East Fifth Bliss

I read about Michael C. Hall starring in an adaptation of East Fifth Bliss and had to check out the book. I can only hope the movie is as funny, sharp, and touching as the novel. Morris Bliss is frustrating, funny, encouraging, and saddening. He's all very human. Light does an amazing job creating a world (set in New York City's East Village) that is both unique and recognizable. All the characters are vivid and their situations real, even when the tale slips into the absurd. It's one of those books that, hopefully, with the release of the movie, gets the attention it deserves.

O. Henry Prize-winning author Douglas Light presents East Fifth Bliss, a novel about Morris Bliss, an ordinary man trapped in the rut of daily life. With no job and no prospects, he lives in a tiny apartment with his father. When Stefani, an eighteen-year-old girl in a Catholic school uniform, enters Morris' life, events start to spiral out of control - his best friend is recruited by ruthless international cartel with its fingers in local sex markets, and his father reveals the startling truth about the death of Morris' mother. Morris must learn to adapt to the tidal changes in his relationships, family, and personal identity to survive. An absorbing modern tale about learning to cope with unexpected adversity.

East Fifth Bliss is one of the best new books I've seen in a long time. The characters are, by turns, sympathetic, endearing, maddening, hilarious, and generally hard to forget once you've put the book down. And the author's writing style is worth the price of admission all on its own. I think you're supposed to wrap these things up by saying, "If you like books about [BLANK], you'll love this book!" But East Fifth Bliss defies such reductionist categorizations--so I'll say that if you like great stories, great characters, and great writing, you'll love this book!