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How it Ended
A transsexual prostitute accidentally propositions his own father. A senator's serial infidelities leave him in hot water. And two young lovers spend Christmas together high on different drugs. Discover a world of sex, excess and urban paranoia where worlds collide, relationships fragment and the dark underbelly of the American Dream is exposed.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
28 people are currently reading
770 people want to read
About the author
Jay McInerney
68 books1,096 followersJohn Barrett McInerney Jr. is an American writer. His novels include Bright Lights, Big City, Ransom, Story of My Life, Brightness Falls, and The Last of the Savages. He edited The Penguin Book of New American Voices, wrote the screenplay for the 1988 film adaptation of Bright Lights, Big City, and co-wrote the screenplay for the television film Gia, which starred Angelina Jolie. He is the wine columnist for House & Garden magazine, and his essays on wine have been collected in Bacchus & Me (2000) and A Hedonist in the Cellar (2006). His most recent novel is titled The Good Life, published in 2006.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
August 23, 2009
Some good short stories....He seems fixated on affairs and oral sex....Recommended...the book that is..and i guess...oral sex
August 9, 2009
In the 80’s Jay McInerney and Brett Easton Ellis were being touted as the Hemingway and Fitzgerald of a new generation. I don’t know if anybody had in mind which was supposed to be Hemingway and which Fitzgerald, but in, How It Ended, McInerney’s book of new and collected short stories, I think McInerney makes a bid for Fitzgerald’s mantle.
The most obvious similarity is he treads the same ground stories with husbands and wives talking. True, Hemingway also used husbands and wives as subject matter (as well as couples that aren’t officially united,) but McInerney stories seem to have been influenced by Fitzgerald, you can feel that influence in stories such as “Putting Daisy Down,” “Sleeping With Pigs,” “Summary Judgment.”
McInerney’s stories aren’t all what they seem to be, for example in “I Love You, Honey” there’s a lot of subtext going on, and what the characters are telling each other isn’t as important as what they aren‘t telling each other. The subtext in the stories may be redemption, even when the characters aren’t aware of it or even asking for it. I noticed this while reading “Con Dr.” about a doctor with a drug problem who does redeem his career and his life but with unexpected consequences.
Other sources for the stories are writers and the writers life. McInerney shows all aspects of writers from gilded college boys wanting to be writers in “The Waiter,” or to the drugged out rock band lyricist, now more a drug dealer than a word purveyor in “The Queen and I.”
McInerney isn’t a pyrotechnical writer, he doesn’t use gimmicks to pull you into his stories with flashy wordplay or bizarre scenarios, most of his starting points are a world we know well, or aren’t unfamiliar with. McInerney is a mature writer who has the confidence of his craft and talent and lets his stories unfold in front of the reader. He has the ability to take what at first seems a random comment or observation and make it deftly reflect the unspoken truths behind the situation the characters find themselves in. A lot of the stories are from a male point of view but a standout story that I found amazing was “The Story of My Life” which is told from the point of view of a girl in her 20’s and her concerns. At first she seems a vague and vapid person but as the McInerney unravels the story through her phone calls to lovers, friends, and family, you see there is so much more, so much so that you think of her as a person and not a character in a story.
I don’t keep bringing up Hemingway or Fitzgerald as a direct story to story comparison of the legendary authors to McInerney, but to illustrate that the quality of work demonstrated in How It Ended is on the level of those legendary authors. If he is the new Fitzgerald or Hemingway or just Jay McInerney, it makes me wish I’d paid a little more attention to McInerney’s writing in the past few years.
The most obvious similarity is he treads the same ground stories with husbands and wives talking. True, Hemingway also used husbands and wives as subject matter (as well as couples that aren’t officially united,) but McInerney stories seem to have been influenced by Fitzgerald, you can feel that influence in stories such as “Putting Daisy Down,” “Sleeping With Pigs,” “Summary Judgment.”
McInerney’s stories aren’t all what they seem to be, for example in “I Love You, Honey” there’s a lot of subtext going on, and what the characters are telling each other isn’t as important as what they aren‘t telling each other. The subtext in the stories may be redemption, even when the characters aren’t aware of it or even asking for it. I noticed this while reading “Con Dr.” about a doctor with a drug problem who does redeem his career and his life but with unexpected consequences.
Other sources for the stories are writers and the writers life. McInerney shows all aspects of writers from gilded college boys wanting to be writers in “The Waiter,” or to the drugged out rock band lyricist, now more a drug dealer than a word purveyor in “The Queen and I.”
McInerney isn’t a pyrotechnical writer, he doesn’t use gimmicks to pull you into his stories with flashy wordplay or bizarre scenarios, most of his starting points are a world we know well, or aren’t unfamiliar with. McInerney is a mature writer who has the confidence of his craft and talent and lets his stories unfold in front of the reader. He has the ability to take what at first seems a random comment or observation and make it deftly reflect the unspoken truths behind the situation the characters find themselves in. A lot of the stories are from a male point of view but a standout story that I found amazing was “The Story of My Life” which is told from the point of view of a girl in her 20’s and her concerns. At first she seems a vague and vapid person but as the McInerney unravels the story through her phone calls to lovers, friends, and family, you see there is so much more, so much so that you think of her as a person and not a character in a story.
I don’t keep bringing up Hemingway or Fitzgerald as a direct story to story comparison of the legendary authors to McInerney, but to illustrate that the quality of work demonstrated in How It Ended is on the level of those legendary authors. If he is the new Fitzgerald or Hemingway or just Jay McInerney, it makes me wish I’d paid a little more attention to McInerney’s writing in the past few years.
June 26, 2009
My verdict on McInerney: great prose, interesting world, but not my thing.
Too much drug abuse amongst his characters for me to care. 80s decadence makes me barf. yes, generation x, you are all effed up to a degree.
His sexual politics are definitely from a man's pov. And I didn't like his characterizations of minorities. I suppose it's fair that minorities don't feature in his stories as much, because he is writing about the privileged in NYC, mainly the jetsetting pack in Manhattan, but even when they do appear, blacks, latinos, asians are almost always viewed as sex objects in this collection of shorts.
And he's obsessed with blondes. There is a strict type for his protagonist and they all deal with the exact same issues. Women, entitlement and privilege, and coke, tons of it.
I tend to find stories about the unsavory aspects of the privilege fascinating, but after 26 stories, an entire book of it, it's a bit too much.
Too much drug abuse amongst his characters for me to care. 80s decadence makes me barf. yes, generation x, you are all effed up to a degree.
His sexual politics are definitely from a man's pov. And I didn't like his characterizations of minorities. I suppose it's fair that minorities don't feature in his stories as much, because he is writing about the privileged in NYC, mainly the jetsetting pack in Manhattan, but even when they do appear, blacks, latinos, asians are almost always viewed as sex objects in this collection of shorts.
And he's obsessed with blondes. There is a strict type for his protagonist and they all deal with the exact same issues. Women, entitlement and privilege, and coke, tons of it.
I tend to find stories about the unsavory aspects of the privilege fascinating, but after 26 stories, an entire book of it, it's a bit too much.
June 10, 2009
I liked these stories less as I went on--you can only read so much about snorting coke in night club bathrooms.
April 12, 2020
Thoughtful writing of Shorts. Ended up reading them all on weekend. It‘s New York and the actual people on it.
December 21, 2013
3.5
'I like to ask married couples how they met. It's always interesting to hear how two lives became intertwined, how of the nearly indefinite number of possible conjunctions this or that one came into being, to hear the first chapter of a story in progress.'
A collection of stories mainly about relationships, drugs and the general disappointment of life. It's very similar to Fitzgerald's All the Sad Young Men, but in my opinion, more engaging. The stories are a lot more varied, the prose succinct and thoughtful.
All in all an enjoyable anthology to read but I still don't totally feel it justifies a four star rating, and it wasn't as good as Bright Lights, Big City by McInerney. Still, definitely worth the two quid I paid for it.
'I like to ask married couples how they met. It's always interesting to hear how two lives became intertwined, how of the nearly indefinite number of possible conjunctions this or that one came into being, to hear the first chapter of a story in progress.'
A collection of stories mainly about relationships, drugs and the general disappointment of life. It's very similar to Fitzgerald's All the Sad Young Men, but in my opinion, more engaging. The stories are a lot more varied, the prose succinct and thoughtful.
All in all an enjoyable anthology to read but I still don't totally feel it justifies a four star rating, and it wasn't as good as Bright Lights, Big City by McInerney. Still, definitely worth the two quid I paid for it.
March 5, 2010
You can tell McInerney studied with Raymond Carver. This collection of short stories is full of imperfect characters struggling with drugs, alcohol, infidelity and delicate nostalgic yearning. Regardless of whether one can relate to the actions or relationships, the presence of life passing, things lost and lessons learned seems universal on a visceral level. What McInerney does a little more successfully then Carver (in my opinion) is the individuality he gives to his character's voices. For instance, in Penelope on the Pond, the button (or the ending) of the story is so hyper spiritual that it can only be the thoughts of Allison Pill (the main character who happens to be an ersatz buddhist).
July 23, 2009
For a quarter-century now, Jay McInerney has been telling fundamentally the same story: Innocent newcomer to the neon jungle gains the world -- or at least a book contract, a bespoke suit and a gorgeous girlfriend -- only to lose his soul. "How It Ended" presents a dozen amusing but ultimately self-indulgent variations on that theme. The short story is perhaps not the best display case for McInerney's gifts. His characters need narrative time for their world-weary carapaces to crack, revealing hidden depths and vulnerabilities; in the shorter format, their sardonic defense mechanisms come across as shallow and bitchy. (From the WASHINGTON POST, July 8, 2009)
February 8, 2010
Where 'The Good Life' left off, McInerney brings it back together with his collection of short stories he's written since the early 80's. I put 'How It Ended' right up there with 'Girls' by Nic Kellman and 'Drown' by Junot Diaz as the best collection of short stories under one cover. With each story being 8-12 pages in length, McInerney does an impressive job of tieing together his normal themes of Bright Light Big City and The Good Life ala his stint as the 80's literary prat pack w/ Bret Easton Ellis.
October 28, 2013
A very good collection of short stories about masculinity, disappointment and not quite ending up where you expected. Only a couple of stories were disappointing. The characters in these stories were interesting rather than likeable but you could understand their actions even if you didn't agree with them. The collection as a whole captures a type of masculinity that is unable to settle and cannot appreciate success when they do have it.
November 14, 2014
This is great for middleclass Americans that came of age in the 80's...angst, drugs, sex, money, more angst. An updated version of John Cheever.
March 15, 2015
Excellent short stories- well written.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 18, 2017
McInerney at his best. These short stories hit, and like his preferred NYC setting they are unapologetically rough around the edges while being incredibly authentic. Great collection.
September 7, 2017
Comme le dernier livre de Jay McInerney, Les jours enfuis, troisième roman autour de Russell et Corrine Calloway après Trente ans et des poussières et La belle vie, n’est toujours pas disponible à la médiathèque que je fréquente, j’ai emprunté pour patienter ce recueil de 10 nouvelles paru en 2003.
Je ne me doutais pas que j’y retrouverais Russel et Corrine, dans la nouvelle intitulée Fumée, qui raconte leur rencontre à New York et leur tentative d’arrêt de la cigarette après quelques années de vie commune. Texte tout à fait dans la veine de Trente ans et des poussières.
Pas de surprise non plus avec la première nouvelle du recueil, Tiers payant. Alex est venu à Paris pour se consoler du départ de sa femme. Un soir, dans un restaurant branché, il est pris pour un autre par un jeune couple de New-yorkais, qui l’embarque dans une tournée des boites et des bars à ses frais. On y retrouve l’argent, l’alcool, la drogue et le sexe, thèmes qui ont fait le succès de l’écrivain, même s’il ne faut pas le réduire à cela.
Mon texte préféré est le troisième du recueil, Comment j’ai servi l’état. Grandeur et décadence d’un sénateur dans ses tentatives vers la Maison Blanche, racontées par un de ses collaborateurs qui sait exploiter les faiblesses du grand homme pour se venger d’avoir été mis sur la touche.
J’ai bien aimé aussi Hollywood Bizness, qui se déroule sur la côte ouest. Un jeune scénariste découvre qu’il n’est pas facile de se faire une place à Hollywood, qu’il faut accepter les règles de la profession pour se faire un nom. Mais lui aussi, le moment venu, saura tirer parti d’un secret pour progresser dans le métier.
Dans La reine de la nuit et moi, c’est encore le monde de la nuit, du sexe et de la drogue qui est évoqué. Mais là, plus de traders de Wall Street ni d’artistes et d’écrivains en mal de sensations fortes, plus de champagne coulant à flot ni de galas de bienfaisance pour justifier les excès. Juste le Meat District, avec ses hangars à viande qui empuantissent les environs, jusqu’à Greenwich Village quand le vent vient de l’est, et qui une fois débarrassé des camions réfrigérés et de ses malabars aux tabliers ensanglantés, se transforme en terrain d’exercice pour les travelos de Washington Street. Changement de décor, donc, par rapport à celui où se déroulent les romans de McInerney que j'ai déjà lus, mais l'auteur y est aussi à l'aise et très crédible.
Curieusement, je ne termine pas ce recueil avec un sentiment de frustration, comme c'est souvent le cas lorsque je lis des nouvelles. McInerney nous propose des histoires courtes mais bien ficelées, souvent ironiques et désabusées, témoignage d'un monde qui a pris du plomb dans l'aile avec les attentats de 2001. Si vous n'avez encore rien lu de Jay McInerney, pourquoi ne pas le découvrir avec (cette) fin de tout !
Je ne me doutais pas que j’y retrouverais Russel et Corrine, dans la nouvelle intitulée Fumée, qui raconte leur rencontre à New York et leur tentative d’arrêt de la cigarette après quelques années de vie commune. Texte tout à fait dans la veine de Trente ans et des poussières.
Pas de surprise non plus avec la première nouvelle du recueil, Tiers payant. Alex est venu à Paris pour se consoler du départ de sa femme. Un soir, dans un restaurant branché, il est pris pour un autre par un jeune couple de New-yorkais, qui l’embarque dans une tournée des boites et des bars à ses frais. On y retrouve l’argent, l’alcool, la drogue et le sexe, thèmes qui ont fait le succès de l’écrivain, même s’il ne faut pas le réduire à cela.
Mon texte préféré est le troisième du recueil, Comment j’ai servi l’état. Grandeur et décadence d’un sénateur dans ses tentatives vers la Maison Blanche, racontées par un de ses collaborateurs qui sait exploiter les faiblesses du grand homme pour se venger d’avoir été mis sur la touche.
J’ai bien aimé aussi Hollywood Bizness, qui se déroule sur la côte ouest. Un jeune scénariste découvre qu’il n’est pas facile de se faire une place à Hollywood, qu’il faut accepter les règles de la profession pour se faire un nom. Mais lui aussi, le moment venu, saura tirer parti d’un secret pour progresser dans le métier.
Dans La reine de la nuit et moi, c’est encore le monde de la nuit, du sexe et de la drogue qui est évoqué. Mais là, plus de traders de Wall Street ni d’artistes et d’écrivains en mal de sensations fortes, plus de champagne coulant à flot ni de galas de bienfaisance pour justifier les excès. Juste le Meat District, avec ses hangars à viande qui empuantissent les environs, jusqu’à Greenwich Village quand le vent vient de l’est, et qui une fois débarrassé des camions réfrigérés et de ses malabars aux tabliers ensanglantés, se transforme en terrain d’exercice pour les travelos de Washington Street. Changement de décor, donc, par rapport à celui où se déroulent les romans de McInerney que j'ai déjà lus, mais l'auteur y est aussi à l'aise et très crédible.
Curieusement, je ne termine pas ce recueil avec un sentiment de frustration, comme c'est souvent le cas lorsque je lis des nouvelles. McInerney nous propose des histoires courtes mais bien ficelées, souvent ironiques et désabusées, témoignage d'un monde qui a pris du plomb dans l'aile avec les attentats de 2001. Si vous n'avez encore rien lu de Jay McInerney, pourquoi ne pas le découvrir avec (cette) fin de tout !
April 13, 2020
Assurément, avoir Raymond Carver pour parrain doit grandement aider lorsqu'on s'attaque à l'écriture de nouvelles!
Avec ce recueil, regroupant l'essentiel de ses courts écrits entre 1982 et 2009, Jay McInerney s'inscrit en maître à son tour. C'est de l'Amérique qu'il parle avec ses personnages rendus si réels par sa fluidité d'écriture, qu'on s'y croirait. Les questions sont multiples évidemment, même si le couple et la remise en cause de la fidélité s'y trouvent largement exploitées. C'était hier mais c'est toujours si actuel! La force certainement de l'auteur qui dose parfaitement la longueur avec les actions contenues dans chacune de ces nouvelles indépendantes.
Une façon agréable de se plonger dans l'un des grands noms de la littérature américaine.
Avec ce recueil, regroupant l'essentiel de ses courts écrits entre 1982 et 2009, Jay McInerney s'inscrit en maître à son tour. C'est de l'Amérique qu'il parle avec ses personnages rendus si réels par sa fluidité d'écriture, qu'on s'y croirait. Les questions sont multiples évidemment, même si le couple et la remise en cause de la fidélité s'y trouvent largement exploitées. C'était hier mais c'est toujours si actuel! La force certainement de l'auteur qui dose parfaitement la longueur avec les actions contenues dans chacune de ces nouvelles indépendantes.
Une façon agréable de se plonger dans l'un des grands noms de la littérature américaine.
October 2, 2022
I’d forgotten about Jay McInerney. I’m sure he’s not bothered, but I had. I remember really enjoying ‘Brightness Falls’, which felt like one of those 90s novels that sums up a particular moment, but haven’t read anything since.
Anyway, I really liked this collection. He’s accessible without being bland or cliched, and there’s the whole broken American dream thing going on, which always encourages me to read on. But though the set up to many of these stories was intriguing, and the writing sharp and witty, overall they probably didn’t resonate as much as they promised. A 3.5.
My short story shelf is a competitive space, and so this will probably head to the charity shop.
Anyway, I really liked this collection. He’s accessible without being bland or cliched, and there’s the whole broken American dream thing going on, which always encourages me to read on. But though the set up to many of these stories was intriguing, and the writing sharp and witty, overall they probably didn’t resonate as much as they promised. A 3.5.
My short story shelf is a competitive space, and so this will probably head to the charity shop.
February 5, 2025
“la regina e io” e “terzo incomodo” mi sono piaciute parecchio.
altre ok, altre anche no.
non mi aspettavo di trovarmi così amareggiato.
come se non bastasse nella mia testa c’era solo il desiderio di finirlo in fretta e passare a un prossimo libro. peccato! tra gli scaffali della Mondadori mi son sentito anche ispirato. Uff!
ed è il primo libro che leggo di questo autore.
comunque gli darò chiaramente un’altra chance, magari con il suo romanzo d’esordio.
altre ok, altre anche no.
non mi aspettavo di trovarmi così amareggiato.
come se non bastasse nella mia testa c’era solo il desiderio di finirlo in fretta e passare a un prossimo libro. peccato! tra gli scaffali della Mondadori mi son sentito anche ispirato. Uff!
ed è il primo libro che leggo di questo autore.
comunque gli darò chiaramente un’altra chance, magari con il suo romanzo d’esordio.
January 28, 2025
Rather poor stuff
I've enjoyed the couple of Jay McInerney novels that I've read, so was curious to see how he'd handle the limitations of a short story. Unfortunately, based on the evidence of this collection, he doesn't seem to have been able to tra…
Originally reviewed 29 September 2008
I've enjoyed the couple of Jay McInerney novels that I've read, so was curious to see how he'd handle the limitations of a short story. Unfortunately, based on the evidence of this collection, he doesn't seem to have been able to tra…
Originally reviewed 29 September 2008
September 30, 2020
Lots of infidelity, drug use, ambition, old-family bloodlines, misspent wealth and uniquely American traditions. Also lots of New York and Nashville. McInerney writes great settings and characters, good for what ails me now.
March 21, 2024
"Difficult to describe precisely, the taste of that eighth or ninth cigarette of the day, a mix of ozone, blond tobacco and early-evening angst on the tongue. But he recognized it every time. It was the taste of lost love."
That's it. That's the best part of the book.
That's it. That's the best part of the book.
March 26, 2018
Mooie verhalen over de upper class in New York. Soms heel venijnig, vol desillusies. Fijne schrijfstijl.
March 26, 2021
Hit or miss collection, there are some real gems in here but others that probably could have used another draft. Definitely worth reading if you are a fan of McInerney!
July 18, 2022
McInerney non delude mai e anche i suoi racconti lo confermano.
January 19, 2023
took a while to read it because i found it so boring i put it down for 5 whole months but it wasn’t horrendous i guess idk
May 12, 2023
I savoured this for weeks because of how much I love his prose. 5 stars.
December 8, 2023
Nope. Nope. Nope. Did not finish. Fifteen hours of bummer stories; no thank you. Not for me and life’s too short to read shit that’s not for me.
March 10, 2025
I don't remember it too well. Think I read it to see some of his older characters revisited
February 9, 2021
admirer of his and find them easy to absorb. Loved the title story "How it Ended" and Smoke best. Also The Reunion.
I like the way he is so aware of all the other people who loom into intimate relationships and are essential to their function. I don't think he is cynical about love, but just aware of how hopeless idealism can be and can actually be a closed door. Some of the stories bit over-done when he tries the ultra seedy settings like The Queen and I. But still good to read.
I like the way he is so aware of all the other people who loom into intimate relationships and are essential to their function. I don't think he is cynical about love, but just aware of how hopeless idealism can be and can actually be a closed door. Some of the stories bit over-done when he tries the ultra seedy settings like The Queen and I. But still good to read.
September 23, 2025
Schuld en boete
Na het debuut van Wells Tower 'Alles verwoest, alles verbrand' opnieuw een verhalenbundel van formaat: 'De laatste vrijgezel' van Jay McInerney. Daarin bundelt de Amerikaanse schrijver de beste kortverhalen die hij in zijn vijfentwintigjarige carrière schreef. McInerney werd vooral bekend door de succesvolle verfilming van zijn debuut uit 1984, 'Bright lights, big city'. Ondertussen voltooide hij zeven romans met 'Het goede leven' uit 2006 als voorlopig hoogtepunt en wordt hij beschouwd als dé chroniqueur van het New Yorkse grootstadsleven.
McInerney, een vijftiger die inmiddels voor de vierde keer gehuwd is, blijkt bovendien een gedragsdeskundige wat betreft de aard van het genotzuchtige beestje. In ieder boek staat de delicate verhouding tussen de geslachten centraal, terwijl op de achtergrond het bruisende, opwindende leven van een metropool lonkt. Ook in de twintig verhalen die deze bundel bevat worden de grenzen van het betamelijke opnieuw grondig afgetast.
Keer op keer is de lezer er getuige van hoe de bitterzoet smakende ontrouw onherroepelijk tot een onontwarbaar web van leugens leidt. Een verstikkend kluwen dat aangroeit tot de echtbrekers tenslotte geen kant meer uit kunnen. Hoe veelbelovend en onschuldig de liefdesavonturen ook van start gaan, het resultaat is zonder uitzondering een hoop frustratie en woede. In de verhalen van McInerney ontloopt niemand zijn straf.
In het openingsverhaal besluit een koppel, al sinds hun studententijd een onafscheidelijk duo, om samen met roken te stoppen. Plots wordt duidelijk hoe stresserend het leven is dat ze leiden. Bij de minste tegenvaller lijken ze het gevecht tegen de nicotineverslaving te hebben onderschat en op steun hoeven ze bij elkaar ook al niet te rekenen. Tot hun eigen verbazing bevinden ze zich op zeker ogenblik in de armen van een ander, en ontdekken onthutst wat hun daarnet nog onaanstastbaar gewaande huwelijk na al die tijd nog waard is.
Een ander, mooi voorbeeld is 'Ik hou van je, schat'. Daarin telefoneert een vrouw herhaaldelijk naar haar man op het moment van de aanslagen van 11 september. Hij wordt geacht vlakbij de twee torens aan het werk te zijn, maar in plaats daarvan vertoeft hij in de flat van zijn minnares waardoor hij ironisch genoeg aan de dood ontsnapt. Uiteindelijk beantwoordt hij het gesprek, zich niet bewust van wat er gaande is, en verzekert zijn vrouw ervan net uit vergadering te komen, en dat alles in orde is.
Hoewel zijn werk onmiskenbaar grimmiger geworden is sinds de gebeurtenissen tijdens de donkerste dagen in de recente Amerikaanse geschiedenis, slaagt McInerney erin om het geheel dankzij die typisch, luchtige stijl en de vrolijke ondertoon verteerbaar te houden.
Als Jay McInerney al eens iets verweten wordt, is het dat hij geen maat kan houden, te vaak en te lang uitweidt. De bondigheid waartoe het kortverhaal hem dwingt, rekent hier in elk geval mee af. 'De laatste vrijgezel' is een verzameling geraffineerde, vlot geschreven verhalen met pittige dialogen en een slim in elkaar gepuzzelde plot. Een superieure bundel.
Rino Feys
(© Cutting Edge - 31 januari 2010)
Na het debuut van Wells Tower 'Alles verwoest, alles verbrand' opnieuw een verhalenbundel van formaat: 'De laatste vrijgezel' van Jay McInerney. Daarin bundelt de Amerikaanse schrijver de beste kortverhalen die hij in zijn vijfentwintigjarige carrière schreef. McInerney werd vooral bekend door de succesvolle verfilming van zijn debuut uit 1984, 'Bright lights, big city'. Ondertussen voltooide hij zeven romans met 'Het goede leven' uit 2006 als voorlopig hoogtepunt en wordt hij beschouwd als dé chroniqueur van het New Yorkse grootstadsleven.
McInerney, een vijftiger die inmiddels voor de vierde keer gehuwd is, blijkt bovendien een gedragsdeskundige wat betreft de aard van het genotzuchtige beestje. In ieder boek staat de delicate verhouding tussen de geslachten centraal, terwijl op de achtergrond het bruisende, opwindende leven van een metropool lonkt. Ook in de twintig verhalen die deze bundel bevat worden de grenzen van het betamelijke opnieuw grondig afgetast.
Keer op keer is de lezer er getuige van hoe de bitterzoet smakende ontrouw onherroepelijk tot een onontwarbaar web van leugens leidt. Een verstikkend kluwen dat aangroeit tot de echtbrekers tenslotte geen kant meer uit kunnen. Hoe veelbelovend en onschuldig de liefdesavonturen ook van start gaan, het resultaat is zonder uitzondering een hoop frustratie en woede. In de verhalen van McInerney ontloopt niemand zijn straf.
In het openingsverhaal besluit een koppel, al sinds hun studententijd een onafscheidelijk duo, om samen met roken te stoppen. Plots wordt duidelijk hoe stresserend het leven is dat ze leiden. Bij de minste tegenvaller lijken ze het gevecht tegen de nicotineverslaving te hebben onderschat en op steun hoeven ze bij elkaar ook al niet te rekenen. Tot hun eigen verbazing bevinden ze zich op zeker ogenblik in de armen van een ander, en ontdekken onthutst wat hun daarnet nog onaanstastbaar gewaande huwelijk na al die tijd nog waard is.
Een ander, mooi voorbeeld is 'Ik hou van je, schat'. Daarin telefoneert een vrouw herhaaldelijk naar haar man op het moment van de aanslagen van 11 september. Hij wordt geacht vlakbij de twee torens aan het werk te zijn, maar in plaats daarvan vertoeft hij in de flat van zijn minnares waardoor hij ironisch genoeg aan de dood ontsnapt. Uiteindelijk beantwoordt hij het gesprek, zich niet bewust van wat er gaande is, en verzekert zijn vrouw ervan net uit vergadering te komen, en dat alles in orde is.
Hoewel zijn werk onmiskenbaar grimmiger geworden is sinds de gebeurtenissen tijdens de donkerste dagen in de recente Amerikaanse geschiedenis, slaagt McInerney erin om het geheel dankzij die typisch, luchtige stijl en de vrolijke ondertoon verteerbaar te houden.
Als Jay McInerney al eens iets verweten wordt, is het dat hij geen maat kan houden, te vaak en te lang uitweidt. De bondigheid waartoe het kortverhaal hem dwingt, rekent hier in elk geval mee af. 'De laatste vrijgezel' is een verzameling geraffineerde, vlot geschreven verhalen met pittige dialogen en een slim in elkaar gepuzzelde plot. Een superieure bundel.
Rino Feys
(© Cutting Edge - 31 januari 2010)
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