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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
I am irritated that I paid the money for this, that I invested the time in reading it, and can't explain why I didn't just abandon this. Why did Pessl feel compelled to use italics so much? They made her 43 year old male narrator, an investigative journalist, sound like the over-earnest aspiring actress/coat check girl he consorted with. Why did her editor indulge her in this compulsion? Because she's a wunderkind?! There were interesting components of the book, but overall, it was too long, too slow, and I wish I enjoyed it half as much as I enjoyed her first book.
I hate to give such a low rating to an author's work I have otherwise enjoyed. But this two-star rating for NIGHT FILM is due to:
1. This 599-page tome is 599 pages because every. single. sentence. uses simile and metaphor as descriptors, which becomes laborious. I don't have a problem with super long novels. SAVAGE DETECTIVES by Roberto Bolano is in the 500-page range and I didn't want it to end. I have a problem with super long novels that shouldn't be super long. At page 300, I was still questioning why I should care and why I should keep reading. I kept reading because I'd purchased the book in hardback.
2. Riffing off of #1, the New Yorker male protagonist's first-person narration is inauthentic largely because a man would not think or speak in such colorful simile- and/or metaphor-laden terms -- not even a male protagonist who is a writer by profession. Here, the author's voice and ideas crowded out the character's (Scott McGrath).
3. Pessl uses italicization throughout the novel to denote inflections of speech. This, I found distracting and insulting. It is distracting because it forces the reader to read sentences over and over again to place the inflection on the word(s) the author tells you should be emphasized. The italicization is insulting because it does not leave room for the reader to use his or her imagination to interpret the characters' speech patterns naturally, as he or she sees the characters in his or her mind. There should be room for this in literature. A reader should not be held hostage by the mandates of the author, even in a society as spoon-fed as ours. A reader who purchases a 600-page book does not want spoon-feeding.
With that said, Pessl knows how to weave an intricate yarn. In the future, I hope she does so without so much simile and metaphor weighing down otherwise smart and complex storytelling.
1. This 599-page tome is 599 pages because every. single. sentence. uses simile and metaphor as descriptors, which becomes laborious. I don't have a problem with super long novels. SAVAGE DETECTIVES by Roberto Bolano is in the 500-page range and I didn't want it to end. I have a problem with super long novels that shouldn't be super long. At page 300, I was still questioning why I should care and why I should keep reading. I kept reading because I'd purchased the book in hardback.
2. Riffing off of #1, the New Yorker male protagonist's first-person narration is inauthentic largely because a man would not think or speak in such colorful simile- and/or metaphor-laden terms -- not even a male protagonist who is a writer by profession. Here, the author's voice and ideas crowded out the character's (Scott McGrath).
3. Pessl uses italicization throughout the novel to denote inflections of speech. This, I found distracting and insulting. It is distracting because it forces the reader to read sentences over and over again to place the inflection on the word(s) the author tells you should be emphasized. The italicization is insulting because it does not leave room for the reader to use his or her imagination to interpret the characters' speech patterns naturally, as he or she sees the characters in his or her mind. There should be room for this in literature. A reader should not be held hostage by the mandates of the author, even in a society as spoon-fed as ours. A reader who purchases a 600-page book does not want spoon-feeding.
With that said, Pessl knows how to weave an intricate yarn. In the future, I hope she does so without so much simile and metaphor weighing down otherwise smart and complex storytelling.
The story was mildly creepy and intriguing (and the ending appropriate, if unsatisfying in my opinion), but FFS, the overuse of italicized words/phrases got on my nerves. Plus, the "documentation" embedded in the hardcover edition I read will likely date the book something terrible in less than 5-10 years.
AMAZING!! I loved this book, the ending was just like a night film which will probably have me guessing for days. Really enjoyed how the author explored different formats within the book and the cleverness in the plot, mystery and the individual movies.
Pretty decent mainstream novel that flirts with the (rumored) paranormal and film. Those who will rave about this novel will NOT have heard of FLICKER or THROAT SPROCKETS, which are books in the same vein that play this game even better, and that don't flinch at the very end, like NIGHT FILM does. However, it's a good read and if it leads people to the above-mentioned (BETTER) books, so much the better for everyone.
This book sets you up to re-read it first off. I will grant it credit for having me turn pages but not because it was so amazing. My gripe with night film is how unbelievable the relationship between the three main characters were. There should have been more character development or more convincing the reader that somehow our ragtag characters are a coherent team. I think this novel attempts to be deep only to fall short. Otherwise it is a decent read and please please don't compare to house of leaves.
An interesting foray into experimental literature. The ending left a little to be desired for me personally, but overall I enjoyed the story.
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This started out as such a good, unsettling atmospheric thriller, but as the story went on, I feel like it got a little too bizarre and felt a little less clever.
One of the most unique books I’ve ever read. It somehow felt real, even despite all the magical pieces. I do think it was just a bit too long, but the writing is fantastic. This is one of those books where you know the author put real work in, not just imagination. The research and crafting of the story — I can’t imagine the undertaking of creating something like this. She truly created an entire world for us to live in. 4.5 stars!