Bliss: A Novel [Hardcover]

Danyel Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 12, 2005

Danyel Smith is one of the most acclaimed music journalists of her generation, a prose stylist who “writes with music in her language” (Quincy Jones). In Bliss, a thrillingly sensual tale drenched with love and music, Smith dives deep into an intriguing set of characters facing life-changing choices in the swirl of the music industry at its decadent peak.

At a glossy gathering on Paradise Island, record exec Eva Glenn—soulful, sexy, powerful, and possibly pregnant—is hosting a comeback showcase for her singing sensation Sunny Addison, a barefoot diva with a poet’s heart and the voice of a lion. At the event’s high-strung peak, however, Eva begins to sink beneath the waves of anxiety washing over her—anxiety about a confusing sexual triangle, a career at a crossroads, and choices to be made about her possible pregnancy—and decides, in a blink, to flee. She leaves Paradise for the petite, pastoral island of Cat, accompanied by her sometime-lover D’Artagnan Addison, an earnestly crazy mystic looking for answers of his own. What begins as an idyllic break quickly turns into an intense sojourn that brings Eva to terms with the crises closing in on her.

Smith casts a wittily skeptical eye on the absurd drama of the music industry, but infuses every page with an infectious, bracing, unashamed passion for the power of pop. Her language matches the spirit of the music she writes about, echoing everything from throaty blues shouts and hip hop menace to the transcendent joy of a perfect R & B love song. This is a novel about the real rhythm and blues of life, about pain and loss and why we hold tight, in the end, to the sex and music and love that offer us a fleeting glimpse of bliss, even when the price is steep.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The music business can be an enchanted snake pit, but Danyel tells her heroine’s story with an insider’s knowledge, with power, and most of all, with emotion.” —Mariah carey

“A smart, savvy, and juicy novel with all the sizzle of a potboiler and with heart enough to uncover the humanity behind it all.” —Binnie Kirshenbaum, author of An Almost Perfect Moment

“Searingly honest and breathtakingly lush, Smith’s masterful prose moves the reader past the music industry’s seductive bling and liberates characters that are deliciouslycomplicated and compellingly flawed. Bliss is the literarylove song for the new millennium.” —Joan Morgan, author of When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost

“Smith writes with generous passion and propulsive energyabout the life choices women make, about the illusion of control,and about getting to know ourselves. I love this book.” —Ayelet Waldman, author of Love and Other Impossible Pursuits

“For the last decade, Danyel has had a front row seat for allthe craziness of the record business. She knows how fly it all was,and she knows where the bodies are buried. You’ll love Bliss.”—Touré, author of Soul City

“The color and candor of hip hop is rarely transferredonto paper, and Danyel Smith’s voice is the rare, vitalinstrument strong enough to carry that tune.”—Sacha Jenkins, coauthor of ego trip’s Big Book of Racism!

“A dynamic novel with authenticity and surprise at every turn.”—Katharine Weber, author of The Little Women

“With the remarkable Bliss, Danyel Smith uses her palpable love and vast knowledge of music—hip hop, pop, and soul—to conjure a glorious, compelling story.” —Alan Light, author of The Skills to Pay the Bills

About the Author

Danyel Smith is the author of the critically acclaimed novel More Like Wrestling. She’s been writing about music for more than a decade and is the former editor in chief of Vibe and editor at large at Time Inc. She lives in New York City.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Crown (July 12, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400046424
• ISBN-13: 978-1400046423
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,080,761 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Life is Music, July 19, 2005

By 

Shelia M Goss (Essence Magazine Best-Selling Author of My Invisible Husband, Delilah, Hollywood Deception and more.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bliss: A Novel (Hardcover)

Danyel Smith's sophomore novel, Bliss, is a tale of a behind the scenes music diva, Eva Glenn. As a record exec, Eva has seen a lot during her career in the music industry.

The novel spins around Eva's quest to find the type of happiness that no amount of money can buy. She escapes to an island in the Bahamas with hopes of finding the joy that's been missing from her life.

The author cleverly inserts music lingo in the story, but don't be confused, it's not your typical hip-hop story. In fact, the music is only the backdrop to a deeper story. How can one have success, but still feel lost?

During her down period, Eva contemplates on whether or not to keep her baby after a number of previous abortions. She also must come to grips with her non-committed relationships with D'artagnan Addison (DART) and Ronald Littlejohn (Ron).

Ms. Smith's novel BLISS is a gripping story from beginning to end. After reading it, you'll feel educated about the music industry and entertained at the same time.

Reviewed by Shelia M Goss, Essence Best Selling Author of My Invisible Husband and Roses are Thorns, Violets are True.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Literary Bliss, November 17, 2005

By 

The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers (RAWSISTAZ.com and BlackBookReviews.net) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bliss: A Novel (Hardcover)

Danyel Smith's BLISS is a novel of self-discovery and love. Eva is a sexy, independent, strong-willed executive in the music business that is dominated by men who have labeled her Evil Eva. During the late 1990s, with hip-hop and the music trade as the background, Eva has worked hard to garner her position in the music world where the battle for respect is a never-ending fight. While at an industry function on Paradise Island in the Bahamas, she must confront a turning point in her career, her love for two men and the possibility of being pregnant. With the help of one of her lovers, she flees Paradise Island in search of some answers and truths.

Eva's escape is really a time for her to think about the decisions she has made in her personal and professional life. She also must examine the truths she has tried so hard to hide from when thinking about her mother, her personal relationships and who she really is. While on Cat Island in the Bahamas, Eva finds herself in the midst of all the denials and lies and makes a critical decision that will alter not only her life, but also the lives of others. With acknowledgment of her past and acceptance of her future, she begins to embrace her truths that she has denied for so long. This means being honest about her mother, a possible change in her career and just maybe becoming a mother.

Danyel Smith has written a novel with prose that is deliberate, sensual and witty. She gives the reader a strong heroine who is complicated and flawed. When anxiety over her life becomes frantic, Eva escapes in search of her truth and herself. Danyel Smith paints a gorgeous picture with words and phrases to take readers on Eva's journey of self-discovery. One would be remiss to not mention this novel is laden with information on the music industry, through which the author gives an up-close and personal view of the behind-the-scenes workings of the business. Additionally, Ms. Smith gives us a musical history of hip-hop, R & B and pop music. I found myself reminiscing about the songs mentioned throughout the story, not to mention trying to sing them. The characters are well-developed and realistic. The writing style is uniquely Ms. Smith's. She eloquently puts words to paper in a manner that gives you time to digest and feel what she is trying to convey. Her pacing tends to be deliberately slow, but in a thoughtful way. The beauty of the words, the path of the main character's discovery and the music are what readers will take from Ms. Smith's newest offering. BLISS, with everything it is offering, will resonate long after the final page is read.

Reviewed by Cashana Seals
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Life Changing Experiences, July 23, 2005

By 

Yasmin Coleman (PENNSYLVANIA, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Bliss: A Novel (Hardcover)

In her second novel titled Bliss, Danyel Smith, explores the decadent world of the hip-hop industry during the late 90s. Smith introduces the reader to a formidable, sometimes sexy, sometimes sultry, sometimes `evil' but always keeping it real character known as Eva Glenn.

Via Eva, a woman's point of view is used to expose the reader to the hip-hop music industry. Eva Glenn is the IT girl--but what price does she have to pay to stay at the top of an industry that is dominated by white men, vicious cutthroat environments, rampant backstabbing and few women or minorities at the executive level, or in the board room, where the power deals are made.

As Bliss opens, we witness Eva doing what she does best--hosting a glitzy showcase in Paradise Islands, Bahamas for one of the shining stars under her Roadshow Records label. As readers' journeys with Eva, we quickly realize that although she exudes a cool, calm and collective outer exterior, internally--Eva is juggling a lot of balls in the air and realizing that all of them might come crashing down at a moments notice. Eva has been in the music industry so long and has put her personal life on eternal hold that she has forgotten that she might just want what many other woman want--a child, husband, and a home with the white picket fence. Her stay in Paradise Islands leads to some serious soul-searching as she looks deep within to make some arduous decisions regarding an unexpected pregnancy, her all-consuming career and a wicked love triangle.

Set against the backdrop of love and music, Smith's latest novel is sometimes quirky, sometimes eccentric and sometimes brutally honest about the music business. At times, the novel's hip-hop emphasis was lost on me (my musical preference is R&B, Jazz), however, I enjoyed reading about the behind the scenes business view of the industry as well as hanging out with Eva and her flaky sidekicks. This contemporary literary read is great for passing the time on a lazy summer day.

Reviewed by Yasmin
APOOO BookClub