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dayseraph's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not sure how to feel about this book. I really enjoyed the first half - basically through the judges' visit. Then it hit the summer doldrums, with no real plot drivers to move the momentum forward. The characters spent a lot of time developing intense feelings for each for no particular reason that I could see. Much like a YA novel, they just thought about each other and fell in love without needing to actually interact with or learn about each other. Ultimately, the only relationship developments that felt believable to me were between Yasha and his mother.
Then there is a coda tacked on at the end, in which we learn more about the future of Frances/the first person narrator's sister, who was mostly a plot device through the rest of the book. I had lots of questions about the characters as I finished the book, but none of them were about the sister. What happened to Nils? Why does Ian have money? Did Yasha inherit anything? What about that boar?
Then there is a coda tacked on at the end, in which we learn more about the future of Frances/the first person narrator's sister, who was mostly a plot device through the rest of the book. I had lots of questions about the characters as I finished the book, but none of them were about the sister. What happened to Nils? Why does Ian have money? Did Yasha inherit anything? What about that boar?
emiliedoleshel's review against another edition
4.0
Beautifully written book about losing oneself and finding it again.
bmg20's review against another edition
1.0
This is a very unhappy, very long review, full of my eye-twitching adventures through the pages of Sunlit Night. Oh, and just a warning for those of you that frown upon gif-filled reviews? Run. Run while you still can.
I don’t derive any sort of pleasure from reading a book I hate. I don’t like hating books in general, but alas, it does happen. My 11-year-old asked me just last night, “Do you ever read a book and really don’t like it?” I laughed and told him, “Of course, you can’t expect to like every single book you read. Sometimes it can be poorly written, sometimes it can have characters that you just can’t understand, but yes, there are books I’ve read that I have not liked and some I’ve even hated.” The book that flashed through my head when he mentioned hating a book? This book. What’s funny is for the longest time, The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls took the cake for book I hated the most. That book, which I renamed in seething tones ‘Horsey Camp’, became my reference point for one star ratings. “I didn’t like this at all, BUT… is it Horsey Camp bad?” Well, now I have a new reference point. I haven’t come up with a nickname yet. I’m taking suggestions.
So what is this strange little ridiculous book even about? We have two main characters, Frances and Yasha, and the story switches between both of their points-of-view. Frances is in her early twenties and she’s just been dumped by her college boyfriend. She returns to her childhood home where the house is in turmoil because her sister just got engaged and her parents basically hate the guy. There is talk of disowning her. Of not attending her wedding. Soap opera stuff. Frances decides to accept an apprenticeship at a Viking Museum in Lofoten, Norway. Her parents tell her good, because they’re also breaking up so she won’t have a home to live in. It’s all very dramatic. Frances also has thoughts of whether her parents are good kissers, but I’m getting ahead of myself. So Frances leaves to go find herself and to paint with some Vikings.
Nope. The Vikings weren’t badass like Ragnar or anything unfortunately.
Yasha is a seventeen-year-old kid that has a lot of angst. Him and his father immigrated from Russia, leaving his mother behind, and have been running a bakery in Brooklyn for the last decade. His mother shows up randomly one day telling Yasha that he needs to tell his father that she wants a divorce. You know, like an adult. Yasha’s father isn't well and doesn't think he’ll be able to handle the news so he refuses to be the one to tell him. His father announces a glorious adventure he has planned that involves them going back to Russia because he’s determined to get his wife back. Yeah, awkward. Yasha still doesn't tell him and the two travel all the way to Russia with his father in denial about the fact that she isn't even there anymore. His father finds out about the divorce anyways. As was expected, he doesn’t take it well… at all. Yasha becomes intent to honor his last wishes, to be buried “at the top of the world.” So Yasha travels to the land of the Vikings where our two main characters meet.
Yasha also has many, many inappropriate comments about his parents. Yes, I sense a theme as well. “What do you even consider ‘inappropriate’? You’re probably overreacting.” Well, since you asked.
‘I wanted to know if my father had been a good kisser. I wanted to know how many men had kissed my mother, and how well. I wanted to know if she planned on kissing new men now. I wanted to know if my mother was a good kisser.’
That lovely line was the first inappropriate comment (from Frances) of MANY you can expect. This was after her parents announced they’re splitting up. Because yes, my parents are divorcing, I shall sit here and contemplate whether it was their kissing skills that ultimately destroyed their love. Frances was the least inappropriate, thankfully, although there was a lot of thought given to her Viking roommate and his pooping habits (no, not kidding) but that wasn’t terribly inappropriate. Just weird. Very, very weird.
Brace yourself. Here comes the super awkward stuff.
‘Yasha imagined his mother’s panties. He imagined his mother wearing different panties for every day of the week. It’s Friday. It’s Saturday.’
“His mother, reclining on her rock, with her body unfurled, looked unquestionably like a woman. Yasha had in some sense never understood her this way – he didn’t know if she shaved her armpits or legs, what creams she kept by the mirror, whether she slept naked or in shorts […]”
‘He entertained the gross, exhilarating idea of his mother being a talented lover. Physically. He wanted to inherit some of her talent.’
I know. I’m terribly sorry to have to do that to you but I needed you to understand! Sunlit Night is the authors debut novel, however, she wrote poetry before and it is evident in a few small sections that I really enjoyed. The area in Norway that the novel is based in is where the sun never sets. Frances and her Viking roommate will often get in the car late at night and just drive and the descriptions of their car trips when the light was dimmest were lush and inviting.
‘These hours were characterized by a wildness of colors, the combined power of a sunset and sunrise. It was easy to watch the horizon for hours straight, the sun in perpetual motion, the sky turning orange and cranberry until at three it returned to blue, and I felt ready for bed.’
‘In every meadow grew white and yellow grasses. Waterfall veins streaked the mountains, and a little rain in the air prepared the sky for rainbows. We drove through a passing wink of colors, a natural hologram.’
Honestly, those lines did nothing but make me angry because those were literally the only lines that I enjoyed reading. Those lines show a potential this novel might have had but never came close to achieving. But who knows, I could be completely wrong. Publisher’s Weekly calls this novel captivating. They also called this novel a rich reading experience with lyrical and silky prose. Did I also mention they gave this a starred review? Kirkus called this a “deliciously melancholy debut”.
Not only was this an extraordinarily painful read, it was incredibly boring. Dinerstein might have her descriptive detail of landscapes down pat, but her characters are flat and one-dimensional. Their actions lack any sort of clarity and their emotions (if they even have any) are kept completely in the dark. Even when the requisite romance is introduced between our two characters, it comes completely out of nowhere.
‘I will not lose Yasha. Maybe his mother had lost him, maybe his father had lost him, Brooklyn had lost him – not me. It wasn’t a matter of somebody keeping him. It was a matter of my wanting him, wanting his face near my face.’
This is clearly a moment that was meant to be profound, however, because of the complete lack of chemistry between Frances and Yasha it lacks any sort of passion. When the two part ways they contemplate what could be between the two, yet there’s no evidence of where these thoughts even came from. The whole idea of both of them being lost and finding each other would work a whole lot better as to explaining their affections for one another if we actually witnessed said affection. It wasn’t even instalove, because while the love was instant, the author could describe it all she wanted but I never saw it. Less telling, more showing.
Reputable magazines can shout loudly from the rooftops about how amazing this one is, but I just didn’t see it. At all. I’ll leave you all with my favorite line of the bunch.
‘To Yasha, the word business meant bread or sex.’
Whatever the fuck that’s supposed to mean.
I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. All quotes taken are from an uncorrected proof.
I don’t derive any sort of pleasure from reading a book I hate. I don’t like hating books in general, but alas, it does happen. My 11-year-old asked me just last night, “Do you ever read a book and really don’t like it?” I laughed and told him, “Of course, you can’t expect to like every single book you read. Sometimes it can be poorly written, sometimes it can have characters that you just can’t understand, but yes, there are books I’ve read that I have not liked and some I’ve even hated.” The book that flashed through my head when he mentioned hating a book? This book. What’s funny is for the longest time, The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls took the cake for book I hated the most. That book, which I renamed in seething tones ‘Horsey Camp’, became my reference point for one star ratings. “I didn’t like this at all, BUT… is it Horsey Camp bad?” Well, now I have a new reference point. I haven’t come up with a nickname yet. I’m taking suggestions.
So what is this strange little ridiculous book even about? We have two main characters, Frances and Yasha, and the story switches between both of their points-of-view. Frances is in her early twenties and she’s just been dumped by her college boyfriend. She returns to her childhood home where the house is in turmoil because her sister just got engaged and her parents basically hate the guy. There is talk of disowning her. Of not attending her wedding. Soap opera stuff. Frances decides to accept an apprenticeship at a Viking Museum in Lofoten, Norway. Her parents tell her good, because they’re also breaking up so she won’t have a home to live in. It’s all very dramatic. Frances also has thoughts of whether her parents are good kissers, but I’m getting ahead of myself. So Frances leaves to go find herself and to paint with some Vikings.
Nope. The Vikings weren’t badass like Ragnar or anything unfortunately.
Yasha is a seventeen-year-old kid that has a lot of angst. Him and his father immigrated from Russia, leaving his mother behind, and have been running a bakery in Brooklyn for the last decade. His mother shows up randomly one day telling Yasha that he needs to tell his father that she wants a divorce. You know, like an adult. Yasha’s father isn't well and doesn't think he’ll be able to handle the news so he refuses to be the one to tell him. His father announces a glorious adventure he has planned that involves them going back to Russia because he’s determined to get his wife back. Yeah, awkward. Yasha still doesn't tell him and the two travel all the way to Russia with his father in denial about the fact that she isn't even there anymore. His father finds out about the divorce anyways. As was expected, he doesn’t take it well… at all. Yasha becomes intent to honor his last wishes, to be buried “at the top of the world.” So Yasha travels to the land of the Vikings where our two main characters meet.
Yasha also has many, many inappropriate comments about his parents. Yes, I sense a theme as well. “What do you even consider ‘inappropriate’? You’re probably overreacting.” Well, since you asked.
‘I wanted to know if my father had been a good kisser. I wanted to know how many men had kissed my mother, and how well. I wanted to know if she planned on kissing new men now. I wanted to know if my mother was a good kisser.’
That lovely line was the first inappropriate comment (from Frances) of MANY you can expect. This was after her parents announced they’re splitting up. Because yes, my parents are divorcing, I shall sit here and contemplate whether it was their kissing skills that ultimately destroyed their love. Frances was the least inappropriate, thankfully, although there was a lot of thought given to her Viking roommate and his pooping habits (no, not kidding) but that wasn’t terribly inappropriate. Just weird. Very, very weird.
Brace yourself. Here comes the super awkward stuff.
‘Yasha imagined his mother’s panties. He imagined his mother wearing different panties for every day of the week. It’s Friday. It’s Saturday.’
“His mother, reclining on her rock, with her body unfurled, looked unquestionably like a woman. Yasha had in some sense never understood her this way – he didn’t know if she shaved her armpits or legs, what creams she kept by the mirror, whether she slept naked or in shorts […]”
‘He entertained the gross, exhilarating idea of his mother being a talented lover. Physically. He wanted to inherit some of her talent.’
I know. I’m terribly sorry to have to do that to you but I needed you to understand! Sunlit Night is the authors debut novel, however, she wrote poetry before and it is evident in a few small sections that I really enjoyed. The area in Norway that the novel is based in is where the sun never sets. Frances and her Viking roommate will often get in the car late at night and just drive and the descriptions of their car trips when the light was dimmest were lush and inviting.
‘These hours were characterized by a wildness of colors, the combined power of a sunset and sunrise. It was easy to watch the horizon for hours straight, the sun in perpetual motion, the sky turning orange and cranberry until at three it returned to blue, and I felt ready for bed.’
‘In every meadow grew white and yellow grasses. Waterfall veins streaked the mountains, and a little rain in the air prepared the sky for rainbows. We drove through a passing wink of colors, a natural hologram.’
Honestly, those lines did nothing but make me angry because those were literally the only lines that I enjoyed reading. Those lines show a potential this novel might have had but never came close to achieving. But who knows, I could be completely wrong. Publisher’s Weekly calls this novel captivating. They also called this novel a rich reading experience with lyrical and silky prose. Did I also mention they gave this a starred review? Kirkus called this a “deliciously melancholy debut”.
Not only was this an extraordinarily painful read, it was incredibly boring. Dinerstein might have her descriptive detail of landscapes down pat, but her characters are flat and one-dimensional. Their actions lack any sort of clarity and their emotions (if they even have any) are kept completely in the dark. Even when the requisite romance is introduced between our two characters, it comes completely out of nowhere.
‘I will not lose Yasha. Maybe his mother had lost him, maybe his father had lost him, Brooklyn had lost him – not me. It wasn’t a matter of somebody keeping him. It was a matter of my wanting him, wanting his face near my face.’
This is clearly a moment that was meant to be profound, however, because of the complete lack of chemistry between Frances and Yasha it lacks any sort of passion. When the two part ways they contemplate what could be between the two, yet there’s no evidence of where these thoughts even came from. The whole idea of both of them being lost and finding each other would work a whole lot better as to explaining their affections for one another if we actually witnessed said affection. It wasn’t even instalove, because while the love was instant, the author could describe it all she wanted but I never saw it. Less telling, more showing.
Reputable magazines can shout loudly from the rooftops about how amazing this one is, but I just didn’t see it. At all. I’ll leave you all with my favorite line of the bunch.
‘To Yasha, the word business meant bread or sex.’
Whatever the fuck that’s supposed to mean.
I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. All quotes taken are from an uncorrected proof.
faithl's review against another edition
4.0
My Rating:
This was the sort of book what made me go:
Then:
And then:
So yes, I do admit it was a very different and strange book but it was, in a good way. Every once in a while, you'll encounter this weird, cool book which kind of blows your mind and twists it at the same time. It was definitely this one.
This book was very brief in developing the love story between Frances and Yasha but very detailed in their backgrounds and previous lives. There was a good whole half of the book where they still lived separate lives and it wasn't till till about 3/4 through when their relationship actually begun to happen. This only added to the uniqueness of this book along with other aspects. Number one, because of it's setting - far north where the whole day was full of sunlight and two - introducing two very different characters and somehow combined them into one world.
Frances was a very normal character. I really don't know how else to explain it but she didn't really have anything extraordinary about her except the fact that she travelled to a perpetually sunny place. But that only made me want to read about her more.
On the other hand, Yasha was very emotional and very reactive. His father had died and his mother had surprisingly returned from ditching them. And, he was basically your typical, angry, emotional teenager.
That was also something that struck me. This was a love story between a 21 year old woman and a 17 year old boy. You can imagine my face when I realised this and I surprisingly loved how Dinerstein dared to break relationship conventions.
The writing was as well, unusual. It had that post-modern feel and I could tell that Dinerstein was trying to break most of the conventions that YA books normally have. It was successful in that it definitely drew me in and left an impression in my mind. It used an odd combination of long and short sentences which kind of left me stumped and needing more at the same time.
In conclusion, a very interesting and unusual YA novel. It's something I would recommend if you're a little bit tired of reading paranormal/dystopian and need something a little big refreshing.
kategci's review against another edition
4.0
This was a great read, set in NYC and Norway. Frances has fled to Norway to get away from her disintegrating family and their too small apartment on the Upper West Side. Yasha has come to Norway to bury his father and escape the bakery in Brighton Beach. Rebecca Dinerstein writes beautifully about all the phases of light at the top of the world during the summer. She also captures the loneliness both characters feel once they have escaped and how they both deal with loneliness and find each other. I can't wait to see what Rebecca writes next!
karenleagermain's review against another edition
3.0
Confession, I can be swayed to read a book based on a good jacket quote from an author that I admire. I pick books by their covers. Rebecca Dinerstein's debut novel, The Sunlit Night scored an intriguing quote from Jonathan Safran Foer and it caught my attention. Thank you to Bloomsbury USA for an advanced copy of Dinerstein's novel in exchange for an honest review.
PLOT- Frances has just been dumped by her boyfriend and she learns that her parents are getting a divorce. In her early twenties, she has not yet begun to live life on her own and she finds herself rootless. She accepts an art internship on a small island in Norway, as a short term solution to her living situation.
Yasha immigrated from Russia to America with his father as a small child. He has not heard from his mother in years, but she shows up in the weeks prior to his high school graduation. She wants a formal divorce from her husband and to reconnect with her son. Yasha's father plans a trip to Russia as a surprise for his son's graduation. On the trip, his father dies of a heart attack. Feeling alone, Yasha contacts his mother and they travel with the body to Norway, to where his father had wanted to be buried.
The art institute where Frances is working, handles the details of the burial. Yasha and Frances meet and realize that they are two kindred souls, two kids adrift and struggling to transition into adulthood.
LIKE- The Sunlit Night starts off very strong, with chapters alternatively showing Frances and Yasha's lives in New York City. Dinerstein has created compelling and well rounded characters, especially both sets of parents of the main characters. Both Frances and Yasha are loved by their parents, but their parents also hand them a heavy load of baggage with regard to their own dysfunction. Frances and Yasha carry their parent's dysfunction as they struggle to make their own way in the world and develop their own relationships. Dinerstein is a talented writer with a keen sensibility for understanding and writing family dynamics.
I like how the setting shifts from busy New York City to the quiet of an archipelago in the North Sea. If I had not read about the setting in the blurb, I would have never expected to encounter such disparate locals in the same story. I like how it took the characters out of their element and shook them up.
DISLIKE - The story crumbled for me in the last third. The pacing slowed and I'm not sure that I believed the chemistry between Frances and Yasha. I believed that they could connect with their situations and similarities, but I did not believe a romantic connection between them. I raced through the first two-thirds of the novel, reading it in less than a day, but the last third took me over a week to finish and it was a chore.
RECOMMEND- Maybe. I'm curious to see what other readers think of the last part of the book. The first part was so strong, that I will seek out future stories by Dinerstein. She writes beautiful phrases and creates intriguing characters. I can see her becoming a favorite author of mine, despite my disappointment with the ending of The Sunlit Night.
Like my review? Check out my blog!
PLOT- Frances has just been dumped by her boyfriend and she learns that her parents are getting a divorce. In her early twenties, she has not yet begun to live life on her own and she finds herself rootless. She accepts an art internship on a small island in Norway, as a short term solution to her living situation.
Yasha immigrated from Russia to America with his father as a small child. He has not heard from his mother in years, but she shows up in the weeks prior to his high school graduation. She wants a formal divorce from her husband and to reconnect with her son. Yasha's father plans a trip to Russia as a surprise for his son's graduation. On the trip, his father dies of a heart attack. Feeling alone, Yasha contacts his mother and they travel with the body to Norway, to where his father had wanted to be buried.
The art institute where Frances is working, handles the details of the burial. Yasha and Frances meet and realize that they are two kindred souls, two kids adrift and struggling to transition into adulthood.
LIKE- The Sunlit Night starts off very strong, with chapters alternatively showing Frances and Yasha's lives in New York City. Dinerstein has created compelling and well rounded characters, especially both sets of parents of the main characters. Both Frances and Yasha are loved by their parents, but their parents also hand them a heavy load of baggage with regard to their own dysfunction. Frances and Yasha carry their parent's dysfunction as they struggle to make their own way in the world and develop their own relationships. Dinerstein is a talented writer with a keen sensibility for understanding and writing family dynamics.
I like how the setting shifts from busy New York City to the quiet of an archipelago in the North Sea. If I had not read about the setting in the blurb, I would have never expected to encounter such disparate locals in the same story. I like how it took the characters out of their element and shook them up.
DISLIKE - The story crumbled for me in the last third. The pacing slowed and I'm not sure that I believed the chemistry between Frances and Yasha. I believed that they could connect with their situations and similarities, but I did not believe a romantic connection between them. I raced through the first two-thirds of the novel, reading it in less than a day, but the last third took me over a week to finish and it was a chore.
RECOMMEND- Maybe. I'm curious to see what other readers think of the last part of the book. The first part was so strong, that I will seek out future stories by Dinerstein. She writes beautiful phrases and creates intriguing characters. I can see her becoming a favorite author of mine, despite my disappointment with the ending of The Sunlit Night.
Like my review? Check out my blog!
lizaroo71's review against another edition
3.0
There isn't much that happens in this story. Rather it seems to me an ode to a place, to a time, to a season.
The story focuses on Frances and Yasha. Frances flees to a small Norwegian island to forget about a bad break up; Yasha goes to the same town to bury his father (who requested to be buried at the top of the world).
The young couple feels a connection pulling them together. It takes a while for the two to finally admit their feelings for one another and when they do, it is all very chaste.
This is an odd little story, but one that I found I couldn't quit reading. I relished the characters Dinerstein created and the feel of the place the story is set in.
The story focuses on Frances and Yasha. Frances flees to a small Norwegian island to forget about a bad break up; Yasha goes to the same town to bury his father (who requested to be buried at the top of the world).
The young couple feels a connection pulling them together. It takes a while for the two to finally admit their feelings for one another and when they do, it is all very chaste.
This is an odd little story, but one that I found I couldn't quit reading. I relished the characters Dinerstein created and the feel of the place the story is set in.
lorettalucia's review against another edition
4.0
Lovely and evocative writing. Many parts are definitely worth more than one reading. Also may have inadvertently led to my decision to take a trip to Norway this summer.
4 stars.
4 stars.