Bliss

Danyel Smith is one of the most acclaimed music journalists of her generation, a prose stylist who "writes with music in her language" (Quincy Jones). In "Bliss," a thrillingly sensual tale drenched with love and music, Smith dives deep into an intriguing set of characters facing life-changing choices in the swirl of the music industry at its decadent peak. At a glossy gathering on Paradise Island, record exec Eva Glenn--soulful, sexy, powerful, and possibly pregnant--is hosting a comeback showcase for her singing sensation Sunny Addison, a barefoot diva with a poet's heart and the voice of a lion. At the event's high-strung peak, however, Eva begins to sink beneath the waves of anxiety washing over her--anxiety about a confusing sexual triangle, a career at a crossroads, and choices to be made about her possible pregnancy--and decides, in a blink, to flee. She leaves Paradise for the petite, pastoral island of Cat, accompanied by her sometime-lover D'Artagnan Addison, an earnestly crazy mystic looking for answers of his own. What begins as an idyllic break quickly turns into an intense sojourn that brings Eva to terms with the crises closing in on her. Smith casts a wittily skeptical eye on the absurd drama of the music industry, but infuses every page with an infectious, bracing, unashamed passion for the power of pop. Her language matches the spirit of the music she writes about, echoing everything from throaty blues shouts and hip hop menace to the transcendent joy of a perfect R & B love song. This is a novel about the real rhythm and blues of life, about pain and loss and why we hold tight, in the end, to the sex and music and love that offer us a fleeting glimpse ofbliss, even when the price is steep.

Review :
"The music business can be an enchanted snake pit, but Danyel tells her heroine's story with an insider's knowledge, with power, and most of all, with emotion." --Mariah carey "A smart, savvy, and juicy novel with all the sizzle of a potboiler and with heart enough to uncover the humanity behind it all." --Binnie Kirshenbaum, author of "An Almost Perfect Moment" "Searingly honest and breathtakingly lush, Smith's masterful prose moves the reader past the music industry's seductive bling and liberates characters that are deliciouslycomplicated and compellingly flawed. "Bliss" is the literarylove song for the new millennium." --Joan Morgan, author of "When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost" "Smith writes with generous passion and propulsive energyabout the life choices women make, about the illusion of control, and about getting to know ourselves. I love this book." --Ayelet Waldman, author of "Love and Other Impossible Pursuits" "For the last decade, Danyel has had a front row seat for allthe craziness of the record business. She knows how fly it all was, and she knows where the bodies are buried. You'll love" Bliss.""--Toure, author of "Soul City" "The color and candor of hip hop is rarely transferredonto paper, and Danyel Smith's voice is the rare, vitalinstrument strong enough to carry that tune."--Sacha Jenkins, coauthor of ego trip's" Big Book of Racism!" "A dynamic novel with authenticity and surprise at every turn."--Katharine Weber, author of "The Little Women" "With the remarkable "Bliss," Danyel Smith uses her palpable love and vast knowledge of music--hip hop, pop, and soul--to conjure a glorious, compelling story." --Alan Light, author of" The Skillsto Pay the Bills"