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slumbreon 's review for:
A Lite Too Bright
by Samuel Miller
I picked this book up because of the cover. I was immediately drawn to it, and checked it out without even reading the synopsis. I started the book, still not knowing what it was about, and was immediately enthralled. This novel follows Arthur Louis Pullman the Third over a very short period of time as he chases the path his famous author grandfather went the week before he passed, hoping to learn more about him. While this may seem straightforward, this book unfolded in a myriad of ways that I did not expect it to. It is so much more complex than it seems on the surface, and I appreciated the book for that aspect.
One part I really liked was the character of Arthur Louis Pullman (the famous one). He was clearly the same kind of wanderlust, socially aware type of author that develops a cult following that real life authors like Kerouac were, which I thought was unique. There are many YA contemporaries that have characters with famous relatives, or ones who have relationships with authors, but this particular relationship was refreshing. I most liked the parts where people who had read and worshipped Arthur Louis Pullman’s book tried to act as if they knew him better than his own grandson. One large aspect of Arthur’s grandfather was his Alzheimer's, and whether or not he was actually suffering. As I do not have Alzheimer's nor do I know anybody who does, I cannot speak to the portrayal of it in this book, but I thought it was interesting. But, at the end of the book, it was never really resolved for me.
There were several aspects of this book that did not seem believable. Throughout the book, the narrator Arthur had been dropping names and references to an event that had occurred a few weeks before the start of the novel, and at the end these things are finally revealed (in a very nice way, might I add. I think that Miller and his prose had a wonderful way of keeping us engaged and it was beautiful). However, once we find out what happened and how severe it was, it makes the reader wonder how Arthur was able to simply embark on this cross country train trip without anyone stopping him. Unfortunately, this took me out of the narrative and made me question everything I had just read, and not in a good way.
I thought this novel was told in a very compelling way, and Samuel Miller is a literal genius. I didn’t think that any of the stops were slow, nor was I ever really bored. One of the reasons I appreciated his writing so much was for the way he wrote Arthur’s unnamed but clearly evident mental-illness. It seemed liked schizophrenia, but as it was unnamed and I myself have no personal experience with that particular mental illness, I cannot comment on the representation of it, but as a lay person I thought that it was handled tastefully. It didn’t distract from the novel when Arthur was talking to the voices of his past friends in his head, and these interactions really helped flesh Arthur out as a character as a whole. As a debut novel, it feels so genuine in its tackling of family issues, mental health, love, and loss that it is hard to believe that Miller has never written a novel before. One aspect I thought was really intriguing was the inserts of the poems and clues left by the Grandfather. They proved that Miller cannot only write prose, but also poetry, and they really helped flesh out the character of Arthur Louis Pullman the first, and his intense love and loss he had experienced in life. I know that I will be picking up whatever else he writes. Do yourself a favor and read this novel.
One part I really liked was the character of Arthur Louis Pullman (the famous one). He was clearly the same kind of wanderlust, socially aware type of author that develops a cult following that real life authors like Kerouac were, which I thought was unique. There are many YA contemporaries that have characters with famous relatives, or ones who have relationships with authors, but this particular relationship was refreshing. I most liked the parts where people who had read and worshipped Arthur Louis Pullman’s book tried to act as if they knew him better than his own grandson. One large aspect of Arthur’s grandfather was his Alzheimer's, and whether or not he was actually suffering. As I do not have Alzheimer's nor do I know anybody who does, I cannot speak to the portrayal of it in this book, but I thought it was interesting. But, at the end of the book, it was never really resolved for me.
There were several aspects of this book that did not seem believable. Throughout the book, the narrator Arthur had been dropping names and references to an event that had occurred a few weeks before the start of the novel, and at the end these things are finally revealed (in a very nice way, might I add. I think that Miller and his prose had a wonderful way of keeping us engaged and it was beautiful). However, once we find out what happened and how severe it was, it makes the reader wonder how Arthur was able to simply embark on this cross country train trip without anyone stopping him. Unfortunately, this took me out of the narrative and made me question everything I had just read, and not in a good way.
I thought this novel was told in a very compelling way, and Samuel Miller is a literal genius. I didn’t think that any of the stops were slow, nor was I ever really bored. One of the reasons I appreciated his writing so much was for the way he wrote Arthur’s unnamed but clearly evident mental-illness. It seemed liked schizophrenia, but as it was unnamed and I myself have no personal experience with that particular mental illness, I cannot comment on the representation of it, but as a lay person I thought that it was handled tastefully. It didn’t distract from the novel when Arthur was talking to the voices of his past friends in his head, and these interactions really helped flesh Arthur out as a character as a whole. As a debut novel, it feels so genuine in its tackling of family issues, mental health, love, and loss that it is hard to believe that Miller has never written a novel before. One aspect I thought was really intriguing was the inserts of the poems and clues left by the Grandfather. They proved that Miller cannot only write prose, but also poetry, and they really helped flesh out the character of Arthur Louis Pullman the first, and his intense love and loss he had experienced in life. I know that I will be picking up whatever else he writes. Do yourself a favor and read this novel.