(LSU Press/Yellow Shoe Fiction, 2010)
Bronze Medal, 2011 Independent Publisher Book Awards
Finalist, 2011 John Gardner Award
"Russell's prose has a way of quietly sneaking in page-turning tension without sacrificing deeper insights."
—Wyatt Williams, Creative Loafing
"In this captivating love-hate story set in World War II–era New Orleans, the city itself is one of author Josh Russell’s greatest, most indelibly drawn characters"
—Teresa Weaver, Atlanta Magazine
Set against a backdrop of a nation exhausted by war, in a decadent city that for years has been denied its butter, sugar, and Mardi Gras, My Bright Midnight is a novel about the complications of loyalties to country, to friends, and to those we love.
Walter Schmidt's life isn't simple: His wife Nadine wants to live next door to her dead first husband's mother, the Mississippi River is three blocks down the street and rising dangerously, FDR is dead, and the war seems like it will never end—but for the most part, things are going Walter's way. Then one bright April morning in 1945, Walter comes home early from work to find Nadine in bed with his best friend, Sammy.
"I've been waiting for more of Josh Russell's NOLA since Yellow Jack, waiting patiently, most of the time, and now it's paid off. This book flat out kicks ass in its New Orleansness but also in its humanness, a novel firing on all cylinders, amazing characters, killer details, lyrical language and a plot that keeps the pages turning. A book worth the wait and worth its salt, a novel to read and reread, to savor, to treasure."
—Tom Franklin, author of Hell at the Breech and Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
"My Bright Midnight is a wonderfully engrossing tale that packs in a love story, friendship, family, murder, and a dash of crime, all lovingly set against the colorful backdrop of New Orleans. But the true star here is Josh Russell’s clean and elegant prose, and how truly he renders the voice of his main character, Walt, a German immigrant haunted by his dark past while trying to earn a place for himself in America. I ended up reading this book in one day—pick it up and you won’t be able to put it down."
—Hannah Tinti, author of Animal Crackers and The Good Thief
Shocked into silence, when she then calls him a "kraut," Walter becomes even more confused. True, he's a German immigrant, but he's lived in New Orleans for almost twenty years, and an hour before, he thought he was a happy American—baseball fan, reader of pulp novels, lover of gangster movies. Suddenly Walter wonders if Nadine's right, if he's more German than American, more enemy than friend. When Sammy later offers him $1,000 as an apology for sleeping with his wife, Walter accepts, desperately hoping to hurt his friend, but instead setting in motion a series of events more dangerous than betrayal and petty revenge.
"I've been waiting for more of Josh Russell's NOLA since Yellow Jack, waiting patiently, most of the time, and now it's paid off. This book flat out kicks ass in its New Orleansness but also in its humanness, a novel firing on all cylinders, amazing characters, killer details, lyrical language and a plot that keeps the pages turning. A book worth the wait and worth its salt, a novel to read and reread, to savor, to treasure."
—Tom Franklin, author of Hell at the Breech and Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
"My Bright Midnight is a wonderfully engrossing tale that packs in a love story, friendship, family, murder, and a dash of crime, all lovingly set against the colorful backdrop of New Orleans. But the true star here is Josh Russell’s clean and elegant prose, and how truly he renders the voice of his main character, Walt, a German immigrant haunted by his dark past while trying to earn a place for himself in America. I ended up reading this book in one day—pick it up and you won’t be able to put it down."
—Hannah Tinti, author of Animal Crackers and The Good Thief
