Publishing: Fast times at the Brat Pack book club
It seems the original Brat Pack, that group of impossibly good-looking young actors who starred in 80s hits such as St Elmo's Fire and The Breakfast Club, are giving the literary Brat Pack (Bret Easton Ellis, Jay McInerney et al) a run for their money.
Their publishing forays might not ignite the same controversy as something like Less than Zero, but their tales of too much too young, alienated protagonists, and more than a good dousing of alcohol are not entirely dissimilar.
Next week, Andrew McCarthy, releases his autobiography The Longest Way Home: One Man's Quest for the Courage to Settle Down, which reads as part adventure story, part "oh fame so young made me unable to love" memoir – with added trips to rehab.
Last month, Brat Pack queen bee Molly Ringwald, published her debut novel, When It Happens To You, about a troubled relationship. Earlier this year, Emilio Estevez published Along the Way, a son-and-father memoir with Martin Sheen. Last year, Rob Lowe's best-selling memoir, Stories I Only Tell My Friends, did so well that there's talk of a follow-up. With the group's accelerated living and debauched years spent in Hollywood, it's not surprising they have ample fodder for storytelling.
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