I came to The Bright Years pretty much only knowing that it dealt with 4 generations of a family dealing with the repercussions of alchoholism. That thread was explored deftly and unwaveringly. There was also a thread of art, both the creation and appreciation of it.

I'm pretty sure the only other serial first person narrative I've encountered was All Involved, a novel chronicling the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Here, that structure did a great job passing the narrative torch from generation to generation.

Each chapter is a tight moment in time. A snapshot that might have been taken by one of the characters. Flashbacks are short, but powerful. There's more happiness shown than pain, though the pain casts a long shadow.

Damoff captures those moments of trauma so well. Miscarriage, the breakup/adoption, the descent to alcoholism and the separation that becomes pain by avoiding violence.

There's quite a lot here that I haven't experienced directly that nonetheless resonated. I don't usually read a mimetic family drama like this but I'm glad it crossed my path as an ARC.