SKU: 13931476716

This Brilliant Darkness: A Book of Strangers

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This Brilliant Darkness: A Book of StrangersKnown for immersion journalism that is more immersed than most people are willing to go, and for a prose style that is somehow both fierce and soulful, Jeff Sharlet dives deep into the darkness around us and awaiting us. This work began when his father had a heart attack; two years later, Jeff, still in his forties, had a heart attack of his own. In the grip of writerly self doubt, Jeff turned to images, taking snapshots and posting them on Instagram,

Known for immersion journalism that is more immersed than most people are willing to go, and for a prose style that is somehow both fierce and soulful, Jeff Sharlet dives deep into the darkness around us and awaiting us.

This work began when his father had a heart attack; two years later, Jeff, still in his forties, had a heart attack of his own. In the grip of writerly self-doubt, Jeff turned to images, taking snapshots and posting them on Instagram, writing short, true stories that bloomed into documentary. During those two years, he spent a lot of time on the road: meeting strangers working night shifts as he drove through the mountains to see his father; exploring the life and death of Charley Keunang, a once-aspiring actor shot by the police on LA's Skid Row; documenting gay pride amidst the violent homophobia of Putin's Russia; passing time with homeless teen addicts in Dublin; and accompanying a lonely woman, whose only friend was a houseplant, on shopping trips.

Early readers have called this book "incantatory," the voice "prophetic," in "James Agee's tradition of looking at the reality of American lives." Defined by insomnia and late-night driving and the companionship of other darkness-dwellers--night bakers and last-call drinkers, frightened people and frightening people, the homeless, the lost (or merely disoriented), and other people on the margins--This Brilliant Darkness erases the boundaries between author, subject, and reader to ask: how do people live with suffering?



Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Published: 02/11/2020
ISBN: 9781324003205
Pages: 336
Weight: 1.30lbs
Size: 8.40h x 6.20w x 1.10d

Review Citations: Kirkus Reviews 11/01/2019
Publishers Weekly 11/04/2019
Library Journal 01/01/2020 pg. 93
Booklist 02/01/2020 pg. 16
Shelf Awareness 03/13/2020
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SKU: 13931476716

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MickeyF
Waukegan, US
★★★★★ 5
Solved Specific Need
Size: 10 Ft (Type B with Clamp), Color: White
Nice product which solved a problem of needing USB power clamped to a very thick work table. Most power strips with a clamp do not accommodate thick tables between 1.75" and 2" so I was happy to find this one. Successfully provides power to all my USB devices even a laptop (although charging is a bit slower compared to the OEM power adapter).
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Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2026
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Lyman D. Elliott
Draper, US
★★★★★ 5
One minor bug
Size: 10 Ft (Type B with Clamp), Color: Black
I received this today and mounted it to the table I have next to my recliner. I plugged it into a remote control outlet so I can turn everything off at once. I used two of the AC outlets for the power recliner. I then plugged a USB powered fan into one of the USB-A ports. I plugged the power cable from a set of speakers positioned next to the headrest of the recliner into the other USB-A port. I used one of the USB C outlets to charge my tablet. When I hit the switch on the remote control to turn off power to the strip before going to bed I discovered a bug. The only way I can describe it is a cross port power bleed. After killing power to the strip my speakers were still playing, not well as they had static. I discovered by trial and error that if I unplugged my tablet the problem stopped. Apparently if you have something with a battery plugged into one of the USB ports and have something plugged into the other USB ports it pulls power from the device with the battery to try and power the other devices plugged in. Other than this one problem it seems to be just what I was looking for.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2025
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Glen T.
Charlottesville, US
★★★★★ 5
Mounts to desktop
Size: 10 Ft (Type B with Clamp), Color: Black
Helps keep the desktop clutter down. Sometimes I need to charge flashlights, earphones, hearing aids, portable battery chargers and the like. I don’t want to plug these onto my computer so this unit fits that need. Sturdy desk mount so one hand plugging in and unplugging usually works fine.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2025
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greasergrrl
Birmingham, US
★★★★★ 5
Works great
Size: 10 Ft (Type B with Clamp), Color: Black, Size: 10 Ft (Type B with Clamp), Color: Black
Small and does the trick. I’m glad my USB hub will stop falling off the table!
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Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2025
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Anne C.
New York, US
★★★★★ 4
Decent, gets warm though
Size: 10 Ft (Type B with Clamp), Color: Black
Compact with a nice long power cord. However, it does get warm, which makes me nervous, seeing as it is clamped to a wooden table...
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Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2026

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