Bright Angel Time

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.

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? :)

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.

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.

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.