Customer Reviews

Bright's Passage: A Novel

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In his new, terse, novel "Bright's Passage", Josh Ritter demonstrates in his compelling literary debut, that he is both a captivating storyteller and a fine prose stylist. He tells a most compelling tale about World War I veteran Henry Bright's return home to his rural Appalachian West Virginia, that is replete not only with ample historical detail, but also brings forth elements of fantasy as seen, for example, in Neil Gaiman's "American Gods". But these are elements of fantasy that may seem more at home within the magical realism of a Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel, than with a more straightforward modern fantasy of the kind dreamt by Gaiman and others. Even the most fantastical aspects of "Bright's Passage" seem rooted deeply in some form of realism, allowing the reader to accept for granted, the angel who aids and torments Bright in war-torn France and, much later, in West Virginia. Ritter's new novel is a most unique twist on the quest as a subject worthy of literary fiction, juxtaposing Bright as a young lad under fire from Germans across the front lines in France during the waning months of World War One, and his own personal odyssey rife with tragedy and hope in the rural Appalachia of his native West Virginia. Ritter has a great eye for detail as well as for language, talents ever more so present in his acclaimed songwriting. Without question, "Bright's Passage" is a most compelling work of fiction, and one that I found impossible to put down, heralding the arrival of a major talent in American fiction.

I discovered Josh Ritter's songs several years ago and have seen him twice in concert. His songwriting combines brilliant folk tones with descriptive, storytelling lyrics and these come through in his first book. Congrats, Josh. It was a very smooth read painting images in my mind with every page.