The Bright Years

★★★★★★★½☆☆ 7.5/10

288 pages

What’s it about?

This is a multi-generational family drama set in Texas from the 1950s to the present. Ryan and Lillian Bright fall in love, marry, and have a baby. But each carries secrets they have been unwilling to share.

What did it make me think about?

Addiction and loss.

Should I read it?

This was a very easy book to read. The pages just fly by, and you are interested in what is going to happen to Ryan and Lillian. It was a bit predictable and, for good and bad, seemed simple to me. If you are looking for a book with mass market appeal that will sweep you up, then this is a good choice.

A passage I marked

"When I said yes all those lifetimes ago, I thought I knew more or less what I was saying yes to. But now I know none of us ever can."