- Taschenbuch: 304 Seiten
- Verlag: Anchor (17. Juli 2001)
- Sprache: Englisch
- ISBN-10: 0385721129
- ISBN-13: 978-0385721127
- Größe und/oder Gewicht: 13,1 x 1,6 x 20,2 cm
- Durchschnittliche Kundenbewertung: 3.4 von 5 Sternen Alle Rezensionen anzeigen (26 Kundenrezensionen)
- Amazon Bestseller-Rang: Nr. 1.223.649 in Englische Bücher (Siehe Top 100 in Englische Bücher)
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"I was guilty enough already, guilty of the same old thing since grade school: guilty of having come from a family that had had the lack of foresight--the poor taste, really--to come down in the world. It was almost anti-American, losing money the way we had." So muses George Lenhart, the ruefully ironic narrator of The Fundamentals of Play, Caitlin Macy's debut novel about money, class, and twentysomething relationships in the 1990s. Set in New England and New York City, this tale follows its characters from an old world of public schools and Maine summer houses, where the mention of money is vulgar but the lack of it even more so, into the brazen world of the new economy, where up-and-comers with no "name" are changing the rules of the game.
Before having come to work in the city, nothing much had threatened the sheltered and well-heeled lifestyles of the pedigreed Lenhart, his wealthy college roommate Chat Wethers, and their mutual childhood friend, the classically aloof Kate Goodenow. Nothing, that is, except for a shared (and silent) envy of Kate's high school boyfriend, Nick Beale, the poor "year-rounder" from the Maine coastal village turned boarding-school beneficiary turned pot-smoking dropout with exceptional sailing prowess and a passion for the Caribbean. Nick represents life lived without a script, and his story weaves in and out of the others' with a spontaneity that they so patently lack. His is a known spontaneity, though, and when the less definable one of skill, ambition, and new wealth--in the form of socially inept computer wizard Harry Lombardi--enters their sphere, the threads of the old world begin to fray. George looks on, bemused, as his class-conscious friends make careless (but transparently desperate) attempts to adjust their values, loyalties, and relationships.
Macy is adept at capturing the nuances of this last generation of aristocrats, caught between a desire for the past's fading gentility and the pressures of a faster game with a less rigid code of conduct. As George wryly admits, "It is hard to be reckless and still have one's shirts starched." Macy's language occasionally reflects the incongruous juxtaposition of these two worlds, mixing words like "foppishly" and "fleece" rather clumsily together, and her narrator speaks in a vernacular that seems far older than his mere 23 years, conjuring up visions of a Wharton-era New York rather than the city of the last decade. Her eye for odd details is deliciously surreptitious, however, and always viciously acute: she can paint sideline characters' entire personalities with one tidy turn of phrase, such as "Her face was tan--the whole party was filled with parents who had better tans than their children--and she wore pink lipstick that sat on her lips and beamed when they beamed." The Fundamentals of Play rides along on such observations, rewarding its readers with a glimpse into a (thankfully) disappearing world. --S. Ketchum -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine andere Ausgabe: Gebundene Ausgabe .
From Library Journal
In the tradition of 1930s fiction, a crowd of wealthy, WASPy prep-school friends descend on New York City after college to drink vast quantities of alcohol and "have fun" until middle age overtakes them. The center of this crowd is Kate Goodenow, who sets the standard for the group. Enter outsider Harry Lombardi, an ambitious (and therefore contemptible) social-climbing boor, who also happens to be a Catholic and a computer genius. He is on the brink of launching an Internet browser that will make him wealthy. Kate takes up with Harry for the novelty and shock value of it, going so far as to agree to marry him. Fate intervenes in the form of Cara, who announces that she is carrying Harry's baby. In the inevitable scene when Kate tries to "buy off" Cara, tragedy strikes, rearranging the whole cast of characters and their plans. Macy writes masterfully, creating vivid and unflattering pictures of these vapid lives. She tries too hard to create intrigue, hinting at but withholding for too long the resolution of the tragedy, but overall this is a very readable novel.DJoanna M. Burkhardt, Univ. of Rhode Island Coll. of Continuing Education Lib., Providence
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine andere Ausgabe: Gebundene Ausgabe .
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine andere Ausgabe: Gebundene Ausgabe .
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Format:Gebundene Ausgabe
Perhaps I am not wonderful at picking up nuances. I saw parallels to Gatsby as well as other readers. I loved the fluidity of Macy's prose, the ease of her rich descriptions. The characters, however, took a while to get the hang of, and I thought I was intelligent. Dialogue was at times cryptic to me - I couldn't understand some of the implications of what was said. Kate seemed boorish and not at all engaging. It was as though the other boys wanted her simply because Nick had at one time had her. I never felt as though I wholly understood a character's motivation, other than if I knew George I most certainly wouldn't have wanted to befriend him, as disillusioned and cynical as he seemed at such a young age - 23 and too worried to have sex! That doesn't sound like any 23 year old I knew - Ivy Leaguer or no! Growing up in the Yale area - though not attending - and knowing many of the locations of which Macy described warmed me to the book more than the story itself. I kept waiting, and waiting, for something to happen. When it did, I felt rewarded for having read thus far along, but the way the climactic point was handled was sadly disappointing and downright trite. It then felt as though Macy wrote the book to show off her vocabulary, not her imagination. I was taken by the book, could relate entirely to the situations, and hope Macy's next effort is a bit better. I will look for it and read it.
Format:Gebundene Ausgabe
I felt that this book was quite boring. I read it wondering when the plot would be revealed, when the story would start & when it would like up to my expectations! While the author has Manhattan life among the young & rich down, she lacks the writing to keep the reader interested. Even the style of her writing seemed like she was trying to mimick other famous authors. Dissapointing book.
Format:Gebundene Ausgabe
I forced myself through the first 75 pages and gave up in disgust. The dialogue doesn't give the reader enough to go on. I found myself continually trying to fill in the blanks. It took too much effort to read this book. The reviews were misleading.
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Mediocrity Reigns
Despite the drubbing Ms. Macy recieved from the NYT Book Review, I felt compelled to give this book about the self-absorbed, fading clan of "wasps" (that Fitzgerald so... Lesen Sie weiter...
Veröffentlicht am 21. Juli 2000 von Brian Harrison
The latest bright young thing...
Much like Melissa Bank's "Girls Guide to Hunting & Fishing," this book simply proves how out of touch the publishing industry has become. Lesen Sie weiter...
Veröffentlicht am 20. Juli 2000 von Cade Foster
a real snoozer
This novel managed to dull someone who exists in the worlds that Ms. Macy writes about. It is not that I question the fact that the author has had exposure to the priveledged... Lesen Sie weiter...
Veröffentlicht am 14. Juli 2000 von wylie link
A surprise
Although I am the last person to be enamored of the wealthy set, I was pleasantly surprised by how accomplished Macy's first novel is. Lesen Sie weiter...
Am 11. Juli 2000 veröffentlicht
The Fundamentals of Play
Caitlin Macy does an amazing job of portraying the generation of us born in the sixties. We are too young to really be baby-boomers and a little too old to be Generation X'ers. Lesen Sie weiter...
Am 11. Juli 2000 veröffentlicht
Forget Big Brother -- this is the real stuff
Fundamentals of Play is a fascinating glimpse of a particular slice of our culture that I didn't know much about, and the bonus is, it's told in flowing prose. Lesen Sie weiter...
Veröffentlicht am 7. Juli 2000 von Liz Diamond
Equivocal Re-working of "Gatsby"
I'm still trying to make up my mind about this book, but it fascinated me to the point that I'll certainly read it again. Lesen Sie weiter...
Veröffentlicht am 5. Juli 2000 von Kristen Fraser
Terrific Read
I found "The Fundamentals of Play" to be a wonderfully exciting book. I had heard tremendous praise and good word about this new novel and had great hopes in reading it. Lesen Sie weiter...
Veröffentlicht am 30. Juni 2000 von Caroline P. Hampton
well writen and interesting first novel
Like one of the previous reviewers, I bought this book on the basis of the Salon review. I was not disapppointed. The writing is clean and elegant. Lesen Sie weiter...
Am 29. Juni 2000 veröffentlicht
It reads like a vintage BMW...
macy's portrayal of a generation & their moment in time doesn't miss a beat. it's full of delightful nuances that demonstrate just how perceptive she is. Lesen Sie weiter...
Am 28. Juni 2000 veröffentlicht
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