Book Review: The Bright Years
Here’s my review of The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff. Don’t forget to leave a comment if you’ve read it too, or if you plan to read it. Then see today’s writing prompt at the bottom of this post.
The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff is a book that will tear your heart out, smash it into a million tiny pieces, then slowly stitch it back together again, though I’m still not yet sure my heart is whole again after finishing it. This is one of the first books that have made me feel seen on a purely emotional and human level in a long, long time. It’s the first book in ages to make me ‘ugly cry.’ And I have a feeling that a lot of readers will feel the same way, as the characters in this novel deal with challenges and heartbreak that might feel familiar to them too. With that being said, however, I will warn potential readers currently struggling with mental health and or emotional issues and or trauma, or who struggle with addiction and or have a relationship with someone who struggles with addiction, to proceed with great care when reading this book.
First, it needs to be said that Damoff’s writing style is simply beautiful, and so deeply human. Throughout the book there are beautiful and thoughtful excerpts like the following:
“I’ve learned how big of a dream it is to have a small life. That the cost of ambition is high.”
“Sometimes a woman’s choice is between impossible and impossible and impossible, and she just has to make it. Survival calculations become more urgent than rightness.”
“But salvation is not erasure—it’s a redistribution of pressure.”
“Loss is loss regardless of gains that come later.”
“Babies kill dreams but resurrect family.”
“Feelings are valid at the time, and memories are reconsiderations.”
“Who even decides when and why something dies? A human says, Okay, tree, enough of your shade and sap and seed, I need you to be paper now. And something stronger than a human says, Okay, human, enough of your work and love and life, I need you to be fertilizer now.”
“One death is a thousand others—the death of songs and tea and rain. If she had to go, I wish she’d go already. She’s nowhere but everywhere.”
Second, it needs to be mentioned that the characters in this novel are deeply complex, which makes them come to life in authentic and relatable ways. Anyone who has ever loved someone with addiction, suffered from addiction, lost a parent or child too soon, experienced unrequited love or unconditional love, or had to make impossible life choices they weren’t ready to make, will be able to relate to one or more of the characters in this novel. Personally, the chapters from Georgette’s perspective were incredibly raw for me to read.
This book would be ideal for book clubs that are ready to have deep discussions about parenthood, childhood, love, loss, addiction, forgiveness, death, finding one’s path in life, and similar hard topics.
Overall, I would recommend this novel to those readers who enjoy books with beautiful prose and who easily get lost in deeply emotional stories with complex characters— as long as they are prepared to face the deeply personal questions it evokes.
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Today’s Writing Prompt
Writing Prompt: Chemistry
Write a scene that includes or refers to chemistry in some way-- literal chemistry, figurative chemistry, or both.
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