2/5 - Apparently this is something of a cult classic; I've never heard of it before so I had no impressions whatsoever as to what it would be like. Bright Lights, Big City is written in second person and set in 1980's New York City, about a young man partying his way through life's problems. As far as I can recall I've never read another book in second person, but it wasn't annoying. I got used to "You walk down the street. You saw this. You are hungry." McInerney does this to make the reader put themselves in the narrator's shoes. ("You"/the narrator/protagonist doesn't have a name. Another way of nudging you, the reader, to become one with "You.") These little literary tricks didn't work well on me, mainly because the opening chapter has "You" in a New York nightclub on a Saturday night (basically Sunday morning) drunk out of "Your" mind, hitting on a bald girl, and feeling the effects of quite a bit of cocaine. I can't say that's a situation I've ever found myself in...hence the lack of relating to "You." The narrator continues this pattern of self destruction every day, to the point where I wanted to ask him, "Hey, when was your last full night of sleep? Have you had a glass of water lately?" (view spoiler)[ The guy is clearly struggling from some emotional trauma, not just from the broken relationship he's so fixated on. (hide spoiler)] 
 I really loved his super dry sense of humor and wit. My favorite part of the book was when he goes into work on Monday, realizes he's been given an impossible task, and ends his self-pitying, morose inner dialogue with "Jesus wept." Brilliant. It was a brilliant few paragraphs. I can't tell you how many times I've had that exact feeling on a Monday. The book is full of such moments composed of killer metaphors and cynicism. (For the record, I understand that addiction and depression are real and serious diseases, but my interpretation of this character is that he didn't have a mental disease. He was just running from his problems.) 
 I rate this a 2/5. I can understand how some people might love it. If witty books about life in the Big Apple are your cup of tea, go for it. If he had showed more spine along with with his hilarious mental comments, my rating would be higher.