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Aug 22, 2011

Jeanette rated it:

My spoiler-free review:

Henry Bright talks to his horse. That wouldn't be so unusual, except that his horse is the one who started the conversation. Or so Henry believes. He's convinced he brought an angel back with him from the war in France, and now it's guiding his life and communicating through his horse. Now, that might not sound so bad if you believe in angels, but this one is directing Henry to do things that are dangerous and destructive. He kidnaps a girl, has a child with he More...

13 comments like (9 people liked it)

Nov 08, 2011

Sue rated it:

This is the first novel by singer/songwriter Josh Ritter, the story of a WWI veteran who returns home to the hills of West Virginia, marries the girl he knew as a child and has a baby who is to be the next King of Heaven. A tall tale, shell shock, myth, a little of all...the novel is a post war fable of love and hate, good and evil, talking animals, and ultimately good people.

It does move back and forth in time, which some might find troublesome but I actually came to look forward to More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 10, 2011

Gail rated it:

"Bright's Passage" is a beautifully told narrative (one that reads quickly as more a short story than a novel) about a World War I veteran from West Virginia named Henry Bright whose wife has died in childbirth, leaving him in charge of caring for his infant son. When his cabin goes up in flames, Bright must make his way through Appalachian wilderness in search of salvation, escaping a father-in-law with a vendetta and entrusting his fate to a guardian angel who's followed him home fro More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 09, 2012

John rated it:

An intriguing blend of historical fiction and fantasy from singer song writer Josh Ritter

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 fan More...

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Jan 01, 2012

Steve.lovell rated it:

This is a beautiful novel – beautiful in narrative, beautiful in execution.

It must have been around a decade ago, sitting in the old library at my school, fiddling around I guess on YouTube – was that in existence then? – that I came across some songs that triggered, in the music appreciation part of my brain, the part that sorts the gems from the tuneless dross of much contemporary output, something pretty special. I fell in love for these were the songs of Josh Ritter – beautiful in More...

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Dec 20, 2011

Janet rated it:

I wanted to like this book, because I wanted to give kudos to Josh for stepping outside his songwriting comfort zone and creating within a new genre. However, from the very beginning, even aside from the requirement to suspend disbelief that the first chapter demanded of the reader, I had the uncomfortable impression that he wrote the entire tale with an open Thesaurus beside him. The word choices were frequently stilted and overly self-conscious for the thing being described.
I spent h More...

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Oct 24, 2011

David rated it:

Josh Ritter, the soft-opinioned, pretty-riffing, lavender enthusiast song-writer from Idaho, wrote in my copy of his first novel: "Smoothtavious! May all the better angels attend you... Love, Josh Ritter." You see, he came to my local book store and gave a reading. He read a passage or two and played a song or two and repeated the process a few times. It was pretty fun. I'm told that writers would rather be musicians, so his life seems pretty win-win right now.

Josh Ritter' More...

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Oct 14, 2011

Karen rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 08, 2011

Mike rated it:

I wanted to love this book. I wanted it to ooze emotion and ambiance in the same way that Ritter's songs do. I wanted each chapter to be a finely polished jewel like so many of his songs. I will say that for all of those high hopes I was disappointed. But really, if this had been any other first time author of whom I had no preconceived notions, I would have probably been happier.

As I read through the book I certainly found myself compelled by the personalities of the characters, t More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Sep 25, 2011

Carl rated it:

Disclosure: I like his songs. And I assume that like many others, I might not have read this if I didn’t. So, we’re pre-disposed to like it, but anxious we may not, and non-fans may be skeptical of our reviews.
More like a novella, it relates the story of Henry Bright’s childhood, and his and mother’s relationship with “the Colonel” and his family, Bright’s time in WWI, and after his return to Appalachia. That part includes marrying the Colonel’s daughter, her death in childbirth, and h More...

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Sep 04, 2011

Darrenglass rated it:

This novel tells the story of Henry Bright, a soldier who has recently returned from World War I, who is grieving the loss of his bride and trying to take care of his newborn son, all while trying to escape the wrath of his father-in-law, who is not so happy about recent events. Oh, and the whole time Bright is taking instructions from conversations with his horse, who (he believes) is an angel that followed him back from Europe.

Now, this isnt really the type of novel I typically en More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 06, 2011

Saxton B. Little rated it:

Debut Author Josh Ritter believes angels are far from being benign characters. This might explain why he made an angel so much a character of his book, Bright Passage. Michael Kindness of Books on the Nightstand raved about this book back in Episode 135, Writing So Good It Will Scare You". Michael described the plot as the story of Henry Bright who returns from World War I with an angel on his side. The opening scene begins with Henry holding his infant son, mourning the death of his wife, More...

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Jul 17, 2011

S. rated it:

Fire both purges and destroys. The same can be said of war. As the American Civil War swept across the land, it purged the country from an insidious practice, nearly destroying it in the process.

Ritter's novel is a reminder to us that dressing a man up in a military uniform does not necessarily make him a man worthy of honor and respect, and that at times, draping a military action in the guise of honorable intentions issues an unrestricted license for brutal acts of cruelty and car More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 19, 2011

Sara rated it:

I liked this book so much more than I thought I would. It's much less of a story about war than I had expected and I suppose that is why I enjoyed it. It's a very quick read - not just because it's only about 200 pages long...I've read plenty of books that length that I slogged through - more because the story grabs hold of you at page one and doesn't let go (in fact, it grips tighter and tighter) until the very last page. Why didn't it get five stars, then? I guess because I felt that in th More...

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Sep 02, 2011

Linda rated it:

I am a huge fan of singer/songwriter Josh Ritter. But I was skeptical when I learned that he’d written a novel. It’s a leap to go from a song to a full length novel. He exceeded my expectations by a long shot.

Bright’s Passage held my attention from about page 30 to the end. The narrative is set during and just after WWI. Battle scene descriptions are vividly morbid and surreal, as they should be. Henry Bright is a returning war vet, obviously troubled by the images and brutality he More...

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Jul 09, 2011

Margaret rated it:

I will say this, coming at the novel as a fan of Josh Ritter's songwriting put me in a bit of an awkward place because at the beginning I was looking for that same lyricism within the novel that I find in his songs. So, I had to take a step back from the novel there and hit the reset button. All in all, I will say that I really enjoyed the book. He definitely knows how to tell an engaging story. And his style-- shorter chapters-- feels familiar to me as I write in the same way, so I felt at home More...

1 comment like

Sep 07, 2011

Kyle rated it:

Josh Ritter has rested within my top 5 list of contemporary musicians since I first listened to him in college. His songs are packed with symbolism and deep meaning and a beautiful, poetic way of delivering to the listener his story. It was comforting (but also not surprising) that these talents were well reflected in this novel. It was almost like a fable, with the angel and everything; I'm glad that he didn't feel the need to explain things, such as why is a horse talking to this man? It just More...

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Aug 05, 2011

Tess rated it:

When you think of folk singers, it's easy to picture the hippie cliche, not a novelist. But Josh Ritter has always been more of a storyteller than your typical singer songwriter. I liked the sporadic song I heard, but wasn't really aware of his ability to craft characters driven by their passion into prosperity or peril and often both until reading Bright's Passage. Henry Bright is a WWI veteran recently returned home to a town in West Virginia he is not welcome at. He suffers from PTSD in the More...

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Jul 17, 2011

Kim rated it:

I didn't love this as much as I thought I would. The prose was often lovely but just as often overbaked, Henry's a decent character but I found the rest (yes, yes, it's an allegory, I know) unsatisfying, and I have an extreme prejudice against books that are divided into oodles of short chapters. Blame modern mystery fiction for that particular dislike, not Mr. Ritter, but one of the only times I felt myself really sinking into this book was about halfway through, during a more lengthy chapter d More...

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Dec 05, 2011

Ron rated it:

This book is hard for me to rate (and review). I liked the story well enough. It pulled me in right at the start. The manner of writing, however, bothered me after a while and affected my interest in the story. There is a ceaseless bouncing around in time as the story is told. Generally it was pretty clear where we were in time as the story was told, but the broken narrative, while interesting, also affected the readability for me. There is also some awkward writing (as well as some pretty good More...

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Jul 04, 2011

Aerin rated it:

I am a huge fan of Josh Ritter's music, so when I heard he was writing a novel, I was of course... worried. What if it sucked? What if he wrote some piece of crap and I'd have to go around defending him to people who'd never heard a song but hated the book? "But! But! He's an incredible songwriter! He just got carried away and thought he could write fiction! Just listen to The Animal Years and forget he ever wrote anything not set to music!" It was so bad I started to wonder if I sh More...

10 comments like (13 people liked it)

Aug 04, 2011

Sarah rated it:

I really loved this, the language and the story and the form. The ending was a delicate and bright redemption, one of the finest I can recall, a tender nuzzle and kiss on a goat's nose, when a man steps back into the world and decides to live.

It seems many of the other reviewers here are fans of the author's music; I admit I have not heard of Josh Ritter, the songwriter. What can I say? I'm a reader. I am also a vet--and I loved the way this story told the story of a vet coming home More...

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Aug 04, 2011

Donovan rated it:

Literary Songwriting

As a musician and an avid music fan, Josh Ritter’s albums have graced my playlists for the last half decade. When I heard he was writing a novel, my interest piqued since his songs have always felt like short novellas. With much joy, I attended Josh Ritter’s book reading at Elliot Bay Book Company.

Angelology

During the reading, Ritter elaborated on some of his topical obsessions. One of the themes Ritter constantly considers is angelology.

More...

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Jul 11, 2011

Elliott rated it:

As a songwriter, Josh Ritter is a notable storyteller. All of his previous albums are filled with songs that are parables and yarns. Now he has finally written his first novel. Bright's Passage is the story of Henry Bright who returns home to West Virginia from the World War I traumatized. The novel moves from between past and present as it unfolds Bright's tale as he struggles to stay alive in both. In the trenches of Europe he has the Germans trying to kill him, while in the Appalachian mo More...

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Jul 24, 2011

Kathy rated it:

I have become a fan of short stories. They are great for a car ride where I am the passenger and I can keep my mind and my obsession (reading) busy. This short story is of a returning veteran from WW1. Henry Bright has lived to tell the tale of the war with the help of a guardian angel. After the death of his wife Bright is guided by the very same angel who has followed him from the war. He needs all the help he can get with his infant son. While trying to come to terms with his life he us haras More...

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Jul 11, 2011

Julie rated it:

I am a HUGE fan of Josh Ritter's music, so I wanted to love this book as much as I love his songs. I went to NYC on the publication date to hear him read and get my book signed. So I began this book with exceedingly high expectations.

Were they justified? Yes and no. Josh writes beautifully. He has a fresh, unpredictable story to tell and an eye for imagery. I just wasn't sure I believed in the characters (the human ones, not the supernatural one). Folk music deals in archetype, n More...

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Sep 03, 2011

Robin rated it:

A somewhat odd little story about a young soldier just home from the Great War, who seems to have an angel telling him what to do. The scene shifts back and forth between his war experiences, back story that leads to the current situation, and the action currently taking place back home, wherein Henry Bright has delivered his child as his wife dies, set his cabin on fire, and fled the scene to save his child per the angel's instructions. The story becomes quite taut and suspenseful when some ver More...

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Jul 19, 2011

Logan rated it:

I can't ever say anything bad about Josh Ritter. I mean c'mon, he is one of the finest singer-songwriters ever, a genuine and engaging performer, a downright pleasant person to talk to, and then he writes a book that largely takes place in West Virginia (a state I have a strong connection to). You'd almost think he was pandering directly to me.
Long review short, I loved this book.
However, with that said, I had to step back from this book after finishing it to determine, did I enjoy it More...

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Nov 30, 2011

Sarah rated it:

I heard about this from an interview with Wesley Stace (aka musician John Wesley Harding). It follows an alternating present/past format, every other chapter explains a little more about the back story of Henry Bright, a man who has returned from WWI and is trying to move on with his life, despite the obvious psychic damage he suffered there and in his early life. This book was short & a quick read- I read it in two days, staying up too late both nights because it was difficult to put down. Ritt More...

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Mar 31, 2011

Claire rated it:

This book is surprisingly good. Surprising because I wasn't sure what to expect in a novel from a songwriter, even if I do like his music. Also surprising because I heard him talking about the books and it sounded, well, weird. But despite the angel that follows the protagonist in the form of a horse, it's really not weird at all. Normally that kind of thing would turn me right off a book but the story and the style are very effective.

Short plot summary: Henry Bright is back from WW1 More...

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