A good read in review
Admit it, Canada. The centre of our cultural universe is not Toronto The Scorned. Nor is it any other Canadian Metropolis (we do have more than one). No, we are citizens of the world, and our point of no return is somewhere near the corner of Sunset and Vine. The quiet, modest corner, if that makes you feel better about things.
Today I finished the book I started yesterday. No reason to extend things out over the holidays. This one was easy to put down, for a few minutes, but I found myself selecting chairs where I could pick up and continue what turned out to be one of the better reads this season. Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey isn’t like most other books. There isn’t a plot, per se. Rather, this is a collection of moments with true individuals.
I’ll probably never make it to LA, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t recognize my surroundings if I was accidentally let off at the wrong bus stop some afternoon. TV, movies, music, magazines, brands. All have a little bit of the City of Angels in their DNA. After all, twenty million people must have some reason, other than the need to face the threat of tremors each morning, for choosing a zip code near 90210.
Back to the book. I can’t pigeonhole this one. Some of the characters are real. Others are surreal. Many of them will remain in my memory for years, much like certain people from my high school. There’s even a “shout out” to Perez, just to keep me guessing about how much of the book takes root in true scandal.
I didn’t purchase the book: it was on the “read me” shelf in the office lunch area. Before it goes back, I’ll try and get some of my kids to give it a peruse. Just in case, you know, they’ve got LA fever.
