Bibliographic Description
84.09.W007: McInerney – Bright Lights, Big City
BRIGHT LIGHTS, | BIG CITY | A NOVEL BY | JAY McINERNEY | VINTAGE CONTEMPORARIES | VINTAGE BOOKS • A DIVISION OF RANDOM HOUSE • NEW YORK
A Vintage Original, September 1984
104 leaves, pp. [16] 1-182 [10]
Contents: π1a blank, π1b blurbs, π2a book description and author photo, π2b “ALSO AVAILABLE IN VINTAGE CONTEMPORARIES”, π3a half-title, π3b blank, π4a title, π4b imprint, π5a dediction “FOR MY MOTHER | AND FATHER, AND FOR MERRY”, π5b blank, π6a epigraph, π6b blank, π7a table of contents, π7b blank, π8a fly-title, π8b blank, 1-182 Bright Lights, Big City: 1-10 “IT’S SIX A.M. | DO YOU KNOW | WHERE YOU ARE?”, 11-35 “THE DEPARTMENT | OF FACTUAL | VERIFICATION”, 36-53 “THE UTILITY | OF FICTION”, 54-68 “A WOMB | WITH A VIEW”, 69-79 “LES JEUX | SONT FAITS“, 80-98 “COMA BABY | LIVES!”, 99-118 “PYGMIES, FERRETS | AND DOG CHOW”, 119-127 “O COUTURE!”, 128-144 “LINGUINE | AND | SYMPATHY”, 145-159 “SOMETIMES | A VAGUE | NOTION”, 160-169 “THE NIGHT | SHIFT”, 170-182 “HOW IT’S | GOING”; χ1a blank, χ1b blank, χ2a about the author, χ2b blank, χ3a blank, χ3b blank, χ4a blank, χ4b blank, χ5a blank, χ5b blank.
Cover design by Lorraine Louie; cover illustration by Marc Tauss; interior author photo by Jerry Bauer.
Copyright: ©1984. ISBN: 394-72641-3. Price: $5.95. Bright Lights, Big City was first published by Vintage Contemporaries in 1984.
Copies: JDP 1.1 (three copies) (presumed)
Blurbs
- (front cover) A rambunctious, deadly funny novel that goes right for the mark—the human heart. – Raymond Carver
- Living in Manhattan as if he owned it, a young man tries to outstrip mortality and the recurring approach of dawn with nothing but good will, controlled substances and wit to sustain him in this anti-quest. He can run but he can’t hide. His relentless flight through nightclubs, fashion shows, editorial offices and loft parties finally brings him to the reckoning point, where he is forced to acknowledge loss and, possibly, rediscover his better instincts.
- Terrific: remarkable, funny writing, a perfect power-to-weight ratio. – Thomas McGuane
- The author is one of those rare writers who catches the moods, nuances and manners of a sub-culture with humor, finesse, skill and accuracy. A born stylist and a remarkable discovery! – George Plimpton
- Jay McInerney’s voice is a lot of us, whether young New Yorkers or not—coolly accurate, but sobbing inside a little. Bright Lights, Big City makes eerie beauty out of that old dog truth. – Barry Hannah
- In its depiction of youth striving mightily to amuse itself, in the exuberance of its language and the antic shamelessness of its tale, Jay McInerney’s novel calls to mind such classics of knight-errantry as The Ginger Man and The Bushwhacked Piano. It is a dazzling debut, smart, heartfelt, and very, very funny. – Tobias Wolff