"Ruby Todd's gorgeously written Bright Objects...cranks into an unexpected thrillerish gear toward the end...the prose burns bright."—The New York Times Book Review
"There’s a soothing, near-mystical quality to the book’s language, a sense of being borne along on unseen currents...What is on the page holds up a mirror to what is in the sky — luminous, unusual, unexpected... Todd has a brilliant trick up her sleeve...a feint that brings Bright Objects to a remarkable conclusion as unexpected as it is poignant, and more original and human than any conventional cult story."—The New York Times
“Ruby Todd's dazzling debut thriller blends astronomy, mystery, and romance in a story about a young widow's obsession with a once-in-a-lifetime comet brightening the sky of her small Australian town. A lesson on how grief can make people jump to extreme beliefs.”—Entertainment Weekly
"Bright Objects is a riveting literary thriller of obsession, vengeance and astronomy, but its most poignant gift may be its depiction of trying to make sense of life after tragedy."—Bookpage
"Smart, propulsively readable...Her prose is elegant but accessible, her narrative embraces both mystery and quick plot pivots, and her protagonist, though flawed, remains sympathetic. And Todd’s grip only tightens as the story turns downright chilling."—Los Angeles Times
"Bright Objects builds to a satisfying (and satisfyingly unexpected) finale. A little bit thriller, a little bit mystery, the novel's genre elements are commendably propulsive...Todd's confidence and talents augur a bright future."—The Washington Post
"Todd's debut is at once a soaring epic and a grounded tale...with graceful, elegant prose that walks the line between ethereal and painfully human."—Booklist
"[An] intoxicating debut...Todd skillfully ratchets up the suspense on the way toward a stunning climax. The result is a lyrical and inventive literary mystery from an author whom readers will hope returns far sooner than any visiting comet.”—Publishers Weekly, (starred review)
"That this is Todd's first book bodes well for Australian literature...the writing remains unfailingly engaging and wise. It is also darkly humorous and witty...profound, gentle, clear-eyed."—Australian Book Review
"[A] lushly detailed debut novel...Sylvia is a compellingly contradictory narrator, drawn to both stability and risk, and Todd places her in an equally complex community...a heady look at the influence of the heavens on a small patch of earth."—Kirkus
“Bright Objects is a mesmerizing, profound tale of obsession, exploring the need to believe in something and the duty to live in reality. Ruby Todd infuses the novel with almost unbearable tension—it moves toward a breathtaking climax as surely as a comet hurtling toward Earth.”—Clémence Michallon, author of The Quiet Tenant
“I loved Bright Objects. Sylvia is an enormously appealing narrator who offers a thoughtful and nuanced perspective on a world turned on its axis.”—Polly Stewart, author of The Good Ones
“Bright Objects is the story of a woman consumed by an unquellable obsession, reduced by solitude and incompleteness, caught in an unconscious embattled conspiracy of her own making. Ruby Todd writes of the strain of fearful events and discoveries, and the fatal inevitability of a sense of guilt when someone close to one is killed, all the while revealing to us the hidden realities that lie in wait for us.”—Susanna Moore, author of In the Cut and The Lost Wife
“A novel written with immense grace, beauty, and depth, Bright Objects plumbs the farthest reaches of one widow's grief, ultimately revealing the brilliance of our humanity in the face of immense loss—the will to fight for what's right, the will to hope, and most importantly, the will to love again. A surprising, thrilling, and seductively dangerous comet of a book.”—Chelsea Bieker, author of Godshot and Madwoman
“The X-Files meets Nick Cave’s Ghosteen—science, faith, and human folly collide in this celestial melodrama.”—Laura Elizabeth Woollett, author of The Newcomer
“A literary mystery of consummate elegance and gravity. Bright Objects traces a graceful orbit around the phenomena of human grief and love.”—Jessica Au, author of Cold Enough for Snow
“Gripping, thrilling. An electric story of small towns, big secrets and the last great comet of the millennium.”—Felicity McLean, author of The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone
Part literary mystery, part astronomy lesson, this audiobook, narrated by Casey Withoos, provides listeners with a compelling story set in Australia in 1997. Sylvia Knight is recovering from the hit-and-run that made her a widow more than two years ago. She believes she knows who killed her husband, but no one has been held accountable. Sylvia is working as an assistant in a funeral home when she meets Theo St. John, the discoverer of a rare comet that is approaching town. As it draws closer, quirky Joseph Evans, a mystic, believes it brings a celestial message. Withoos does a remarkable job of creating distinctive characters and capturing the story's setting as Sylvia contends with grief and the complexities of moving on. K.S.M. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
2024-05-31
A small town in Australia is the setting for a lushly detailed debut novel starring a comet that puts Halley’s to shame.
Among the watchers of Comet St. John in 1997 is Sylvia Knight, a 32-year-old funeral home worker who two years earlier was the victim of a hit-and-run crash that killed her husband. Since then, she’s been doggedly but unsuccessfully searching for the driver of the car that caused the crash. The comet—which is due to make its first appearance to the naked eye in January, a few days after the novel starts, and to grow more prominent in the sky through August—has a special meaning for Sylvia: “The date St John would show itself in the sky was…the date by which I’d given myself permission to finally leave this planet.” Life, however, interferes with this plan, as Sylvia becomes unexpectedly intrigued with a mysterious stranger who shows up at the funeral parlor and turns out to be Theo St. John, the pensive young American astronomer who first discovered the comet. Then Sylvia feels compelled to rescue her gullible mother-in-law, Sandy, from the local doomsday cult that’s sprung up around the comet and is planning a festival with an ending that doesn’t bode well for local residents. While the mystery of who was driving the car that killed Sylvia’s husband falls flat, with a conclusion that many readers will anticipate, Sylvia is a compellingly contradictory narrator, drawn to both stability and risk, and Todd places her in an equally complex community, a small town thrown off balance by its placement at the epicenter of comet viewing. The novel’s noir edge combines with a tone of mystical fatalism to make for a disorienting reading experience.
A heady look at the influence of the heavens on a small patch of earth.
