I stumbled upon this novel while killing time at the Barnes & Noble in Union Square last week… and am so glad I did! What a cracker of a novel! I just couldn’t put this book down.

Set in Los Angeles the story follows the lives of several characters using four main narratives: Dylan & Maddie – a young Midwestern couple trying to escape the nonsense and cruelty of their families; Old Man Joe – a homeless man living in a public toilet in Venice attempting to do something meaningful and heroic by helping a struggling teenager; Esperanza – a housekeeper from low-class Mexican-American family struggling to find happiness and self-worth and finally the happily married (and closeted) movie star Amberton Parker, and man with perfect public image, beautiful wife, kids and enormous wealth, willing to do almost anything in his power to get the man he secretly loves.

Loaded with dozens of short stories, minor characters and plenty of historical and political facts concerning the county of Los Angeles, Bright Shiny Morning could be the definitive novel of contemporary LA. Brilliant!

Bright Shiny Morning [Amazon]

Repost from September 3, 2009.