I think the best thing about this book might be the hilarious cover.Slaves of New York is a linked series of short stories which, while not adding up to a novel, are for the most part observant and fun takes on the art scene in New York City in the 1980s. Many of the characters are met once and never heard from again but a few: jewelry designer Eleanor, and the artists Stash and Marley being the most prominent, are evenly spaced throughout. I feel that Eleanor with her neuroses and her quiet musings was really the only character that really got through to me.Janowitz does have talent, in every story - even the nonsensical ones that didn't appear to have much to do with anything (Involuntary Lunch?) had at least one or two great lines. The one that got me laughing was the asshole who wanted half a grapefruit. Taken as a series of vignettes it was a worthwhile read for the commute or a lazy afternoon. It is certainly entertaining and of its time, though I did not find it particularly groundbreaking. The jury's still out on Janowitz, I'll have to read one of her novels.
I have had this book ever since it came out and couldn't sleep last night and pulled it off the shelf. Parts of this book have lived in my head since I first read it in the 1980's. I loved it then. I gobbled up this book in NYC at the time, visiting my brother who was living on Hudson Street. Tama put her finger on a time and place in NYC that is long gone, but still resonates.If you want to know what the city was like then, this is it. Read it and weep. She is all that and a bag of chips.When I first read this book, I envied her style and longed for her success. I wanted to have her career! This book still packs a punch and the moments I remembered are still strong. This was the first novel I ever read that depicted people eating live monkey brains. I never knew it existed. Still haven't forgotten those scenes...and remain haunted by them.I am surprised Tama's become such a whipping post for critics. She still has an amazing turn of phrase. I still love her and will read some of her other stories next.
I remember what a stir this caused when it came out; how vociferous were the jealous anti-Janowitz crowd. So anyway it was speaking to me with its gaudy '80s cover design (not shown here) and my memory of a cultural gap unfilled and so I succumbed to the $3.98 price and purchased same.Read the first two stories and apart from the interesting physical detail and attitudes found them a tad quaint. But short and enjoyable. New York stories kind of interest me at the moment after having enjoyed Arthur Nersesian's "The Fuck Up."
—Evan
Slaves of New York seems best read as an artifact from New York's art world in the 1980s. It had occasional moments of humor, but more of just flat out absurdity. I don't think Janowitz intends for us to actually know any of the characters or necessarily find their predicaments particularly believable. She writes about the outlandish in order to poke fun at the foolishness and pretensions of denizens of New York's art scene. All that said, I also just didn't find it all that much fun, even though it was certainly quick.
—Nick
This book - UGH! Of course, any book that starts out describing a variety of penises has got to be pretty horrible. It was. At first, the book was like a mystery I wanted to solve. Why on Earth would a major magazine like Oprah (I think that was the one.) recommend such a book? I'm thinking, "Surely the rest is better. Surely the start was a fluke." Nope, it wasn't. Aside for the unappealing (that's an understatement) subject matter, the writing really wasn't very good. I finally had to just stop reading. The mystery remains unsolved. Why did a major magazine recommend this crappy book?
—Relyn
