If it’s possible to feel nostalgia for a city you barely know, come with me and read Jay McInerney’s BRIGHT, PRECIOUS DAYS. You’ll find yourself awash with a sweet wistfulness for a New York City in the months before the crash of 2008. You’ll find yourself believing the stereotypes of literary agents and cocky genius writers from Tennessee. And you’ll find romances that are tangled and messy, amidst the ever-present backdrop of the canyons and restaurants of Manhattan.

Corrine and Russell Calloway, a power couple in a city teeming with power couples, were married in the ’80s after they graduated from Brown. They are living a remarkably dream-like life in a TriBeCa loft, attending art gallery openings, literary readings and glamorous parties one night after another. Their 12-year-old twins are bright and engaged in their lives of privilege; their exemplary manners are shown off when the Calloways entertain at home.

"BRIGHT, PRECIOUS DAYS is exactly that. McInerney shows the glamorous moments of the Calloways of New York, all the while acknowledging how quickly they go by."

Despite the backdrop of intensity of the 2008 election and the crash of the world banking system, the misfortunes that befall the Calloways are of their own making. A lover from Corrine’s past returns to New York; he brings a familiar, erotic pattern that she has missed, and she finds him compelling and persuasive once again. Her consideration of him as a permanent change slowly disrupts the lives of her daughter and son, her husband, and their many friends.

As an independent publisher, Russell relies on his considerable experience and acumen to make far-reaching decisions about choosing, editing and publishing books. He does best with fiction, he tells one of his potential investors. However, he is drawn to a nonfiction writer with a tale of danger and intrigue; despite some small reservations, he charges forward and plans to publish. His nickname “Crash” (given him in college for the obvious reasons) should alert even the most optimistic reader.

Two characters remain with me. First is Storey, the 12-year-old daughter who sees the flaws in her parents and comes to understand how to challenge the status quo. Corrine initially resists the demands for truth placed on her by Storey, but some of the hopefulness in the conclusion comes from that child’s affection. Washington, a best friend of Russell’s for years, is the second. His character is considerably flawed --- he has yielded many times to his roving eye --- but he is a faithful friend to Russell. He is generous and reliable in this friendship, and their honest conversations about the various icky situations in which both have been involved are some of the best in the novel. Washington, mercifully, has a sense of humor.

Trust Jay McInerney for some valid insight into excess and ambiguity, a touch of satire about disaster and recovery. In the last scene, Corrine’s screenplay, which has been in the works for years, is being heralded a success. A friend --- skinnier than ever --- congratulates her: “Gotta say, you really captured those entitled, overeducated New Yorkers.” Corrine graciously credits her vast imaginative powers.

BRIGHT, PRECIOUS DAYS is exactly that. McInerney shows the glamorous moments of the Calloways of New York, all the while acknowledging how quickly they go by.