Too Bright to Hear Too Loud to See
Juliann Garey
ISBN: 9781616951290
Published: December 2012
Pricing
Paperback $15.00
Suggested Reading
Description
—An NPR Great Reads of 2013 Selection
—ALA Notable Book
—Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction Longlist
In her tour-de-force first novel, Juliann Garey takes us inside the restless mind, ravaged heart, and anguished soul of Greyson Todd—a successful Hollywood studio executive who leaves his wife an...
—An NPR Great Reads of 2013 Selection
—ALA Notable Book
—Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction Longlist
In her tour-de-force first novel, Juliann Garey takes us inside the restless mind, ravaged heart, and anguished soul of Greyson Todd—a successful Hollywood studio executive who leaves his wife and young daughter for a decade to travel the world, giving free reign to the bipolar disorder he’s been forced to keep hidden for almost 20 years.
The novel intricately weaves together three timelines: the story of Greyson’s travels (Rome, Israel, Santiago, Thailand, Uganda); the progressive unraveling of his own father seen through Greyson’s childhood eyes; and the intricacies and estrangements of his marriage. The entire narrative unfolds in the time it takes him undergo twelve 30-second electroshock treatments in a New York psychiatric ward.
Media
“[Greyson Todd] is interesting and complex...We are deftly led through his erratic trains of thought, and suddenly we are with him in the irrational, sometimes violent place, and oddly, we understand how we got there. ”
—All Things Considered
“Juliann Garey, who has spoken openly about being bipolar herself, is a vivid and startling writer, and this novel shouldn't be relegated to the mental illness shelf unless it's also placed squarely in fiction and literature, where it will not only teach, it will shine. ”
—Meg Wolitzer, author of The Interestings
“A fine, sharp-tongued debut. "Too Bright to Hear Too Loud to See" is a novel deeply wrapped around its subject, but it has its sights on grander themes — namely, how to survive in a world not made for you. ”
—Los Angeles Times
“Greyson Todd is the most fully-realized fictional character I’ve come across in a while...Garey doesn’t shy away from the depths of her character’s pain, but scenes that could easily become gratuitous in lesser hands are rendered with restraint and grace. She excels at leading us down the rabbit hole...Garey creates an atmosphere of exquisite tension. ”