Bright Shiny Morning

Bright Shiny Morning is a novel written by James Frey, published in 2008. Set in Los Angeles, it follows the lives of several characters: a married couple, both celebrities, named Amberton and Casey; a young couple, Maddie and Dylan; a Mexican-American maid named Esperanza; a homeless man of Venice named Old Man Joe. The novel not only traces the lives of these main characters but also includes "mini-profiles" of other minor characters as well as facts concerning the county of Los Angeles.

Bright Shiny Morning
AuthorJames Frey
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreFiction
PublisherHarperCollins
Publication date
May 13, 2008
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
ISBN978-0-06-157313-2
OCLC179826273
813/.6 22
LC ClassPS3606.R488 B75 2008

Frey and Terry Richardson published a companion photo-book Wives, Wheels, Weapons excerpting three stories from the novel.[1]

Reception

The novel received a good review in The New York Times, which described James Frey as follows: “He got another chance. Look what he did with it. He stepped up to the plate and hit one out of the park… He became a furiously good storyteller this time.”[2] One reviewer wrote: “Bottom line: If, despite the scandal, you loved A Million Little Pieces, you might want to devour Bright Shiny Morning. Like its author, it can be called many things, but never boring. Or timid.”[3]

The New York Observer called it a “page turner”[4] but also stated that Frey “leads you into the hills high above Hollywood, shows you the most spectacular view of the hideousness that is Los Angeles, and then abandons you to make the only choice you can: to jump.”

On August 2, 2008, The Guardian says "Irvine Welsh is entranced by James Frey's tale of redemption - 'the literary comeback of the decade'. James Frey is probably one of the finest and most important writers to have emerged in recent years." [5]

Other reviews were less positive, with the novel described in one review as “the bastard child of a short-story collection and an almanac.”[6] The Los Angeles Times called it “an execrable novel, a literary train wreck without even the good grace to be entertaining.”[7]

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References
  1. "Wives, Wheels, Weapons". LensCulture. 2008. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  2. Maslin, Janet (2008-05-12). "In 'Bright Shiny Morning,' James Frey Presents Little Pieces of Los Angeles in His Way - New York Times". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
  3. Donahue, Deirdre (2008-05-16). "Disgraced author James Frey rebounds with messy 'Morning'". Usatoday.Com. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
  4. Frey, Hillary. "Bright, Shiny and Long | The New York Observer". Observer.com. Archived from the original on 2011-05-17. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
  5. "Saved by the City of Angels, Guardian UK Review, August 2008". London: Guardian. 2008-08-01. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
  6. Handlen, Zack (2008-06-11). "James Frey: Bright Shiny Morning | Books | Book Review". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 2008-12-01. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
  7. "'Bright Shiny Morning' by James Frey". latimes.com. Retrieved 2013-03-18.


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