Bright Shiny Morning

Welcome to LA. City of contradictions. It is home to movie stars and down-and-outs. Palm-lined beaches and gridlock. Shopping sprees and gun sprees. Bright Shiny Morning takes a wild ride through the ultimate metropolis, where glittering excess rubs shoulders with seedy depravity. Frey's trademark filmic snapshots zoom in on the parallel lives of diverse characters, bringing their egos and ideals, hopes and despairs, anxieties and absurdities vividly to life. Some suffer, like the otherworldly wino who tries to save a spoilt teenage runaway. Others gain, like the canny talent agent who turns sexual harassment to blackmailing advantage. Some are loaded, or grounded, and have luck on their side. Others, like the countless actresses-turned-hookers, or schoolboys-turned-gangsters, are doomed. 'Frey clearly has a knack for telling tales -- this story of interweaving, never-meeting strangers in LA is an engrossing read' -- The Times 'Frey has produced a novel that is defiant in both its grammatical rebellion and its fierce pace' -- Observer 'He turns cliches into characters robust enough to carry this 500-page Californian odyssey' -- Guardian '[It] pays little heed to conventional syntax, thus creating a beguiling momentum of its own, propelled by raw emotion and energy ... this compulsive novel is testament that good fiction can reveal powerful emotional truths' -- Independent on Sunday 'This dazzling novel focuses on a crazy cross section of the city's fictional characters' -- Look Magazine 'All the characters are cleverly juxtaposed against the history and atmosphere of Los Angeles itself ... a riveting and hugely enjoyable read: rushy, entertaining and appealing' -- Sunday Business Post 'For fans of gritty modern writing, this fast and fascinating story paints a portrait of the Los Angeles that Hollywood films and TV dramas rarely show' -- Bella 'The gritty, gloriousness of James Frey's writing will suck you in ... one of our favourites already!' -- U Magazine Praise for James Frey: -- . 'James Frey's utterly mesmerising account ... [is] easily the most remarkable non-fiction book about drugs and drug taking since Hunter S Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas ... As a memoir, it is almost mythic. You can imagine it made epic by Martin Scorsese, the auteur of wayward American maleness in all its extremity ... Utterly compulsive' -- Observer 'Excellent ... Frey's storytelling feels compulsive, involuntary ... poignant and tragic. The forthcoming film will almost certainly be a cult hit ... The good thing about Frey is that he writes as if he needs to; I hope his new compulsion thrives' -- William Leith, Spectator 'Frey really can write. Brilliantly. And if you don't think so, f*** you' -- Evening Standard 'A heartbreaking memoir ... inspirational and essential' -- Bret Easton Ellis 'Horribly honest and funny ... Read this immediately' -- Gus Van Sant 'Frey is selfish, egocentric, violent and pompous ... What redeems this insufferably bad mannered book is that, at the end of the day, Frey can write. Brilliantly' -- Scotsman 'Harrowing and unflinching ... This is not a book about drugs but about their aftermath ... Though definitely not for the faint hearted, Frey is often darkly and self deprecatingly funny. This is, in essence, a story of redemption and an incredibly moving one. This is a great book' -- Waterstone's Books Quarterly 'Frey has constructed a spaghetti junction of LA stories that is irresistible, frustrating and compelling' -- RTE Guide (Ireland)