Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com

One of the most celebrated and controversial authors in America delivers his first novel—a sweeping chronicle of contemporary Los Angeles that is bold, exhilarating, and utterly original.

Dozens of characters pass across 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 bright, ambitious young Mexican-American woman who allows her future to be undone by a moment of searing humiliation; a supremely narcissistic action-movie star whose passion for the unattainable object of his affection nearly destroys him; a couple, both nineteen years old, who flee their suffocating hometown and struggle to survive on the fringes of the great city; and an aging Venice Beach alcoholic whose life is turned upside down when a meth-addled teenage girl shows up half-dead outside the restroom he calls home.

Throughout this strikingly powerful novel there is the relentless drumbeat of the millions of other stories that, taken as a whole, describe a city, a culture, and an age. A dazzling tour de force, Bright Shiny Morning illuminates the joys, horrors, and unexpected fortunes of life and death in Los Angeles.

Average Customer Rating:

Good Read for Frey fans

Customer Rating:

This is a great book. Especially if you are from LA and can relate to a lot of what the characters experience. Its true that a few pages are a bit too detailed and you end up skipping over some of the useless info, but as far as character relationships and story lines go- I was captivated. Read all 500 pgs in a week and wish there was more. Id like to see individual spin offs on some of the stories as well. Good read if you enjoyed his other books... similiar style.

Absorbing and Fascinating

Customer Rating:

This is an amazing book about people (Angelenos) and a place (Los Angeles) that I have not given much thought to before now. What a history Los Angeles has. What a diverse population James writes about in this unusual novel. I learned so much about the residents of LA and people, in general, from this book, their thoughts, intentions and motives. All, just people, looking for love, in one way or another. James Frey writes an incredible book that had me reading far into the night, fascinated by this interesting trip to LA and all it's madness.

Must Read

Customer Rating:

Bright Shiny Morning is a must-read. I think James Frey is a great writer, whose language is easy for me to relate to as a young adult but also beautiful and intricate in its own way. He has never disappointed me with any of his novels. I believe this book deserves more spotlight because it truly is a wonderful glimpse into the lives and minds of several different individuals connected by one city. I believe these insights allow us to look at ourselves and the world around us in a different way. I love the style in which he writes-it allows you to just breeze through the book. READ IT. PS. must must must read My Friend Leonard.

I love LA

Customer Rating:

I loved this book. It was my summer beach book - read only on weekends between July 4th and today - Labor day weekend. I love the way in which this writer pulls us in with his style. I am so sick of typical "beach reads"! Crime novels retold with same story - different names. Or even more vomit-inducing "NYC single girls" and their struggles to date a decent man - yawn. This book was vibrant, exciting, told in a richly detailed way. I've never been to LA - but I now feel I know it well. Buy this book - you will not be disapointed!

From fraud to plagarist.....

Customer Rating:

Most reputable authors, even when writing fiction, include a list of "Suggested Books to Read", fiction's answer to a bibliography when one isn't given, as it should be in this case. He so obviously got more than 75% of this book from other sources that I can't believe HarperCollins thought it was permissable to cover their butts by putting on the copywright page "This is a work of fiction. References to real people and locations are used fictionally. All other names, characters, and places, and all dialogues and events, are the product of the author's imagination." Oh, please. And the mind-numbing minutae! Any English teacher would cross out 20% of the book with a red pen and mark 'filler' in the margin. Pages of names of people treated in the VA, people who are working other jobs when they want to be an actor/actress, etc. Most of the vignettes are like 'the people game'-look at a stranger and make up a story about them. The few main characters that appeared throughout the book were never woven together, except they all lived in L.A. He wrote about 120 pages of a 486 page book. Hopefully the authors listed on his top 10 (12 to be pretentious) list here at Amazon are reading his book and filing lawsuits.