Customer Reviews

Bright Angel Time (Harvest Book)

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

 

 

I loved the rhythm of this novel and the voice of the narrator, a child's experience as told by the adult. It begins with one of the most eloquent paragraph's that I've ever encountered. Unfortunately, I felt that certain themes in the book could have been more fully expanded and characters seemed to swim just out of reach. This novel was brilliant at times and at others, it left me wanting and needing further explanation. What happened to Julia with the stranger and the car? Why do some characters seem to vanish every other chapter? The plot runs a strange course of moving forward and backward in time. It is as though the narrator has a lapse of memory or does not know how to tell the story from beginning to end. The haphazard journeys through time produce the sense that you are not fully hearing "either" (ie the pre-Anton or post-Anton) story. On the other hand, the story is told with a candor that makes one feel as though a trusted friend is explaining the bizarre nature of her childhood.
I will read more of this author's works. I know that as she becomes more comfortable crafting books, there will be more depth and cohesiveness to them. With that said, I will eagerly begin reading "Gorgeous Lies" tomorrow. :-)

People complain about the ending of this book. However, I found it far more believable than tying things up in a pretty little ribbon would have been after all the ugly realism that preceded it. Like the ending of the movie Thelma and Louise, the ambiguity is what is so very interesting about it. Because we never learn what happens to the girls we are free to draw our own conclusions from among all the hopeful and painful possibilities. I found myself worried sick about those kids and wishing I could rescue all of them from that deplorable chaos and misguided "love", and I was deeply touched by the way they yearned to embrace it in the absence of any real stability.

When I saw this book I recognized the name and wondered if Martha McPhee is related to John McPhee (whose writtings I enjoy reading). The setting certainly seemed John McPHee like, and being trained as a geologist I was intrigued by the Grand Canyon reference. I later learned Martha is John's daughter. It was only a few pages before I got to know and care about the characters. That is perhaps the best and worst of "Bright Angel Time". Once all the characters are introduced the novel goes nowhere. And since we are viewing the action through the eyes and mind of an 8 year old girl the novel goes nowhere in a way that an eight year old would go. The story slowly became tedious to read since the characters remain the same throughout their experiences. I didn't find any of the characters to be likable or redeming in any way. The mother is weak, the father is too uptight, and Anton is too contradictory. But I loved the fact that an eight year old could quote geology! Ms. McPhee does a great job expressing the freedom of the 1960's. I am certainly enviable of those who can live their lives on the road. I found it interesting to look at the comparison of a free spirit against an uptight planner, but with little or no interest in the characters the comparison fall flat. I look forward to more from Martha McPhee. She takes her father's style further into the realm of imagination.

My very favorite author happens to be Ms. McPhee's father, John McPhee, so with some trepidation I started this novel,fairly certain that I might be disappointed. Surely she couldn't be anywhere near his genius. I was wrong. I couldn't put the book down, yet I didn't want it to end. She gives us characters we truly care about. Not just the three sisters, but the very extended family that could only exist by gathering up hitch-hikers and counter-culture dropouts. I felt I had known these people, really had known them, after reading this book. I'm glad I did.

martha mcphee did a good job of her debut novel. it was brilliant; wonderful. her vivid descriptions of the characters and the places made the story seem alive and real, especially kate. kate observes things with the mind of a wistful eight year old, and she made me smile. although i wasn't born in the 60s - 70s, it gave me a clear (if not exact) idea of how life was like and the hippie culture. the ending was a bit disappointing though, a little like the author wanted to finish the book quickly. perhaps she could have said a bit more at the end, or maybe i'm just disappointed because i expected more since mcphee was excellent. her words and sentences are carefully but beautifully constructed, though. the book itself is a bit disturbing and i was worrying about the children all the way, and how they were going to survive in a world of dope and booze and money and sometimes violence and unfairness. but nothing's rosy in life, is it? :)

Bright Angel Time, is without a doubt, one of the best American novels that I have ever read. I could not put it down. Never in all my reading have I felt so strongly about a young author. It is extraordinary how a first novelist could deliver such a gripping story and have such a true real, tragic message. Make sure you have a block of time before you start it because you will not want to stop turning the pages once you have reached the back cover.

Katie is 8 years old. Her parents soupposedly have a perfect marriage until one day her father leaves her, her mother, and her two younger sisters. For several tense months she and her family try to go on with their lives.

Until her mother starts going to therapy with Anton.

Anton is a therapist. He was a Jesuit priest, but is now married to a nun. Kate, her mother and her sisters fall in love with him. He propses, and they move into a camper with his 5 children and they begin a trip across the country. But however, things don't turn out so well.

I loved this book. I wish it could have won many awards and stayed at the top of the bestseller lists like some books that don't deserve or need the praise. I feel this book a must read, and will try my best for it to get the recogniton it deserves.

This was an engaging book that I couldn't put down but ultimately it left me unsatisfied. I think Ms. McPhee does a wonderful job of illustrating a time and a place. The behavior of the grownups by our 90s standards is appalling (although they'd be on daytime talk for sure) but I know that in the '60s some people thought love and talk would solve all problems. There aren't many likable characters in the book, and I really kept expecting worse things to happen. But at the heart of this dysfunction, there's still a family trying to form. Children who want to be loved and cared for. A man who is building a tribe if not a family.

However, the ending is not an ending. I don't expect all stories to be wrapped up in a pretty box at the end, but there was no closure to this journey. Perhaps it's because it was so well-written and compelling that it left me wanting more.

Good writing. Is it appropriate to quibble with content, tho? One just shouldn't leave the clan in the Grand Canyon, four days out with minimal water, sore legs, small kids, no energy. A four-day climb back up...I don't necessarily need happy ending but I guess I'm thoroughly engaged when I worry about what happened to the characters AFTER the end of the book.

From the reviews I expected a great first book, but I was so disappointed. I hung in there hoping something relevant would happen. No such luck. I learned in beginning creative writing not to end a book in this manner. The author seems to say that by ignoring children they can find their true selves. That is, they can smoke and take dope, drink, have sexual encounters, steal, whatever. I can't stand a thing about this book.