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Too Bright to Hear, Too Loud to See Audiobook
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(3.01) - 1,298 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
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 and for a decade and travels the world giving free reign to the bipolar disorder he's been forced to keep hidden for almost twenty 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 eyes as a child, and the intimacies and estrangements of his marriage. The entire narrative unfolds in the time it takes him to undergo twelve thirty-second electroshock treatments in a New York psychiatric ward. This is a literary page-turner of the first order, and a brilliant inside look at mental illness.
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"This is a phenomenal, yet difficult to read at times, debut novel about a film executive suffering from bipolar disorder. The story takes place during his twelve shock therapy sessions, as he relives important moments in his life. Garey captures the disorder perfectly and the ending is very well done. Highly recommended."
— Tiffin-Seneca (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“Greyson Todd is so utterly human…With the sheer force of her talent, Garey makes us want to look. And she makes us laugh. And she helps us understand and feel compassion.”
— Pittsburgh Post-Gazette -
“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.”
— Millions -
“A gripping tale of a man’s unraveling.”
— Real Simple -
“You won’t be able to put down this exhilarating debut novel…Brave and touching.”
— Marie Claire -
“Brilliantly captures the effects of electro-convulsive therapy…[Garey’s] prose, with its mixture of the poetic and the profane, illuminates the psyche of a bipolar man, who seeks not a Hollywood ending but a restoration of the ‘glimmer’ of his faded past.”
— Huffington Post -
“Juliann Garey writes with stark, lucid power about the tumbling journey into madness and the agonizing climb back out. Her electric prose trembles and her images vibrate at the edges, affording a rare and precious experience of the troubled mind from the inside out. It’s essential writing—terrifying, exhilarating, absurd, achingly human, and absolutely compelling.”
— Brian Yorkey, co-creator of the Tony Award-nominated Next To Normal -
“Garey breathes life into an uncomfortable and often misunderstood subject and creates a riveting experience.”
— Kirkus Reviews -
“Garey evokes in stark detail the torment and raw suffering of mental illness. A compelling read.”
— Library Journal (starred review) -
“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 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.”
— NPR
Awards
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A 2014 ALA Notable Book for Adult Fiction
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NPR’s Great Reads, 2013
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A 2012 Library Journal Editor’s Pick
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An Amazon Best Book of the Month, December 2012
Too Bright to Hear, Too Loud to See Listener Reviews
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" It's hard to believe that this is a work of fiction; it seems so real. Such an incredibly sad story. It's tragic how this disease destroyed this man's life. "
— Rreminger, 2/20/2014 -
" Billed as a novel about bipolar concerns I read this to understand a niece. I did get a good indication of the ups and downs as well as the treatment of a bipolar diagnosis, but the language the author choose to use was coarse, and I felt unnecessary, to make her point. Although the author does not self reveal it does appear she has had mental health issues that encouraged her to write the book. I had hoped for more! "
— Pat, 2/19/2014 -
" This book was okay. I think I expected too much of it since I read a couple of rave reviews. I found it lukewarm for most of it.. until the end. Then it actually made me feel something and it was very moving. I'd say worth the read, but not worth running to Barnes & Noble and paying full price for it. "
— Ariana, 2/8/2014 -
" I'm not going into psych so its probably not a surprise I didn't love this. I think mental illness probably is underrepresented in literature but this was not entirely enjoyable. I found it painful as the main character totally went nuts. "
— Andrea, 2/7/2014 -
" Incredibly visceral, compulsively readable. "
— Michael, 1/29/2014 -
" What a downer. Didn't see the purpose in a scrambled timeline...I have to give it two stars because I'm a sucker for good endings. This IS a groundbreaking piece of work and I understand the good reviews but it's just not for me, a reader that wants fresh and enlightening views of the world, rather then ones that are tortured by mental illness and unfortunate circumstances. "
— Andy, 1/27/2014 -
" As the book progresses, so does the madness and the intensity. You start to see how much the main character was hiding his disorder and how if affected all around him. Great read! "
— Kelly, 1/21/2014 -
" Wow! This was an incredible book. Beautifully written, painfully descriptive, hilarious - I cannot believe this was this author's first novel. Her main character ranks right up there with some very memorable main characters and will stay with me for a very long time. Put it on your 'to read' list! "
— Kate, 1/19/2014 -
" It took me longer than usual to finish but I am glad I did. Bipolar disorder is like many mental illnesses in that it is often hidden. This book is eye opening and often times engrossing. I really enjoyed it, despite its sad subject. A good read for anyone touched by mental illness. "
— Katy, 1/11/2014 -
" This book started out good but did not hold my interest. Don't bother with this one. "
— Jacqueline, 1/9/2014 -
" So realistic that I kept thinking to myself, "Is this a memoir?" Hard to believe it was written by a women. A most excellent read. "
— Cindy, 12/13/2013 -
" I would give the first half of the book 4 stars and the second half 3 stars. I was disappointed with the ending but overall liked the book. It written from a very interesting perspective. "
— Danielle, 11/27/2013 -
" I was really absorbed by this story and then I just found it to get rather tedious. "
— Regina, 10/27/2013 -
" I'm so glad I read this book. It seems wrong to say I enjoyed the book because it is so heartbreaking and painful but I would recommend this book. It gives you a better picture of what it must be like to be bipolar and to live with someone who is bipolar. It is not an easy row to hoe. "
— Lisa, 10/22/2013 -
" The world inside Greyson Todd's head is fascinating, horrifying, jaw-dropping, and painful to experience. "
— Lara, 10/22/2013 -
" Amazing book that gives a realistic look into the life and mind of a person who is Bi-polar. "
— Jen, 10/4/2013 -
" Excellent fiction written as memoir. The author certainly has experience with her subject--mental illness--and the collateral damage. "
— Cj, 8/5/2013 -
" WOW! Powerful book! "
— Sloan, 6/27/2013 -
" I absolutely loved this book. "
— Gabrielle, 5/17/2013 -
" This was really interesting, especially if you know someone who suffers from bipolar or depression or anxiety. Cool to get a glimpse of what it physically feels like. "
— Sheila, 4/8/2013 -
" I couldn't care less about anyone in this book. "
— Lana, 2/24/2013 -
" Ever wonder what it's like to be bi-polar? Turns out it's not so far from real life. "
— Denise, 2/7/2013 -
" Interesting look into the mind of a schiophrenic "
— Liz, 1/18/2013
About Juliann Garey
Juliann Garey has sold original screenplays and television pilots to Sony Pictures, NBC, CBS, Columbia TriStar Television, and Lifetime TV. As a journalist she has edited and written for such publications as Marie Claire, Glamour, More, Entertainment Weekly, Elle, New York Magazine, Los Angeles Times, and Huffington Post. She has received fellowships in fiction writing at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and the Vermont Studio Center. Garey is a graduate of Yale and the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism.
About Dan Butler
Dan Butler, audiobook narrator, actor, writer, director, and producer, has had major roles on and off Broadway and has appeared in numerous television shows, including Frasier, House, and Monk. He cowrote and directed Karl Rove, I Love You and has appeared in such feature films as Crazy, Stupid, Love; Silence of the Lambs; Enemy of the State; and Fixing Frank, among others.