There's no getting around it.......this spectacularly ambitious epic of American college life, a whale of a read, does demand your time and full attention. Quite a lot of it, in fact.
Worth it? Simple answer......yes. Even as the book's final third section began to wear me out a little, by that time I'd become so utterly immersed in Chad Harbach's cast of characters that I knew I could never stop reading till I reached that final sentence. And then those last few chapters, filled with the emotions and events of everything that's come beforehand, left me sighing in bittersweet satisfaction and actually eager to see the story continue on.
"The Brightness" unfolds in the little picturesque universe of Westish College, Wisconsin, first brought to life in author Harbach's "The Art of Fielding". (which also serves as something of a clever meta trope in this new lengthy expansion.....) Pella, beloved only child of the college's late President, had finally escaped an impulsive bad marriage and returned to Westish to finally enroll and graduate at 27. She now finds herself living in two disparate worlds......that of the scholars of literature she's befriended and the brawny, burly world of her fiance Mike, the school's dedicated athletics director.
Pella's dearest (and most brilliant) undergrad friend Irma, has conspired with two classmates to perpetrate an outrageous prank on several of the school's star athletes. It's a provocative, controversial stunt that not only roils the campus but captures and captivates the attention of the entire country, with repercussions that will forever affect all of the story's major characters.
But there's way, way more upending pivotal events that await these Westish folk as they attend a grand destination wedding off the coast of Rhode Island. It's a non-stop exhausting celebration that not only consumes almost two thirds of the book, but brings about monumental, life changing decisions in the lives of Pella, Irma, Mike and those in their orbit.
Chad Harbach crafts this saga with intricately thought out prose and insights that cover a multitude of issues.......the rise of feminism vs. the patriarchy, the sacrifices of artists for their art, the bonds of parents and children the ebb and flow of friendships, and the quest of everyone young to figure out their own fulfilling place in the world.
"The Brightness" ,even with its voluminous heft of pages, still sucks you into its messy world filled with heartbreak and humor, romance and wounding betrayals, crushing grief and the promises of new paths to take. I wouldn't have missed it for anything and I'd recommend readers to stop in and stroll about the Westish quads for some bright college days..... and at times, some dark and cloudy.....
4 Stars (****).
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