In this respect, This Side of Brightness is reminiscent of Russell Banks' darkly profound 1985 novel, Continental Drift. In her mid-20s, she said, she moved toward a Latina feminist way of thinking. Long ago, when the dark vastness of space was more of a mystery than it is now, astronomers thought that the movement of the planets created heavenly music. Catherine Ryan Hyde Catherine Ryan Hyde writes with refreshing precision. She captures a scene or a character with the barest of flourishes, revealing as much with what she doesn't say as with what she does.
Every word counts.
Of the 18 pieces collected here, all but one have been previously published in literary reviews and journals. And all are worth reading. A few years ago, film producer Julia Phillips wrote a scathing tell-all book that became the talk of Hollywood. Again'' was Julia Phillips' dishy rant that passed judgment on the rich and famous. Silicon Valley isn't Hollywood, but Gil Amelio is the closest we've got to Phillips so far.