Showing posts with label New York writers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New York writers. Show all posts

Tuesday, 22 July 2025

The Literary Brat Pack and the birth of 1980s Manhattan Cool

Covers of four iconic 1980s novels: Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney, Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis, Slaves of New York by Tama Janowitz, and From Rockaway by Jill Eisenstadt—books that captured the stylish, disaffected voice of a literary generation in Manhattan.

For anyone craving an 80s mood board turned dark, literary statement, you’ve arrived at the right place. Step into 1980s Manhattan, when the city throbbed with neon lights, fast cars, and faster lifestyles, and the emergence of the so-called “Literary Brat Pack”.

Led by Bret Easton Ellis, Jay McInerney, and Tama Janowitz, this trio of young writers provided a fresh, glossy glimpse of urban excess. But beneath the designer clothing and drug-fuelled nights, there was something more: a generational manifesto hidden behind chic minimalism.