Recent Reviews
The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff
The Bright Years, Sarah Damoff’s debut novel, is my favorite book (thus far) in 2025. The narrative focuses on a multi-generational family navigating the complexities of alcoholism, concealed truths, and personal tragedy. While challenging subjects, the book avoids becoming overly somber, instead presenting a narrative infused with dignity and hope. Damoff’s beautiful prose and insightful observations contribute to the novel’s poignancy and tenderness.
The story follows Lillian and Ryan Bright, who meet in a Fort Worth public library in 1979, fall in love, and eventually marry. Significant aspects of their histories remain undisclosed: Ryan conceals his father’s alcoholism, while Lillian does not reveal that she gave up a child for adoption. Their lives are initially marked by happiness and the birth of their daughter, Georgette. Yet, the convergence of hidden pasts gradually complicates their relationship. As Ryan succumbs to alcohol dependence, the family’s once-bright years begin to darken. Damoff offers nuanced insight into the origins of Ryan’s addiction and skillfully examines its psychological impact on his family.
Despite these adversities, the motif of healing and connection permeates the novel. Lillian Bright’s reflection that “time can wash dirt off a memory until it is revealed as something else entirely” encapsulates the book’s exploration of forgiveness and hope. Through her vivid depiction of complex characters, Damoff emphasizes optimism and compassion amid hardship. The Bright Years shows that healing is possible. 5/5
The Imagined Life by Andrew Porter
Quiet and wise, Andrew Porter’s novel The Imagined Life is a literary and psychological gem. His elegant prose is intimate, layered, and lovely. Porter’s profound exploration of thought-provoking themes, such as the impossibility of understanding one’s parents’ inner lives and the delayed effects of childhood events on adults, draws readers into an intricate web of family dynamics.
Until recently, Steven Mills resided with his wife and son in Berkeley, California. Facing challenges in his marriage and career, he embarks on a quest to make sense of his father’s disappearance. His father had been a distinguished English professor at a Southern California college. In 1984, when Steven was 12 years old, his father disappeared after being denied tenure. The narrative alternates between Steven’s vivid memories of the year preceding his father’s abandonment and his present emotional journey to uncover the truth about his father’s desertion.
Many years had passed without Steven and his mother searching for his father. Their rage and relief seemed to immobilize them. Now, decades later, Steven travels throughout California, meeting with his father’s former friends and colleagues, gathering their perspectives and asking if and where his father might be living. When Steven realizes how deep his father’s abandonment had rooted itself inside him, something shakes free.
Andrew Porter’s nuanced novel delves into loss of innocence, family dynamics, mental health, and secrets. In addition to his beautiful writing, Porter deftly depicts the complexity and contradictions inherent in every person. While the novel’s tone may be melancholy, the ending offers hope that healing is possible. 5/5
