Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Bright Shiny Morning
Book Review: It is only fiction!
Summary: 5 Stars
We are in LA, welcome.
A book about hopefulls, down and outs, liars and people out to make money from others by legitamate means or otherwise. Its a extreme book full of twists and plots of people trying to out do others or each other. The storyline has many faces of the lucky and not so lucky, and stories of people doomed to failure from the outset. If stories of glitter and paths of despair, anxiety and absurdity should appeal then this will prove to be a diverse and interesting read. Well written story, at the end of the day this is only fiction.
Book Review: Bright shiny future for an exceptional author
Summary: 4 Stars
James Frey's gritty, no-holds-barred expose on life in LA is entrancing, addictive and genuinely touching in places. Having never read anything of his before I had no idea what to expect but the stories of the homeless bum, the young couple full of love and hope, the movie star and his secret life and the put-upon maid kept me hooked. Frey writes with great pace yet also at times with great tenderness, genuinely caring about those he has created. The reader is filled with fury at the callousness of Amberton, winces as Joe is beaten trying to give aid, and grits their teeth desperately hoping happiness will come to the teenage runaways Dylan and Maddie, and the self-conscious Esperanza.
Interspersed with the stories of these characters are shocking and interesting facts about LA, its past, present and future. This is an epic, exhausting and exhilarating read.
Book Review: 3.5
Summary: 3 Stars
This book is the first I've read by James Frey and the style - sentence construction, lack of punctuation and grammar, typographical quirks - grated on me, but once I got used to them the book became easier and more enjoyable to read. The book is centered on Los Angeles and there are four main stories involving people searching for dream fulfilment or a further extension of it (see other reviews for full details and save the repetition). There are also minor flash stories of anonymous people, who along with the main characters remind us of our own quests through life, and the inevitable disappointments most of us will experience. And around it all is the periodic story of the development of Los Angeles backed with interesting facts and statistics. The book has pace, emotional connectivity, a touch of menace and tension, and a sense of compassion that whilst never veering into sentimentality, does remind the reader that the losers are all-to-human, just like the rest of us. At times the descriptive elements are minimal and this works well in a 'less is more' sort of way. So generally a good book with pace and style and interesting characters one can respond to and at times feel for.Book Review: Great read!
Summary: 4 Stars
A good read, it's almost as if you are reading many short stories, so your attention is always held. Each story is gripping from start to finish. I've never read any James Frey before but I will be reading more.Book Review: The City of Angels
Summary: 5 Stars
I wanted to stop reading after page 50 - but something kept me going. There are no chapters and no inverted commas for dialogue - which I found a trifle irritating as well as the misused apostrophe - though this may have been because I was reading a proof copy. That said the book was still well worth reading. I feel I now have an understanding of a city I have never seen. Los Angeles - city of contradictions; of highs and lows; the rich and poor; good and evil.
The story follows Amberton Parker - mega star - with his marriage of convenience to hide his homosexuality; Dylan and Maddie - teenagers who run away from home to seek their fortune; Esperanza - Mexican by parentage but American by birth, who is ashamed of her body and its imperfections; Old Man Joe - dropout, homeless alcoholic who occupies a wash room at night and worries about a girl called Beatrice. In between their stories there are facts and figures about Los Angeles and items from its history, together with lists - of gangs, those wounded or killed in various wars, natural disasters which have happened to the city, fun facts and not so fun facts.
The book is written in semi documentary style - giving an almost bird's eye feeling to the narrative. There are other nameless and named characters whose stories are briefly described. What made me keep reading was that I found I cared what happened to the main characters - would Amberton keep his secret and get the man of his dreams? Would Esperanza overcome her insecurities so that she could make use of her excellent brain? Would Maddie and Dylan find happiness in the city of their dreams? Would Joe survive?
The scene when Amberton and Casey - his wife - attend a film permiere is masterly exposing the pretence and hypocricy of the red carpet. Joe in a church berating God for letting his friend die and the gangsters who killed him live. Esperanza slaving away as a cleaner for the obnoxious Mrs Campbell, only to have her make things dirty deliberately so that they must be done again from scratch. All these stick in the mind. Descriptions of nameless people who come from all over the world to live in relative harmony in LA - including '50,000 Ethiopians who eat every night'.
This book exposes the tawdry side of the city and the glamour, it deals with the highs and lows and nothing much in between - maybe that is how LA is - a city of extremes, smoke and mirrors. But there are people in it who care - about themselves - about each other. This is a book full of hope and of despair of dreams achieved and dreams turned to dross. Against my better judgement, almost, it captivated me.