Lalo Lopez's "Generation Mex," in which the author views the generic subject as a sidebar to his own idiosyncratic story, beginning with a defiant glossary: "vendido (ven-dee-doh) Sell out, see Hispanic. 'Lalo wrote that essay for that gringo book. What a vendido!' " Perhaps the best is Ted Kleine's "Living the Lansing Dream." Unlike some of his co-contributors, his style is detail-rich so the result is a great story about a uniquely rendered trilogy--Kleine, Lansing and the '90s. Anthologies are the relay races of the literary world; in them, a team of writers hand off a topic like some sort of baton. Unfortunately, the baton in Next is a bit too big for most of the writers to carry.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Editor Liu started The Next Generation, a magazine featuring political and cultural commentary by writers in their twenties and early thirties to counteract the negative stereotypes of the so-called Generation X rampant in mainstream media. Liu concedes the fact that his generation is a "postboomer" group, but he reminds us that, like all age groups, his has a unique sensibility. It is also an amalgam of distinct individuals with specific points of view. This anthology of vibrant personal essays by 16 young writers proves Liu's point. There are no shrinking violets here, no brats, no wage slaves, and no slackers: these writers are blunt, informed, opinionated, articulate, and well versed in dodging the bombast of our cowardly times. Hard-line feminism comes in for some drubbing in Karen Lehrman's commonsense celebration of flirting and gender differences, while Lisa Palac writes in praise of pornography and sexual autonomy. African American poet Paul Beatty's peppery and anecdotal "What Set You From, Fool?" explores issues of identity, while David Bernstein, "half black and half Jewish," assures us that much of America will look like him in the next century: "walking embodiments of the melting pot." Donna Seaman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co. (May 17, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393311910
• ISBN-13: 978-0393311914
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,643,063 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Excellent, December 8, 2001

By A Customer

One of my favorite essay collections of all time. I give it to my friends all the time, and have had to buy it over and over. From the perspective of an "x-gen" writers toward life itself -- the baby boomers, feminist awakening (as a porn star), getting a job, etc. Postmodern american youth. Wish there were more collections of this sort of young thought about our american life.