The Last Party: Studio 54, Disco, and the Culture of the Night Book

I would like to begin my review by stating that I'm a huge fan of Studio 54. I've watched dosens of documentaries featuring the club and the disco era in general, read plenty of articles, i even collect rare photos from within the club and its most notable patrons, so i was so excited when i stumbled upon this book on Netgalley.


My excitement though, was sadly and pretty early on, dissipated. Although i enjoyed many aspects of the book, like the intriguing and highly detailed stories and the 2009 intro, the biggest part wasn't what i hoped it would be. In my opinion the book naration was pretty much, an endless series of names and places, scattered thoughts and memories and void descriptions. Mainly, its core theme wasn't the Studio, but the nightlife until the early 90's.


The Nightlife. A word that was so overused it made my head spinning and my eyes rolling a handful of times. 400 pages are not enough to decribe the nightlife in New York for two decades, but they weren't even enough to capture the 70's nostalgia i was craving for, from the moment i opened the book.


Of course, that wasn't the only problem i encountered. Primarily i would say that the book is a subcultural, social and historical, decorum. But later on the feeling of a memoir slithered in, and made me as a reader wonder. I didn't like all the details that held no meaning to the main story, and the way the author many times lost his train of thought.


But i came to love many passages and features. Firstly, i believe that the book provides a fine example of the reality inside the club, the graphic stories, the exhibitionist tendencies, the commercial solicitation of drug abuse, the extrovert and uninhibited sexual acts, the daring parties, the fantasy world that only opened for very few chosen ones every night, along with the rise of disco music and later on the fall from grace, not only for the two owners of the club but for a whole generation at the same time an end of an epoch. The revolve that followed from a glamourous and acentric partying to a vibrant and buoyant revelry.


Many issues maybe glitterized, but the main idea is very clear and poignant. I have to say i noted also, the sigificant difference after AIDS became a reality and the meaning of those times in the acceptance of the homosexual community.


Notable Patrons:
Andy Warhol
Mick Jagger
Bianca Jagger
Grace Jones
Diana Ross
Liza Minnelli
Gia Carangi
Truman Capote
Elizabeth Taylor
Halston
Sally Lippman earned her moniker "Disco Sally".
Jerry Hall
Woody Allen
Michael Jackson
Brooke Shields
Freddie Mercury
Annie Lennox
Divine
Madonna
Donna Summer
Calvin Klein
Diane von Furstenberg
and many, many more.





ARC provided via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review. Thank you!