Turn of the Century
by Kurt Andersen
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Description
As big as the next century, as relevant as tomorrow, a novel of real life at the giddy, anxious end of the millennium. Rocketing between Hollywood, Seattle and with occasional stopovers at home with their children in New York, TV producer George Mactier and software executive Lizzie Zimbalist are living at the sharp end of the century. Too busy to spend the money they make, too clever not to shuffle a little beneath the bright lights of their high-gloss worlds, when George's boss buys out show more Lizzie's company, making her his personal advisor, the couple discovers that no amount of super-modern spin can erase certain basic instincts... show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
I had a real problem getting going with this book. I originally bought it in 2000, shortly after it came out in paperback in the UK. Given the fin de siècle subject matter I really should have read it then and I did try, but always seemed to get fed up 50 pages in.
As it turns out it I just needed to get a bit further in to where the story actually starts to take off. After that I loved it.
Having really got to the book late and given it's subject matter I though it could appear somewhat dated, however the tale of media and technology industry convergence remains valid today. Having read the book you can see why as it illustrates many of the pitfalls these two industries are facing and how many of the products they continually tell us show more are the future of entertainment are still some way off.
Whilst this is very much a book about TV, technology and big business it is also a book about a city. New York, LA and Seattle are characters in their own right who dictate how much of the story is played out. New York especially is a great creation in much the same way Anne Rice did with New Orleans.
The prose is excellent. Sharp, hip dialogue with wonderfully jargon filled descriptions of the workings of TV studios and corporations that really make you think you're getting some insider insight.
There is also a lot of food for thought. Some of the hoops shows go through to maintain ratings and viewer approval are quite worrying and given the authors background I am sure there is at least some truth to it. The impact of big business in an entirely non-productive, but money generating way also raises concerns. Nothing we don't already know, but it does bring it home and is dealt with very well.
The ending does tale off a little, but not enough to spoil a very vibrant book. show less
As it turns out it I just needed to get a bit further in to where the story actually starts to take off. After that I loved it.
Having really got to the book late and given it's subject matter I though it could appear somewhat dated, however the tale of media and technology industry convergence remains valid today. Having read the book you can see why as it illustrates many of the pitfalls these two industries are facing and how many of the products they continually tell us show more are the future of entertainment are still some way off.
Whilst this is very much a book about TV, technology and big business it is also a book about a city. New York, LA and Seattle are characters in their own right who dictate how much of the story is played out. New York especially is a great creation in much the same way Anne Rice did with New Orleans.
The prose is excellent. Sharp, hip dialogue with wonderfully jargon filled descriptions of the workings of TV studios and corporations that really make you think you're getting some insider insight.
There is also a lot of food for thought. Some of the hoops shows go through to maintain ratings and viewer approval are quite worrying and given the authors background I am sure there is at least some truth to it. The impact of big business in an entirely non-productive, but money generating way also raises concerns. Nothing we don't already know, but it does bring it home and is dealt with very well.
The ending does tale off a little, but not enough to spoil a very vibrant book. show less
Extremely entertaining. Its a bit long, but the story never gets old or stale. I do think that it would be a far less interesting read today for anyone under the age of 40, maybe 50.
Excellent, in a dense brand-name-dropping way - imaginative in all directions, rips off The Corrections before it was even written, prophetic ending, I really don't know how Kurt Andersen got the time to type it, much less write it. He kind of leaves the weasel thing hanging though.
Maybe the best of the Y2K novels, by one of the founding editors of the defining early-90s magazine, SPY.
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ThingScore 75
Andersen parodiert gekonnt die überdrehte Sprache der Programmacher, den Slang der PR-Strategen, die Motivations-Hexensprüche und den Dummlekt der Management-Coaches. Die Personen sind mit hochmoderner 3D-Technik entworfen. Andersens Figurenverwaltung ist hocheffizient, er schöpft seine Human Ressources gewinnbringend aus. Dem Autor ist ein plastisch schimmerndes Erzähl-Hologramm gelungen. show more Wenn schon Realismus, dann so einer. Von spannender Spekulationsattacke gegen Microsoft bis hin zur New Yorker Garden Party inklusive impressionistisch hingetüpfelten Glühwürmchen ist alles über die oberen Zehntausend drin, die sich ebenso exquisit kleiden, wie sie essen: "Und richtig, er kommt hereingeschlendert, in einem leicht pink wirkenden Anzug, so erlesen und seidig wie Carpaccio." show less
added by Indy133
Author Information
14+ Works 2,990 Members
Kurt Anderson is an American author, born in Nebraska in 1954. He is a graduate of Harvard College and was an editor of The Harvard Lampoon. He is the host and co-creator of the radio show and podcast, Studio 360 for which he won a Peabody Award. He is a co-founder of Spy Magazine. He has also worked as editor-in-chief for New York, and a cultural show more columnist and critic for Time magazine and New Yorker. He writes for television, film and stage. His most recent book is entitled, Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Awards and Honors
Awards
Common Knowledge
- Original title
- Turn of the Century
- Original publication date
- 1999
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 430
- Popularity
- 71,565
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.09)
- Languages
- Dutch, English, French, German
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 12
- ASINs
- 3
