Shine On, Bright and Dangerous Object

by Laurie Colwin

When Sam Bax, that charming daredevil of a Boston lawyer, sails his boat into a storm off the coast of Maine, Elizabeth "Olly" Bax, his wife and ardent sidekick, becomes a widow at the edge of twenty-seven. With no pretense of "courage", Olly grieves, coping with the warmth and awkwardness of family ties and trying to rethink her own life. Realizing that her risks are as daring as any of Sam's -- while he chanced life and limb, Olly risks her heart -- she finds that love can take some surprising turns.

Laurie Colwin depics Olly's recovery with humor, compassion, and a decided lack of sentimentally, creating a real heroine who remains true to her heart and still manages to keep her head.

This edition features cover art by Olivia McGiff.

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Literary Fiction, Contemporary, Family, Novels, Classics

181 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Laurie Colwin is the author of five novels: Happy All the Time, Family Happiness, Goodbye Without Leaving, Shine On, Bright and Dangerous Object, and A Big Storm Knocked It Over; three collections of short stories: Passion and Affect, Another Marvelous Thing, and The Lone Pilgrim; and two collections of essays: Home Cooking and More Home Cooking. She died in 1992.

Reviews

[emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

even laurie colwin's titles are good.

https://emmareadstoomuch.substack.com...

this started off as utterly charming and cozy and human as any other laurie colwin book. it just, as some of them do, went someplace weird after.

for the first two-thirds or so, this did exactly as i predicted, which was fine if a little boring. but then it did two things: a) became just pages and pages of descriptions of relationships, and b) introduced a new guy.

i love laurie colwin's descriptions (preferably of places and seasons and food) and characters (preferably fully realized and with a purpose) very much. but this wasn't that.

still, her books are a precious resource to me.

bottom line: even the weaker ones are good.

3.5

[Julie G · Rating 2 out of 5]

I broke out my best bell bottoms and my sweetest halter top and made them both pop with some sparkly hoop earrings. I slipped my feet into a pretty pair of cork platform sandals and strutted over to my friend's house to see if we could stir up some action. She answered the door in a stained, cotton apron and informed me that she'd be just a minute, as she was getting some soup on to boil. I sat poised in a chair, then fell into a slump as I stared at my friend's apron strings for the next few hours.

My lip gloss faded, my feathered hair collapsed, drool dried quickly at the corners of my mouth. After hours of seeing the back of my soup-stirring friend as my only horizon, she turned to me slowly and said, “I forgot the bay leaves.”

“You forgot more than that!” I wanted to shout. Instead, I dragged myself home, put on a tattered terry cloth robe and threw my clothes that stank of bone broth right into the washer.

[Suanne Laqueur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tomorrow I'll be 48. I'm now as old as Laurie Colwin was when she died. She's a beautiful and sometimes infuriating writer. Her characters are complex, introspective to a fault, and often unlikable. Her prose is brilliant and sparse, and then it wanders off into a verbose swamp before coming back to clean, bracing brilliance. She must have driven her editor mad.

I love her. Not everyone does. But I do. And I'm grateful to have discovered her. In her own words:

"I felt something very close to gratitude, but it was only love and respect, mixed with something in me that she had freed and enlightened. If you can drink life in, I drank. I drank to love and death and friendship, to loss and complication, to deprivation and wisdom."

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you read the story synopses of her novels, something about them seems very conventional. Love is either longed for or interrupted, and then something else happens that may be a solution for the longing or interruption. Also, the characters are usually people of privilege: money, education, New York address, culture, rarified occupations.

But, what the characters say to each other is surprising, and how they come to know themselves is full of struggle, mishaps, and insight. The worlds of this novel -- of Cambridge, New York, and a music camp in New Hampshire -- are fully made. Furthermore, Colwin's view of love is so expansive that it is transgressive. A character can deeply love more than one person at a time, and while Colwin explores the psychological dimensions of Olly and her love affairs, it is not neurotic. The heart is a big place and in it we can find ourselves.

[el · Rating 2 out of 5]

you had me in the first half ngl.

call me a traditionalist, but if you spend 75% of the novel trying to set up the protagonist and the main love interest only to introduce a throwaway fling in the last 25 pages and NOT EVEN LET US RETURN TO THE MAIN GUY??!! i'm docking a full star. idgaf if this was written in the 70s. how are you gonna try to convince me that your fmc needed to go fuck another guy to realize love is about making demands<3333 THE MAIN GUY DIDN'T EVEN DO ANYTHING TO WARRANT THIS?!!?! lmfao patrick was just back home while all of this was happening like, Ah 😍 Domestic bliss with the love of my life! 🥳❤️

STUPID ASS ENDING.

also, yes, this was terribly overwritten. nothing much happened beyond the extensive interior monologues and summarized flashbacks (which, after a point, became incredibly redundant....i no longer care about the dead husband, bro, LET ME MEET HIS HOTTER, SEXIER, STILL-LIVING OLDER BROTHER). shine on, bright and dangerous object is dripping in that new yorker register i found so charming in colwin's happy all the time, but here it honestly drags. i mean, just look at the difference in titles. this one is blatantly weaker.

also, colwin's female characters are so much more interesting in the third person. in first? annoying as fuck. get me out of this brain please. why was everyone in this tall, skinny, and blonde, why was there so little scene-writing, why did we not get more patrick? i have so many questions.

i will say that i enjoyed 75% of this. there's something to be said for overly wrought, self-absorbed, uber stylized literary prose when you come from contemporary romance, where the standard register is just "cheeky millennial woman who spends too much of her time on instagram." i love colwin's sentence-writing, because there's always SO MUCH to unpack.

but as a cohesive narrative? this was a colossal failure.

[Mike Coleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

An elegant escape and a great beach book. I've always admired Laurie Colwin and the unique world she carved out in the novels she wrote in the 1970s and 80s before her death in 1992 at the age of 48, and this is one of her best. Writing about the romantic experiences of mostly happy, well-adjusted young New Yorkers, she's like Woody Allen without the neurosis. There is a warmth, a gentleness and gentility to her work, so unlike the many angry anti-Establishment novels from the same period. No wonder she got noticed, and deservedly so.

It could be cloying stuff in lesser hands. Banking the fire in her spacious New York apartment, shopping in stationery stores, gazing at the snow falling outside the coffee shop in the Museum of Modern Art, Olly Bax, Colwin's protagonist in this book, always manages to be interesting and likeable despite her privilege and comfort. As she copes with the death of her wealthy young husband in a sailing accident, we root for her to recover her spirit and discover her need for love again. Introspective, non-formulaic, unabashedly romantic--Colwin makes it all work with humor, vibrant scenes, a great sense of place, sharply drawn characters, and always smart observations about love, loss and family.

I love this one paragraph alone: "When I met him, he seemed to me like some bright, dangerous object on a dark road that you go toward because it shines at you. Up close, you see it is a phosphorescent marker, or a white stone, or a patch of luminescent tape, but before you see what it is, all you see is brightness facing you out of the night, and if you are alone on the road, it is beautiful and frightening." On this single paragraph the novel rests.

Though she died very young, Colwin left behind a substantial body of work--novels (many with happy endings--imagine!), short stories and essays about cooking and casual entertaining--that is well worth reading today, in my humble opinion. She was, and still is, an original.

[Melany · Rating 2 out of 5]

I get that this story is suppose to have some deep meaning about grief and losing a husband and then eventually finding yourself. But, it lacked severely for me. It was so so drawn out. For a book thats only 172 pages, it said so little. It was just overly descriptive with no real substance. I was left disappointed. The character development was the reason I left 2 stars, everything else earned 0 stars. It's just.... a uphill hike during a storm. Not worth it imo. I hope this worked out better for everyone else.

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love her writing. It is always so beautiful and smooth. Even if you can't get behind the characters decisions, you still love them and care about what happens to them. I wasn't prepared for the serious nature of this particular book since most of her other writings I have come across feature almost no sad topics. It is good to know she can go there and still carry her appreciation for how wonderful life can be, even in the face of a tragic event.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weird and often moving story about a young woman pianist suddenly widowed in her 20s. Dated in the best way, when you could land in NYC and find a cheap, cozy one-bedroom apartment on Bank Street (overlooking a garden, of course), smoke cigarettes and be sort of slutty without even knowing it. A little warm and fuzzy, like a nice old blanket.

[Kubi]

Laurie Colwin is one of the writers I count on to put words to thoughts and emotions I can't name or am yet too afraid to know.

[William Baker · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't want to make anyone upset but this is one of the most boring and repetitive books I have ever read. It seemed to go on and on about essentially the same thing for the first two sections then the third section is this long and protracted explanation and justification of an affair with a married man.

Someone said that this authors characters are complicated and introspective. And they are right, only this main character is so introspective and complicated that they spend most of their time being introspective and complicated and eventually become nothing more than a self ruminating bore.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

"We ordered a massive breakfast. There was a sheen on everything, on that cheap Formica table, on the dented cream pitcher, on those horsey locals in their muddy boots. I thought I would keep it with me forever, the faint whiff of horse the place exuded, the faded design on the plates.
As I looked at Charlie, looming up on his side of the table, I felt something close to gratitude, but it was only love and respect, mixed with something in me that he had freed and enlightened. If you can drink life in, I drank. I drank to love and death and friendship, to loss and complication, to deprivation and wisdom.
We polished off that breakfast like a pair of tigers and went through two pots of coffee. Charlie sat back in his chair, smoking a cigar. There was nothing specious in my happiness. It rang through me like a bell."

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of my all-time favorites. Was entranced with the story and Olly the main character is a flawed yet lovable character with a cool wit. Ms. Colwin writes such great character studies. I have purchased so many copies of this book and gifted them to friends. It is dated by now, but the emotional lives of these characters are relevant for comtemporary life. I believe I first read this book in the early eighties and still remember parts of it clearly, probably because I've reread it so many times. It's an easy read with characters you will either love or dislike.

[Julietta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grief descriptions were the best part of Shine On, Bright and Dangerous Object. In the following passage we accurately notice how it's not the objects left behind that matter, it's the absence of the beloved person.

Cambridge was only a city Sam and I had lived in. Our apartment was just a dwelling we had shared. It was the fact of Sam, the being of him, that made me want to crack my head against the wall, not the muddy hiking boots in the hall closet, not the half-finished bottle of Cuban rum, or the undeveloped film in his camera, the rocks at Maine, or the shrubs outside.

The passage reminds me of what my mom used to say after dad died: "I don't feel his presence. I feel his absence."

Then there is the aspect of second-guessing what we could have done to prevent the death.

Since the moment his death had been verified, not one day had passed without my wondering if I could have saved him if only I had wanted more, if I had made my claim and done some limit-setting, if I had not been so fixed in my belief that you cannot tamper with the one you love.

However, despite the accurate and wonderfully detailed descriptions of the protagonist Olly's reaction to her husband Sam's death, this book only deserves 3 stars for two reasons:

1) A little bit of rumination and cerebral stream of consciousness is terrific, but AN ENTIRE BOOK???! We can see inside Olly's brain as if it were made of cellophane! Heavy-handed on the thinking! Taking itself too seriously! No humor! Big on thought, light on plot!

2) Furthermore, I've got a serious problem with the protagonist, Olly! 1st she loses her husband, then she starts a serious relationship with someone else. I won't say who for spoiler reasons. Then suddenly, for no earthly reason, she starts messing around with someone else and then the book abruptly ends! Completely out of character and we know this because of 1).

I'm still going to give "A Big Storm Knocked it Over" a try before giving up on Laurie Colwin completely. After all, Goodreads had recommended her after I read all 4 of Katherine Heiny's books and reviewed all of them with 4s and 5s!

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laurie Colwin was a beautiful writer. Unfortunately she died very young and left us with only four novels and three collections of short stories. This novel is about love and grief. Olly Bax loses her young husband, Sam, in a boating accident. (Sam is the bright and dangerous object of the title.) The rest of the book is Olly's movement through grief and love. Colwin has beautiful, lyrical language and tremendous character development. Her writing is to be savored. There has been some criticism of part three in the book. Some think that it shows a deviation from Olly's usual behavior. I think it rings true. It was the 70's. Olly was young and sex was somewhat more casual. (No AIDS scares, more acceptance of using sex to "find ourselves" etc.)

Lovely writing! About grief she writes: "I realized that grief is metabolic: it crawls through you like a disease and takes your energy away. Then it gathers and hits like a sudden migraine, like being hit by a car, like having a large, flat rock hurled at your chest."

[Tracy · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book was interesting. part one and two had some beautiful passages and made an interesting story, then came part three. the writing was still lovely, though dragging in spots, but the story line, i just didn't get it. she just sort of dropped it on you and there you were, trying to figure out how fast she could make such an odd decision. guess part one was "shine on", part two "bright and part three "dangerous" ? just don't get it, ending doesn't fit with first two parts. confused.

[Magdelanye · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are fond of tortured introspection and comlex relationshio dramas. you might like this book better than I did. For all her delving and explanations and classifications, it remained unclear to me just why the narrator felt the urges she resisted and indulged, and if I hadnt learned a thing or two from this book, I would have dismissed it as boring.

[Miranda · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I love her writing, I had a difficult time relating to Olly. I thought Part 1 was excellent but Part III seemed strange. How can cheating on the love of your life be such a wonderful choice? Maybe the book just made me uncomfortable, but I couldn't relate.

[JodiP · Rating 5 out of 5]

Colwin died far too early, at age about 48. This is a lovely, lovely book of grief and re-building. There were so many paragraphs that were beautiful, and the way she led you to understand the characters and their relationship was achingly well-done.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn’t necessarily how books are anymore. You don’t quite see them the same style. There’s something great about reading what feels like a time capsule to me. Lots of introspection, lots of telling, not showing, but for some reason it works. Maybe because the world is so richly painted.

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not Colwin's best work, but good for prompting introspection

[Elo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. I loved this book. So rich with imagery and believable character development. Beautiful, heartbreaking, joyful and hopeful.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the other two books by Colwin I have read, but this one was a bit of a slog and felt longer than the 180 pages it was. The beautiful prose and complex characters were there, but there was so much repetition, especially towards the end of the first section. I liked the third section best, in fact, for its complicated moral analysis of love.

[Liv B · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I seemed to be only skin. If I had thought about it, I might have realized that there are connections deep enough to terrify. But I didn't think. If there was such a thing as pure feeling, this was it.”

[Ireland · Rating 3 out of 5]

I *loved* the beginning of this book, but the ending really let me down. Laurie Colwin was a gem of a find for me this year—she writes in a very cozy, witty, lush way, like Nora Ephron before Nora Ephron—but this is obviously her first novel, not her best.

[Daniel Polansky]

I read this book.

[Bekah Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. I loved this book. So rich with imagery and believable character development. Beautiful, heartbreaking, joyful and hopeful.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a 3.5 teetering close to a 3.25. The beginning of this was so gripping, and much of the story is really interesting, woven through with strong observational writing I really enjoyed. But then there's a bunch of extra remembering and asides and unimportant plot points that just feel like padding, which is interesting because this is already a short book. But it could have been like 125 pages instead of 180, I think. I definitely want to read more Colwin!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started so weirdly and promisingly. It opens on the new widowhood of a young woman whose reckless, adrenaline-addict husband has just perished in a sailing accident. It turns out she was far more suited to his older brother anyway, and the first two thirds of the story describe Elizabeth’s slow realisation of this fact and the strangely fortunate hand fate has dealt her.

At the end of this section, she and Patrick get together with the force of all the crossed stars in the universe. And then … Elizabeth goes off on a musical work retreat, meets a married man, and proceeds to declare she’s fallen in love with him and commence an affair. The book ends with Elizabeth smugly declaring that this cruel infidelity, which she decides she’ll probably, eventually tell Patrick about, was necessary for her to ‘know herself better’.

I mean, sure, Liz, if the self you wanted to get to know was a total asshole. I get that this was 1975 and it was all ‘free love’ central, but Christ. I suppose, fifty years later, I simply have a more evolved opinion on open relationships and polyamory, which is that a fundamental ground rule is that the ground rules need to be agreed, in advance, by all parties. I don’t care how much my partner might ���learn’ from his infidelity. Elizabeth could have learned just as much – if not more to the purpose – by acknowledging her (inevitable) attraction to a person outside her relationship and then not acting on it. Like an ADULT.

The last – horrible, ill-considered, betraying – third of the book poisoned the rest for me. I then looked back on my reaction to the first parts, and all the meandering strings of descriptions of personality traits; and I’m now inclined to think that these are indulgent, and the extrapolations drawn from them tenuous.

You see, you have passages like this note that Elizabeth wrote to Sam:

‘S: I kissed your instep this morning but you only snorted. It is my sincere opinion that you are the cutest thing going. Have I told you lately that I love you? Yours sincerely, Elvis’

And these great character vignettes:

‘But she seemed to me like an egg, a perfect, opaque oval with no edges, that will crack at any point or at no point at all.’

‘Then he took a sip of his drink with the same controlled gestures cats have when licking their paws.’

But these are fleeting side characters who have little to no real impact on what plot there is, and certainly not on the minimal character development. I mean, the main thing Elizabeth does is lie to herself.

‘When I was by myself, I realized that I missed Patrick the way you would miss your arm if it were sheared off, or your eyesight, or your best friend.’

This is what she’s thinking as she’s cheating on him. WTF.

‘You said you wanted me. We’re both people with deep commitments. I don’t make decisions like this easily. I had to go through some hard times trying to figure out what was right. Now I’ve made up my mind, and now you’re chicken.’

Elizabeth’s idea of a hard time, a hard decision, or hard thinking about a (BAD!!!) choice, is nonsense. Total nonsense. She meets this married man and about two seconds later is like sure, why not, we’ll have an affair. Not just a one-night stand or a purely physical interaction, but full-on declaring love to each other while also declaring they love their other, oblivious partners. NICE. SO NICE.

Overall, a very juvenile conclusion to what promised to be an interesting psychological portrait. It’s like Colwin decided to finish an oil painting with crayon.

[jess]

“Love was the only thing we gave any credit to: the life of the emotions was what kept the body going. At eighteen, walking around and throbbing with these beliefs, I was what Thomas Hardy said Tess of the D’Urbervilles was: a vessel of emotion untinctured by experience.”

If this were my first Laurie Colwin, I would have thrown the book across the room after reading it. In Another Marvelous Thing, Billy has an affair with an older man (despite her happy marriage) because she has never been someone’s romantic fantasy. In Shine On, Olly was married at twenty-two and was widowed at twenty-seven—she described her marriage as two adults playing house.

I saw a review that said if this was written 25 years later, would she be so reliant on men still? I think it’s actually subversive (and rare even now) to read about women who had casual lovers and affairs and never get punished for it. They simply learned about themselves. I may not agree with her idea of fidelity but her books were written during the time where women were heavily expected to be obedient wives and good mothers—Colwin prioritizes her characters’ happiness without moral judgment.

And her section about grief resonated with me. It felt like she bashed my skull and took out all the thoughts in my head that I couldn’t give words to. Oh Laurie!