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katherine_elizab's review against another edition
5.0
Strange, delightful, lovely. Gorgeous, lyrical prose. A real joy to read.
sailert's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars, but I'll round up.
This read like a chamberpiece. It's poetic. It has hints of Chekhov's The Seagull. All good things. I had expectations of more romantic comedy. That's not quite there. Though there are nice strokes of humor.
I read this because it was on the Tournament of Books longlist for 2016. I doubt it will make it through the shortlist. That said, this was a good book to bid farewell to 2015 and welcome 2016.
It didn't knock me over. It did require to me to pay closer attention and to be a more generous reader. I hope that continues through the year. We'll see.
I loved the final Coda section. There are some unexpected twists, but they never veered into bad epilogue. Dinerstein closes this novel with finesse.
The more I think about THE SUNLIT NIGHT, the more I appreciate it. If the summary (which you can read elsewhere. I hate writing them) sounds like your cup of tea, I'll venture to say it will be.
This read like a chamberpiece. It's poetic. It has hints of Chekhov's The Seagull. All good things. I had expectations of more romantic comedy. That's not quite there. Though there are nice strokes of humor.
I read this because it was on the Tournament of Books longlist for 2016. I doubt it will make it through the shortlist. That said, this was a good book to bid farewell to 2015 and welcome 2016.
It didn't knock me over. It did require to me to pay closer attention and to be a more generous reader. I hope that continues through the year. We'll see.
I loved the final Coda section. There are some unexpected twists, but they never veered into bad epilogue. Dinerstein closes this novel with finesse.
The more I think about THE SUNLIT NIGHT, the more I appreciate it. If the summary (which you can read elsewhere. I hate writing them) sounds like your cup of tea, I'll venture to say it will be.
flogigyahoo's review against another edition
4.0
The Sunlit Night, Rebecca Dinerstein's debut novel is a fun book. The blurbs on the back and beginning say it is lyrical, observant, witty, dreamy, luminous,psychologically rich. Well, I don't know about these, but it is well written and enjoyable. It starts with 21 year old Frances, an art major, who is dumped by the boyfriend she was hoping to marry and accepts an assistant's job for with an artist in far off North Norway. We then meet Yasha, 17 almost 18, who helps in his father's bakery in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, and has promised his father, Vassily, to bury him when he dies, "at the top of the world." Yasha's mother appears after 10 years waving divorce papers. So powerful and poignant is Yasha's love for his father, he cannot break this news to him even when Vassily insists on flying to Russia to get his wife. Yasha and Francis meet in Norway and fall in love of course, but this is not a banal chick-lit love story. I found myself returning to it again and again to find out what happens to Yasha with whom I too fell in love. An entertaining, sometimes weird tale. I liked Dinerstein's writing a lot.
jj24's review against another edition
2.0
Have you bitten into a hamburger, and as the savory flavor hits your taste buds you think, "Wow! This is really good!"? You take another bite and say to yourself, "This is fantastic! It's perfectly grilled with just the right amount of seasoning." You take your third bite, and spit it back out on the plate because you realize the inside of the burger is raw. That's a pretty good summation of "The Sunlit Night"
The book follows the story of two characters from NYC -- Frances and Yasha -- who for different reasons make their way to a Norwegian town within the Arctic Circle. Frances, Yahsa, and their families are wonderfully drawn characters -- quirky, unique, and neurotic in the way that only New Yorkers can be.
While the characters were in New York, I couldn't wait to read more. Once they got to Norway, the author lost me. The Norwegian characters didn't seem distinct. The plot meandered and didn't have much of a point. I was tempted to quit.
The author ultimately pulled it together at the end, but by then I had lost interest. "The Sunlit Night" is the author's debut novel. She had some beautiful turns of phrase and other scenes that were laugh-out-loud funny. I imagine that over time her writing will evolve and I look forward to seeing what else she publishes. 2.5 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The book follows the story of two characters from NYC -- Frances and Yasha -- who for different reasons make their way to a Norwegian town within the Arctic Circle. Frances, Yahsa, and their families are wonderfully drawn characters -- quirky, unique, and neurotic in the way that only New Yorkers can be.
While the characters were in New York, I couldn't wait to read more. Once they got to Norway, the author lost me. The Norwegian characters didn't seem distinct. The plot meandered and didn't have much of a point. I was tempted to quit.
The author ultimately pulled it together at the end, but by then I had lost interest. "The Sunlit Night" is the author's debut novel. She had some beautiful turns of phrase and other scenes that were laugh-out-loud funny. I imagine that over time her writing will evolve and I look forward to seeing what else she publishes. 2.5 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.
astoldbyangela's review
4.0
probably more of a 3.5 but i enjoyed it and don't think it deserves some of the flack it's been getting review-wise. a fine, unique telling of two people and messy lives. it makes interesting story choices in a way that i think works - disjointedness that just makes sense. similarly to a lot of the tv shows i love, big drama moments are left off-screen and it heightens the reality of the story. i enjoyed frances and yasha was suitably angsty.
bodagirl's review
2.0
Some gorgeous language and turns of phrase, but not enough to fully compensate for the scanty plot.
PopSugar Reading Challenge 2015 | Task 28: A book with antonyms in the title
PopSugar Reading Challenge 2015 | Task 28: A book with antonyms in the title
laurapatriciarosereads's review
4.0
Orginally posted on:http://lauraslittlebookblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/book-review-sunlit-night-by-rebecca.html
Before I get into my review of the book, I cannot not mention this absolutely stunning cover. Every now and again a truly magnificent cover for a book comes along and so far this is my most favourite book cover of the year.
I loved this beautiful, eccentric novel by the very talented Rebecca Dinerstein.
This is a very unusual kind of love story, with slightly strange, but very real characters. Frances and Yasha meet at the 'top of the world' following very different circumstances. Both their stories have a melancholic tone, but overall the story is happy and light, especially as the sun stays up practically through the night and casts and helps to cast a warm feel throughout the story. I also enjoyed reading from both of the characters viewpoints and really getting into both their stories and seeing how they overlapped.
The setting of Norway was utterly magical and made the novel all the more unique and fascinating. Despite never having been to Norway before, I felt right there with the main characters Frances and Yasha. The Sunlit Night is obviously a perfect name for the book as the sun is up practically all day and night during the summer months in Norway, so daytime seems continuous. Norway has now added itself to the list of places that I want to go.
Although written very differently to anything I have read before, I liked it quirkiness and the way Rebecca chose to describe things. I guess you could say it was lyrical and poetic. The only slight downside to this was I would sometimes have to focus when reading, otherwise I would miss understand bits, but that was only a slight issue.
An unusual, but wonderfully eccentric novel for those looking for something a little bit different.
Before I get into my review of the book, I cannot not mention this absolutely stunning cover. Every now and again a truly magnificent cover for a book comes along and so far this is my most favourite book cover of the year.
I loved this beautiful, eccentric novel by the very talented Rebecca Dinerstein.
This is a very unusual kind of love story, with slightly strange, but very real characters. Frances and Yasha meet at the 'top of the world' following very different circumstances. Both their stories have a melancholic tone, but overall the story is happy and light, especially as the sun stays up practically through the night and casts and helps to cast a warm feel throughout the story. I also enjoyed reading from both of the characters viewpoints and really getting into both their stories and seeing how they overlapped.
The setting of Norway was utterly magical and made the novel all the more unique and fascinating. Despite never having been to Norway before, I felt right there with the main characters Frances and Yasha. The Sunlit Night is obviously a perfect name for the book as the sun is up practically all day and night during the summer months in Norway, so daytime seems continuous. Norway has now added itself to the list of places that I want to go.
Although written very differently to anything I have read before, I liked it quirkiness and the way Rebecca chose to describe things. I guess you could say it was lyrical and poetic. The only slight downside to this was I would sometimes have to focus when reading, otherwise I would miss understand bits, but that was only a slight issue.
An unusual, but wonderfully eccentric novel for those looking for something a little bit different.
robinhigdon's review
4.0
Quirky lovable characters and a dramatic setting as 're the centerpiece for this sweet story. Loved it!
msarno's review
An odd little book, often wonderful, but at times slow and distant-feeling. I loved the setting and many of the descriptions.