Nathan Holic's Bright Lights, Medium-Sized City
By Alexis White
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“This is you, and you are it. They call you ‘Orlando.’” Focus on place is one of the central traits of Nathan Holic's Bright Lights, Medium-Sized City. This novel takes readers on a walk through Orlando, Florida alongside the main character, Marc, as he struggles with his depression, anger issues, and past. The story revolves around Marc’s failing business and relationships. Although he was once a popular man with nothing but opportunity in his future, post-college life has left Marc pessimistic and angry at the world.
An important feature of the novel stems from the setting: Orlando. The sense of place in the novel is extraordinarily real and very well done. Like many tourists and residents of Florida, I have visited Orlando for its theme parks and the ideal dream city surrounding them. The way that settings such as night clubs, neighborhoods, and different parks in Disney were introduced was immersive, and I found myself engaged in where the characters were standing. Having lived in Florida my whole life, I was able to read Holic’s words and descriptions and confidently say, “This is Florida.” From the description of the environment, weather, and even certain comparisons (such as spiky hair reminiscent of palm fronds), the language in the novel evokes a sense of Florida, and more specifically, Orlando. |
The novel has a very realistic portrayal of depression and how it works in the mind. It describes many of the symptoms without feeling tedious or overworked. Marc experiences many ups and downs over the course of the story. Unfortunately, there are more downs than ups, and the ups come in small, almost unimportant victories: “It’s a small act, but today[...] you will wash your car.” These moments of triumph for Marc, small as they are, give the reader hope that things will get better, even if only little by little. The story is not about overcoming depression, but it makes a statement about working through the problems that life throws at you.
Another strength of this novel is its split personality in the sense of narrative styles: it is split into four parts, and each is different stylistically. The first part is a choose-your-own-adventure that sets the tone for the novel, narrowing down the endless possibilities into a single, unavoidable ending. The different ways in which the story is told also affect how the reader sees and feels about Marc throughout the novel. The second and third parts are more traditional narration with some points of added flair white the fourth, my favorite part, takes an interesting twist visually and narratively, which I found very fun to read.
Bright Lights Medium-Sized City is a series of ups, downs, forwards, and backwards turns that challenge much of what we imagine that we perceive and the inner workings of human relationships. Holic does a great job of adding substance to the text with his portrayal of mental illness and place, as well as the stylistic story-telling choices that he makes throughout the novel.
https://nathanholic.com/about/
Another strength of this novel is its split personality in the sense of narrative styles: it is split into four parts, and each is different stylistically. The first part is a choose-your-own-adventure that sets the tone for the novel, narrowing down the endless possibilities into a single, unavoidable ending. The different ways in which the story is told also affect how the reader sees and feels about Marc throughout the novel. The second and third parts are more traditional narration with some points of added flair white the fourth, my favorite part, takes an interesting twist visually and narratively, which I found very fun to read.
Bright Lights Medium-Sized City is a series of ups, downs, forwards, and backwards turns that challenge much of what we imagine that we perceive and the inner workings of human relationships. Holic does a great job of adding substance to the text with his portrayal of mental illness and place, as well as the stylistic story-telling choices that he makes throughout the novel.
https://nathanholic.com/about/
