Scary Kisses

From the lost generation of Andy Warhol's New York to the cocaine-fueled runways of the top fashion houses of Paris and Milan, Scary Kissescaptures the tenderness and cruelty of the beautiful people circa 1980, living behind the pages of Vogueand GQ. As a portrait of this time and this place, Scary Kissesshares a place with Bright Lights, Big City, Slaves of New York, and The Bonfire of the Vanitiesas a classic portrait of the seductive pull of Manhattan nightlife. The story centers on a menage á trois that drifts listlessly into a spiral of cynicism and nihilistic gratification. With raw, voyeuristic detail, Brad Gooch's precise, snapshot prose re-creates a time unlike any other, and characters that flash with a stark, bright realism.

Brad Gooch is the author of two other novels, Zombie 00 and The Golden Age of Promiscuity, as well as City Poet: The Life and Times of Frank O'Hara, Finding the Boyfriend Within, and most recently, Godtalk. He is professor of English at William Paterson University in New Jersey and writes for Travel + Leisure, Harper's Bazaar, The New Republic, and Vanity Fair.