In the late 1950s, a handful of artists from the countercultural circles of New York and San Francisco who coincided in their artistic postulates and in their rejection of the conventions of their time, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, Willem de Kooning, and William S. Burroughs among them, became a symbol of the unrest of a whole generation of young Americans. Although she was not a main character of the Beat generation, and was instead more of a minor character, Joyce Johnson--Jack Kerouac's girlfriend during that time--became, years later, one of its best chroniclers. In these evocative and wise memories, Johnson narrates not only her experiences with the Beats and her tumultuous years with Kerouac, but also her struggle for her own independence. "A finales de los anos cincuenta, un punado de artistas procedentes de los circulos contraculturales de Nueva York y San Francisco que coincidian en sus postulados artisticos y en su rechazo a las convenciones de su tiempo, y entre los que se encontraban Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, Willem de Kooning y William S. Burroughs, se convirtieron en simbolo del malestar de toda una generacion de jovenes norteamericanos. Aunque no era una figura central de la generacion "beat," sino mas bien un personaje secundario, Joyce Johnson--pareja de Jack Kerouac en aquella epoca--se convirtio, anos despues, en una de sus mejores cronistas. En estas evocadoras y sabias memorias Johnson relata no solo sus vivencias con los "beats" y sus turbulentos anos al lado de Kerouac, sino tambien la lucha por su propia independencia."

In late 19th-century New York, large shop windows multiply and awaken the imaginations of pedestrians, advertising becomes more sophisticated, and it seems as though electric lighting and the telephone are here to stay. Such a setting makes it seem as though any dream can come true, and Martin Dressler is willing to dream. His meteoric career begins in his father's tobacco shop, but at 22 years old he decides to start his own businesses: a restaurant chain followed by a hotel chain. The success of his businesses doesn't reduce his ambitions, and instead his projects become more and more visionary and his engagement in them becomes ever greater. But at the same time, his success begins to progressively isolate him from his family and all that surrounds him. His trajectory reflects many of the changes that came about in New York in the early 20th century--changes that were in large part driven by dreamers like him. "En Nueva York a finales del siglo XIX los grandes escaparates se multiplican y despiertan la imaginacion de los transeuntes, la publicidad comienza a sofisticarse y parece que la iluminacion electrica y el telefono terminaran por imponerse. En un escenario asi parece que cualquier sueno puede hacerse realidad, y Martin Dressler esta dispuesto a sonar. Su meteorica carrera empieza en la tabaqueria de su padre, pero a los 22 anos de edad decide poner en marcha su primera empresa: una cadena de restaurantes, a la que luego seguira otra de hoteles. El exito de sus negocios no minara su ambicion, sino que en vez sus proyectos se iran haciendo mas y mas visionarios y su envolvimiento en ellos sera cada vez mayor. Pero, mientras tanto, el exito lo va aislando progresivamente de su familia y de cuanto le rodea. Su trayectoria refleja muchos de los cambios que se produjeron en Nueva York a comienzos del siglo XX--cambios que fueron impulsados en gran medida por sonadores como el. "

Jody is the mother of five-year-old Will and a promising artist who currently works as a wedding photographer in Virginia. Her boyfriend Mel wants to marry her and tries to convince her to move to New York, where he works in an art gallery. Will goes for a visit with his father in Florida, but his father treats each of these visits as an invasion of privacy. The lives of the characters in this novel showcase the complexity of the postmodern family, the product of an era in which human relationships are more and more fragmented and take less stable and defined forms. This novel is an unsettling tale about emotional survival, but it is also a reflection on universal themes such as the fear of commitment, sex, and childhood fears. "Jody es madre de un nino de cinco anos, Will, y una prometedora artista que, de momento, trabaja como fotografa de bodas en Virginia. Su novio, Mel, quiere casarse con ella y trata de convencerla para que se mude a Nueva York, donde el trabaja en una galeria de arte. Will va a visitar a su padre a Florida, pero este vive cada una de las visitas de su hijo como una intromision en su intimidad. Las vidas de los personajes que pueblan esta novela muestran la complejidad de la familia postmoderna, fruto de un tiempo en el que las relaciones humanas son cada vez mas fragmentarias y adoptan formas menos estables y definidas. Esta novela es un inquietante relato sobre la supervivencia emocional, pero tambien una acertada reflexion sobre temas tan universales como la aversion al compromiso, el sexo o los miedos infantiles. "