''Bright Shiny Morning'' is a novel written by

James Frey James Christopher Frey ( ; born September 12, 1969) is an American writer and businessman. His first two books, '' A Million Little Pieces'' (2003) and '' My Friend Leonard'' (2005), were bestsellers marketed as memoirs. Large parts of the stor ...

, 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 Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the United State ...

maid named Esperanza; a homeless man of

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

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 Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the List of United States counties and county equivalents, most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 202 ...

. Frey and

Terry Richardson Terrence Richardson (born August 14, 1965) is an American former fashion and portrait photographer. He has shot advertising campaigns for Marc Jacobs, Aldo, Supreme, Sisley, Tom Ford, and Yves Saint Laurent among others, and also done work ...

published a companion photo-book ''Wives, Wheels, Weapons'' excerpting three stories from the novel.

Reception

The novel received a good review in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', 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.” One reviewer wrote: “Bottom line: If, despite the scandal, you loved ''

A Million Little Pieces ''A Million Little Pieces'' is a book by James Frey, originally sold as a memoir and later marketed as a semi-fictional novel following Frey's admission that many parts of the book were fabricated. It tells the story of a 23-year-old alcoholic ...

'', you might want to devour ''Bright Shiny Morning''. Like its author, it can be called many things, but never boring. Or timid.” ''

The New York Observer ''The New York Observer'' was a weekly newspaper established in 1987. In 2016, it ceased print publication and became the online-only newspaper ''Observer''. The media site focuses on culture, real estate, media, politics and the entertainment ...

'' called it a “page turner” 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 ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' says "

Irvine Welsh Irvine Welsh (born 27 September 1958) is a Scottish novelist and short story writer. His 1993 novel ''Trainspotting (novel), Trainspotting'' was made into a Trainspotting (film), film of the same name. He has also written plays and screenplays, ...

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." Other reviews were less positive, with the novel described in one review as “the bastard child of a short-story collection and an almanac.” The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' called it “an execrable novel, a literary train wreck without even the good grace to be entertaining.”

References

External links

HarperCollins page on Bright Shiny MorningBook Reviews of Bright Shiny Morning
2008 American novels Novels set in Los Angeles Novels by James Frey HarperCollins books {{2000s-novel-stub