Bright Objects
by Ruby Todd

‘It was not until the end that I saw St John for what it was,

a sign of destruction and strange rebirth,

and then all that had occurred seemed obvious somehow;

inevitable as the looping line of its course.’

Australian release
April 30

US release
July 16

A young woman grapples with the arrival of a once-in-a-lifetime comet

and its tumultuous consequences in a novel that blends

mystery, astronomy and romance.

  • “A novel written with immense grace, beauty, and depth, Bright Objects plumbs the farthest reaches of one widow's grief, ultimately revealing the brilliance of our humanity in the face of immense loss—the will to fight for what's right, the will to hope, and most importantly, the will to love again. A surprising, thrilling, and seductively dangerous comet of a book.”

    Chelsea Bieker, author of Godshot and Madwoman

  • Bright Objects is the story of a woman consumed by an unquellable obsession, reduced by solitude and incompleteness, caught in an unconscious embattled conspiracy of her own making. Ruby Todd writes of the strain of fearful events and discoveries, and the fatal inevitability of a sense of guilt when someone close to one is killed, all the while revealing to us the hidden realities that lie in wait for us.”

    Susanna Moore, author of In the Cut and The Lost Wife

  • “A literary mystery of consummate elegance and gravity. Bright Objects traces a graceful orbit around the phenomena of human grief and love.”

    Jessica Au, author of Cold Enough for Snow

  • The X-Files meets Nick Cave's Ghosteen—science, faith, and human folly collide in this celestial melodrama.”

    Laura Elizabeth Woollett, author of The Newcomer and Beautiful Revolutionary

  • “Gripping, thrilling. An electric story of small towns, big secrets and the last great comet of the millennium.”

    Felicity McLean, author of The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone

  • “I loved Bright Objects. Sylvia is an enormously appealing narrator who offers a thoughtful and nuanced perspective on a world turned on its axis.”

    —Polly Stewart, author of The Good Ones

  • Bright Objects is a mesmerizing, profound tale of obsession, exploring the need to believe in something and the duty to live in reality. Ruby Todd infuses the novel with almost unbearable tension—it moves toward a breathtaking climax as surely as a comet hurtling toward Earth.”

    —Clémence Michallon, author of The Quiet Tenant

Gripping, wise and beautifully written. More please.
— Michael Inslay