Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Too Bright to Hear Too Loud to See


A studio executive leaves his family and travels the world giving free reign to the bipolar disorder he's been forced to hide for 20 years.

In her tour-de-force first novel, Juliann Garey takes us inside the restless mind, ravaged heart, and anguished soul of Greyson Todd, a successful Hollywood studio executive who leaves his wife and young daughter and for a decade travels the world giving free reign to the bipolar disorder he's been forced to keep hidden for almost 20 years. The novel intricately weaves together three timelines: the story of Greyson's travels (Rome, Israel, Santiago, Thailand, Uganda); the progressive unraveling of his own father seen through Greyson's eyes as a child; and the intimacies and estrangements of his marriage. The entire narrative unfolds in the time it takes him to undergo twelve 30-second electroshock treatments in a New York psychiatric ward. This is a literary page-turner of the first order, and a brilliant inside look at mental illness.(synopsis and book cover from Goodreads)

My Thoughts

Amazing!

When I first started this book. I had difficulty getting into the rhythm of the writing. Honestly, I put it down after reading about a fourth and really had no intention of picking it back up.

I am soooooo glad I did!

For some reason, when I picked it back up - it all started to make sense. Some of the things the main character thinks while in the midst of his craziness made me laugh out loud. Some of his thoughts were profound. And then, of course, some thoughts were just - well - crazy!

And all along the way, I’m thinking - how will this end? I can’t tell, but it was enough to make me cry. All in all - this really was an amazingly beautiful story.

Many, many thanks to Soho Publishing and Netgalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an unbiased review.

Publish date: December 26, 2012.

2 comments:

  1. O.o you have me curios. I love a book that makes you feel so much. Awesome review!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am just so glad I picked this back up! Thanks for the comment Kim :)

      Delete