Slaves of New York (Expanded Edition)

This is not a new topic for me, so indulge me. My last two years of college, post-community college, I had a subscription to the VILLAGE VOICE. Here I was, a 20-year-old in a campus dining hall in Alabama reading the barometer of what's hip in New York City. Of course, to me I might as well have been reading about Iraq or Darfur, it was so exotic to me. This was 1988-1990, the era of Joel Steinberg, Michael Alig and Tawana Brawley, but, in my mind, it mostly belonged to three writers: Jay McInerney, Bret Easton Ellis and Tama Janowitz, labeled incidentally by the VOICE, the "literary brat pack." I had read the male writers at the time but for whatever reason the Janowitz book never materialized (of course these were the days when the only way you got a book not in stores was to try and "special order" it at the mall bookstore, which may or may not work.) SLAVES OF NEW YORK is a vaguely interconnected collection of short stories about the lower rung of the art world in 1980s Manhattan, specifically the Lower East Side. A lion's share of the stories feature Eleanor, a jewelry designer, and her artist boyfriend Stash, as well as a handful about quirky artist Marley Mantello. Satellite characters shadow the corners, some repeating, some one-timers, like the man who likes to take women to Tiffany's, have them pick out a piece of jewelry, then make like he forgot his wallet. I thought reading the book over 25 years past its' cultural expiration date might allow the book to be seen as a time capsule (in a good way), but the book is lite on atmosphere and heavy on character. And it's not that the characters are unlikable; Eleanor is interesting in her own way, but her acquiescence to Stash becomes quite tiresome as the book goes on. My favorite story chronicles a baseball game amongst artists played under the 59th Street Bridge; it's during this piece that Janowitz's artistry shines and shows a New York that existed in a time and place. Overall, the most disappointing thing is how unimportant the book seems now compared to the buzz upon it's' release, like a firecracker that never went off.

BOOK REVIEWWhen Slaves of New York was published at the height of the eighties, it catapulted author Tama Janowitz to literary stardom. Appearances on Letterman followed. Janowitz was regularly written up in society pages. A film adaptation was made starring Bernadette Peters. Written as a series of short stories that feature a number of recurring characters, Slaves of New York is a view into the lives of downtown artists seeking fame and success in a rather flighty, unpredictable world.The quirks and neuroses of these downtown denizens are on full display, told through wacky encounters and irreverently humorous exchanges of dialogue. Even more entertaining are Janowitz's acute observations of day-to-day city living. The frustratingly undependable and filthy subways. The cramped conditions of apartment living. The bizarre daily encounters with strangers on the streets. All part of the every day miasma of living in New York City.Some stories stood out more than others. My personal favorite is titled "Sun Poisoning," where an artist couple vacation at a Haitian resort that is more hell-on-Earth than tropical paradise. The deadpan dialogue throughout the book reads like the following exchange-"Let me tell you something," Beauregard said in a slurred voice. "You shouldn't act so desperate.""Let me tell you something," I said. "I was just as desperate when I had a boyfriend. I consider life itself to be an act of desperation." Beauregard looked puzzled.Slaves of New York is a trip back in time to a bygone era. It a must read for anyone with a fascination or interest in New York City.

The book is semi-interesting. I must confess i had seen the movie before i bought it, and loved its quirky way, and characters, so i had ALOT of pre-conceived ideas about the book. Some of the book, so far, is vaguely like the movie, but like most movies i see, and then read the book, or visa versa, i usually like one or the other better. In this case the movie wins. The book seems to float from one character or another way to much for me or to really hold my attention. I guess if i judged the book solely on how quickly it put me to sleep, and there for how long it takes me to get through, well then this one is EXCELLENT!( cuz im still trying to finish siiiiiiiiigh) I will still love the book simply because it was written, and then made into a movie i loved, which made me fall in love with a dream of a New York that may have never existed or is long gone, either way it still holds a good place in my life.

I paid 10.03 for this book and it arrived in extremely worn condition with a 5.99 price tag still attached!!!

As someone else has said, the kindle edition of this book is really poor. It's filled with OCR errors - a machine converted the paper version to data and made a lot of mistakes, and then nobody bothered to read through and check it before publishing. b's become h's, l's become i's. But, like the spellcheck in your phone, it usually seems to happen when the result is another word, making it that much more annoying to read.This is an insult to the author, the reader, and books.

I had been wanting to read this book for just about forever, as 1980's NY is one of my favorite eras/places. I really enjoyed this read.

several people are studied on how NYC has made their life different from any place else they would have lived!

Grabs the reader in first chapter, then fails miserably.

The book was great. I got it for next to nothing because the write up on the back cover -- which I didn't read until after I finished the book -- was written by someone who obviously hadn't read the book.

Bien mais pas au niveau de Ellis ou McInerney