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New York Days, New York Nights
/ 9780330287128 / English literature / Engels / English / Anglais / Englisch / paperback / 13 x 20 cm / 289 .pp /
- GenresTravel
Paperback
First published December 31, 1984
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About the author
Stephen Brook
48 books6 followersStephen Brook has been a contributing editor to Decanter since 1996 and has won a clutch of awards for his writing on wine. The author of more than 30 books, his works include Complete Bordeaux, now the definitive study of the region and in its third edition, and The Wines of California, which won three awards. His most recently published book is The Wines of Austria. Brook also fully revised the last two editions of Hugh Johnson’s Wine Companion, and he writes for magazines in many countries.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 29, 2018
Brilliant collection
January 31, 2025
The outsider
I found this in a second-hand bookshop a few years ago and bought it to read on a trip to New York. I pulled it off the shelf to re-read when I went back to that city earlier this month, and was struck by how quickly a contemporary, impressionistic, up-to-the-minute collection of vignettes like this (originally published in 1984) becomes dated. It's not just that nothing ages faster than a quest for modernity, but many particularly unfortunate moments are presented when viewing this account with hindsight; chief among which is a single paragraph (p168) in the middle of a lengthy section on the city's gay scene which briefly mentions AIDS as something new and unknown to worry about.
Although well-written and an easy read (I found I'd consumed a substantial portion of the book by the time I'd got to the front of a lengthy immigration queue - sorry, line - at JFK) the author's tone struck me all over again as being somewhat mean-spirited, as he makes assorted disparaging comments about the city's public figures, some of which are apparently happy to grant him interviews. Less forgivably, he does the same thing with 'old friends' who invite him to their homes and parties, so you're left with the impression of an outsider adrift in a city which has no space for him (this is crystallized in an early episode where he - for some reason - describes his lack of success at making contact in the city's single bars). Maybe this is intended to say more about the city than the writer, but I think it could have been handled in a more generous fashion.
Originally reviewed 27 July 2010
I found this in a second-hand bookshop a few years ago and bought it to read on a trip to New York. I pulled it off the shelf to re-read when I went back to that city earlier this month, and was struck by how quickly a contemporary, impressionistic, up-to-the-minute collection of vignettes like this (originally published in 1984) becomes dated. It's not just that nothing ages faster than a quest for modernity, but many particularly unfortunate moments are presented when viewing this account with hindsight; chief among which is a single paragraph (p168) in the middle of a lengthy section on the city's gay scene which briefly mentions AIDS as something new and unknown to worry about.
Although well-written and an easy read (I found I'd consumed a substantial portion of the book by the time I'd got to the front of a lengthy immigration queue - sorry, line - at JFK) the author's tone struck me all over again as being somewhat mean-spirited, as he makes assorted disparaging comments about the city's public figures, some of which are apparently happy to grant him interviews. Less forgivably, he does the same thing with 'old friends' who invite him to their homes and parties, so you're left with the impression of an outsider adrift in a city which has no space for him (this is crystallized in an early episode where he - for some reason - describes his lack of success at making contact in the city's single bars). Maybe this is intended to say more about the city than the writer, but I think it could have been handled in a more generous fashion.
Originally reviewed 27 July 2010
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews