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Bright Shiny Morning (P.S.) |  | Author: James Frey
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Category: Book
List Price: $15.99
Buy Used: $1.43
as of 7/31/2010 19:52 CDT details
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Seller: keen_northwest
Rating:  171 reviews
Sales Rank: 62036
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Pages: 544
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.5 x 0.9
ISBN: 0061573175
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780061573170
ASIN: 0061573175
Publication Date: May 1, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
One of the most celebrated and controversial authors in America delivers an extraordinary novel—a sweeping chronicle of contemporary Los Angeles that is bold, exhilarating, and utterly original. Dozens of characters pass through the reader's sight lines—some never to be seen again—but James Frey lingers on a handful of LA's lost souls and captures the dramatic narrative of their lives. A dazzling tour de force, Bright Shiny Morning illuminates the joys, horrors, and unexpected fortunes of life and death in Los Angeles.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 171
 Very interesting, extremely well-written July 31, 2010
Viki Day
James Frey has a special writing style, pace, point of view, and even punctuation, that makes his books, with their quirky, fun, but recognizable characters, a great pleasure to read. He stands Tall as an American writer - I would miss any of his books.
 How did this book get published? June 25, 2010
Babina (Ohio)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
It's terrible. The stories are as cliche as they come - innocent midwestern transplants in LA? A secretly gay movie star? Come on. And then there's the writing style, which I can only imagine is an attempt to be lyrical or original, but really is just amateurish and annoying. There's no way this book would have been published if the author hadn't already gotten so much press for A Million Little Pieces. Do not waste your time or money.
Demons in the City of Angels May 18, 2010
Wiggles (UK)
Like John Steinbeck's "East of Eden" which is a novel about the Salinas Valley, James Frey's written a novel about Los Angeles, and wouldn't you know it, it's amazing.
The novel doesn't have Chapter 1, 2, etc. but does have separate sections which follow 4 main plot threads - a gay movie star, a young teen couple who've runaway to start a new life in LA, the daughter of immigrants out to find acceptance in society, and a beach bum. The book is also interspersed with sections devoted to facts about LA while separate pages divide these sections with each page containing a piece of history of LA from it's founding to present day. The main character - Los Angeles, the city itself - has separate sections about it's highways, it's movie industry, it's ethnic sections like Chinatown etc, it's weather and geography, it's inhabitants.
The beach bum, Old Man Joe, showed the life of a homeless person and yet was by far the most attractive (sort of). Joe is a great character, a man who lives in a toilet, drinking Chablis during the day, and sits on the beach at dawn awaiting a vision. He meets a young girl addicted to meth and beaten nearly to death and takes it upon himself to help her. Esperanza, the daughter of Mexican immigrants, provides the warm centre of the book. The beaten down underdog who succeeds in the end, her story was the sweetest and the one you cheered for once you reached the end. The young runaways, Dylan and Maddie, were the ones I thought were supposed to show the opposite to the many horrorific stories Frey throws out about people who come to LA, and it very nearly was until the ending. Frey really doesn't believe in happily ever after and keeps you guessing until the last page. The gay movie star, Amberton Parker (Parker = Cruise?), was the least interesting but was still readable.
I mention "East of Eden" because it's the great California novel. "Bright Shiny Morning", it's 21st century equivalent, is also a great California novel. It's ambitious and it's scope is large but Frey pulls it off admirably with maverick writing skills (difficult for some because of the unconventional use of grammar and punctuation - or absence thereof) and a strong instinct for storytelling. It's never boring and he never resorts to hackneyed reveals, coincidence, or melodramatic deus ex machinas.
There's too much in the book to talk about and too much I liked about it but suffice it to say that I wouldn't be surprised to see this in the Penguin Classics range in 100 years time. It's clever and has many layers to it but is also very entertaining and can be enjoyed by the casual reader looking for an excellent tale. I really think this is one of the best American novels of the last 10 years and if this is any indication then Frey is destined for quite a career. I look forward to the next novel. Bravo James Frey!
A good, fast-paced read April 13, 2010
Suman Bolar (Bangalore, India)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Before you read this book, ask yourself the following questions:
1. Can you separate your perception of James Frey as a human being who exaggerated his travails in "A Million Little Pieces" and focus on his writing instead?
2. Can you set aside your own personal experience of LA to try and tune in to the author's experience - even if it radically differs from yours?
3. Is factual accuracy more important to you than a good story, well-told?
4. Are you a stickler for grammatically correct, well-formed sentences set out in clearly delineated paragraphs?
If you answered yes to the first two and no to the second two, buy this book. It's a rip-roaring read. Frey does a good job of interweaving fact with fiction, despair with hope, and individual experiences with the "big picture". The emotions he evokes for his characters are almost palpable - fear, joy, compassion, friendship, hopelessness...
To those who live there, it may not represent a 'true' picture of LA; the free-association, run-on narrative style may not be everyone's cup of tea; and not everyone is capable of separating the author's writing skill from his past mistakes - however, it is still a powerful story. To me, that's all that matters.
Truly Enjoyable March 1, 2010
T. Giorgione
I read both of James Frey's other books and loved them both very much. When I got my kindle and saw that he had another book out I couldn't pass it up. I started it exactly a week ago and ever since any free time i had i needed to read it. The book is made up of many stories within a story. It tells the tale of people living in LA and how there lives vary so widely from one another. What makes it so good is Frey's style of writing. His writing is so detailed and his emotioin comes through his words. It makes you feel the characters and feel what they feel.
If you enjoyed his other books or you just want a taste of something new, i truly think you should give this a go.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 171
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