“Uys tells his story with an episodic narrative structure that bends chronology in order to tell Crane and Kimberley's stories from varied points of view. That choice gives the novel a filmic quality.
This is Hubert Selby for the MTV generation. Stephen Creagh Uys is a writer who should be taken seriously.
The Last Generation of Chainsmokers repeatedly references the Lost Generation and its writers, especially F. Scott Fitzgerald. Uys favors the romantic lyricism of Fitzgerald's fiction. He loves language and it comes in torrents. If there are moments when the reader wishes for the austerity of a Hemingway instead of the floweriness of Fitzgerald, Uys's accomplishment is impressive. It is a story well told.” -- Mark Huddle, Verbicide Magazine
“I asked to review The Last Generation of Chainsmokers solely because it had a great name. I knew it was a tale of love-struck woe in New York, but the title was whimsical and sad all at the same time, and I wondered if the book would be able to match that tone all the way through. It did.
I found that my image of the characters had to change quite substantially as the story progressed and the details of their lives were fleshed out a bit. But all that aside, it was exactly what I had expected… a fine, sometimes light and sometimes sad tale of love in the big apple.
It's that special kind of love that centers heavily on alcohol and the bird in the hand. It's that practical sort of love that we all wish we didn't have, but at least on some level can directly relate to. It's Kimberly and Crane, two very damaged souls holding hands in a landslide.
The story focuses mostly on Crane, the terminal slacker who seems casually amused watching his life leave him for sunnier climes. It's honestly a little hard to relate to him for most of us. He's like a calm Sid Vicious burning out on center stage. But there is a warmth and depth to him, and from time to time you cannot help but feel for him. Kimberly, on the other hand, is a practical everywoman. She's the sort of lady who has dreamed of better, accepted worse, and is now muddling through the trouble of being comfortable with her loser of a life. From the time the two meet to the end of the book, it's never boring listening to the thoughts inside their heads.
This book wasn't my style by any stretch, but I knew that going into things and found that I did enjoy it in the end. I think I might have understood it on a deeper level if I could have related more to the characters, but all things considered it was a fun read. And while there were definitely some moments that I found hard to get past in the book, when it was done I was glad to have read it.” -- Jim Martin, 3AM Magazine
“Not your typical story from the ghettos of New York City, The Last Generation of Chainsmokers doesn’t necessarily end with rainbows, AA meetings and happy reunions. Don’t read this for a pick-me-up, but when you need a good long session with a short thinker’s novel, peruse the pages but don’t skim. If you miss something you’ll just have to start again because it’s not the same if it doesn’t run its perverse course.” --- Long Beach Union
“The staggering drunken episodes of New York street life have never read more true. Crane King is on one side the classic American hero in his lonesome bravado and broken-hearted meanderings through the electric alleys of this very particular cosmopolis. But, Crane is also something new. He struts with the classic moves but is distinctive and original. These words encapsulate exactly how I fellt about this novel. Distinctive and original.” – A.F. Berardini, Seattle, Washington
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