Looking for fiction books about the decade of excess (80's)

[CooLWaterz]

Ive been very intrigued lately about fictional books that describe the lifestyle and times of the 1980's . I just got through reading America Psycho by Bret Ellis and Im quite fascinated with how life in America was back then..Can anyone recommend any good ones?

 

[bobbyburns]

vineland, by thomas pynchon.

 

[Irene Wilde]

Having lived it (and that worse decade, the '70s), I can tell you, there's nothing back there worth re-visiting! Save yourself!

However, read Pynchon anyway.

Irene Wilde

 

[CooLWaterz]

Thanks alot! Im gonna go get Vineland..Ive also read that Less than Zero by bret easton ellis is a good one as well..anyone read it?

 

[Daniel]

I've not read it, but i think bonfire of the vanities is about 80's new york.

Quick edit...yes it is.

From amazon...
Bonfire's pyrotechnic satire of 1980s New York wasn't just Wolfe's best book, it was the best bestselling fiction debut of the decade, a miraculously realistic study of an unbelievably status-mad society, from the fiery combatants of the South Bronx to the bubbling scum at the top of Wall Street. Sherman McCoy, a farcically arrogant investment banker (dubbed a "Master of the Universe," Wolfe's brilliant metaphorical co-opting of a then-important toy for boys), hits a black guy in the Bronx with his Mercedes and runs--right into a nightmare peopled by vicious mistresses, thin wives like "social x-rays," slime-bag politicos, tabloid hacks, and Dantesque denizens of the "justice" system. If the Coen and Marx brothers together dramatized The Great Gatsby, Wolfe's Bonfire would probably be funnier.

 

[novella]

Melrose Trilogy, pt II

The middle novellette of the Melrose Trilogy (entitled Some Hope in the US) is set in 1985 in NYC. Though from the perspective of a Brit aristo/junkie, it's a pretty good read and accurate enough about NYC's dirty underbelly in that era (me born and raised there and out partyin' then).

Less Than Zero is another one, though less than fun compared to St. Aubyn's book.

The one that was on the shelves then and selling like hot muffins was Slaves of New York by Tama Janowitz, though it might read a little dated now.