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Meritocracy is the story of a generation when it was young, caught at the moment when history arrived to exact a tragic and inevitable price. It is the end of the summer of 1966 and a small group of friends, recent Yale graduates, gather in a Maine summer cottage to say good-bye to one of their own. Harry Nolan is joining the Army and may be sent to Vietnam. Also present is Harry's beautiful young bride, Sascha.
Harry and Sascha represent to their friends the apex of their generation. Sascha has men falling for her "up and down the eastern seaboard," and Harry, a rich and fearless Californian, son of a United States senator, has his friends convinced that he will one day be president. The story proceeds from the point-of-view of one of the friends, Louie, whose unspoken love for Sascha is like a worm that works its way through the narrative, cracking apart every innocent assumption. An aura of power, earned and unearned, assumed and desired, hangs over this Ivy League world.
And it settles at last on Harry, who on this final weekend before his induction comes to understand a terrible paradox: if he's going into the Army simply to maintain his political viability, his action will dishonor his right to lead; but if he doesn't go, he will likely never have the chance. His wrestling with this paradox unleashes a spiral of events that becomes as fateful for all the characters as it is emblematic of the times they grew up in.
In one sense, Meritocracy is a novel for the Al Gores and John Kerrys and George Bushes of today's America. But in a larger sense it is a book for all those of the postwar generation who have mourned the loss of their true "best and brightest," and who regret how the life of their nation, so brightly and hopefully imagined when they were young, and now entrusted to their care, has come to be diminished.
Harry and Sascha represent to their friends the apex of their generation. Sascha has men falling for her "up and down the eastern seaboard," and Harry, a rich and fearless Californian, son of a United States senator, has his friends convinced that he will one day be president. The story proceeds from the point-of-view of one of the friends, Louie, whose unspoken love for Sascha is like a worm that works its way through the narrative, cracking apart every innocent assumption. An aura of power, earned and unearned, assumed and desired, hangs over this Ivy League world.
And it settles at last on Harry, who on this final weekend before his induction comes to understand a terrible paradox: if he's going into the Army simply to maintain his political viability, his action will dishonor his right to lead; but if he doesn't go, he will likely never have the chance. His wrestling with this paradox unleashes a spiral of events that becomes as fateful for all the characters as it is emblematic of the times they grew up in.
In one sense, Meritocracy is a novel for the Al Gores and John Kerrys and George Bushes of today's America. But in a larger sense it is a book for all those of the postwar generation who have mourned the loss of their true "best and brightest," and who regret how the life of their nation, so brightly and hopefully imagined when they were young, and now entrusted to their care, has come to be diminished.
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About the Author:
Jeffrey Lewis won two Emmys and many other honors as a writer and producer of Hill Street Blues. His "Meritocracy Quartet" is intended to chart the progress of a generation. The first book of the quartet, Meritocracy: A Love Story, won both the Independent Publishers Book Award for General Fiction and the ForeWord Book of the Year Silver Award for Fiction. He lives in Los Angeles and Castine, Maine.
Review:
Elizabeth Hardwick
“Meritocracy is a dramatic, riveting novel of our times.”
Meritocracy: A Love Story is the story of a generation when it was young, caught at the moment when history arrived to exact a tragic and inevitable price. It is the end of the summer of 1966 and a small group of friends, recent Yale graduates, gather in a Maine summer cottage to say good-bye to one of their own, who is about to leave for Vietnam. Meritocracy is a book for all those of the postwar generation who have mourned the loss of their true “best and brightest,” and who regret how the life of their nation, so brightly and hopefully imagined by themselves when they were young, and now entrusted to their care, has come to be diminished.
Publisher’s Weekly
“A paean to lost youth and hopes.”
The Portland Phoenix
“A smart and heartfelt trip...Endow[s] the figure of Harry Nolan with the weight of a generation’s regret.”
The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles
“A beautiful book: evocative and immeasurably sad.”
Robert Ward, Author of Red Baker
“Shot through with high intelligence and deep feeling, the novel perfectly balances its several tones—lyrical, ironic, and sweet, against the foreboding gravity of the Viet-Nam War. A book that delivers both intellectually and emotionally, Meritocracy is a wise and moving debut.”
“Meritocracy is a dramatic, riveting novel of our times.”
Meritocracy: A Love Story is the story of a generation when it was young, caught at the moment when history arrived to exact a tragic and inevitable price. It is the end of the summer of 1966 and a small group of friends, recent Yale graduates, gather in a Maine summer cottage to say good-bye to one of their own, who is about to leave for Vietnam. Meritocracy is a book for all those of the postwar generation who have mourned the loss of their true “best and brightest,” and who regret how the life of their nation, so brightly and hopefully imagined by themselves when they were young, and now entrusted to their care, has come to be diminished.
Publisher’s Weekly
“A paean to lost youth and hopes.”
The Portland Phoenix
“A smart and heartfelt trip...Endow[s] the figure of Harry Nolan with the weight of a generation’s regret.”
The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles
“A beautiful book: evocative and immeasurably sad.”
Robert Ward, Author of Red Baker
“Shot through with high intelligence and deep feeling, the novel perfectly balances its several tones—lyrical, ironic, and sweet, against the foreboding gravity of the Viet-Nam War. A book that delivers both intellectually and emotionally, Meritocracy is a wise and moving debut.”
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherOther Press
- Publication date2004
- ISBN 10 1590511425
- ISBN 13 9781590511428
- BindingHardcover
- Edition number1
- Number of pages168
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Meritocracy: A Love Story (Signed First Edition)
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ISBN 10: 1590511425
ISBN 13: 9781590511428
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: New. 1st Edition. First edition. First printing. Hardbound. New! A pristine unread copy, very fine/very fine in all respects. SIGNED BY AUTHOR on title page. he has signed his name only, without any inscriptions. Comes with mylar dust jacket protector. Signed by Author(s). Seller Inventory # jean10
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MERITOCRACY
Published by
Other Press
(2004)
ISBN 10: 1590511425
ISBN 13: 9781590511428
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Hardcover
Quantity: 1
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Book Description Condition: New. New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title! 0.85. Seller Inventory # Q-1590511425
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