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ilovestory's review
4.0
Very different ... at first I was disconcerted by the change in viewpoint in the different chapters, as well as the shift in tone, etc. But by the end I was intrigued by how the various stories wove together.
lydthekid's review
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
juliechristinejohnson's review
4.0
Written as a series of discrete, first-person stories, Frederick Reiken weaves a narrative built from the nexus of the Holocaust. In August 1941, five hundred Jewish intellectuals gathered in Kovno, Lithuania under the pretense they had been selected by the SS for specialized research and archival work. Instead, these men were taken outside the city and shot. A suggestion that two may have survived the massacre becomes the foundation of Reiken's ambitious, complex and often-lovely novel.
An attempt to summarize the story would detract from a reader's discovery of its many layers and nuances. Each chapter leads the reader deeper into a mystery that includes a 60's political fugitive, Katherine Goldman, who eludes capture by CIA Agent Sachs, a cult of wealthy sadists engaged in the torture of children, a dramatic reawakening from a coma, stories of love and cuckoldry in desperate times, an escape to the Negev desert from a mold-infected home on the Atlantic seaboard, a gifted young woman whose intellectual curiosity forces open the infected wounds of a buried past. Music, manatees, martyrs, moonlight and multiple personality disorder make for a novel that will drain and exhilarate. If you take too long to read Day for Night, you may find yourself flipping back through chapters to reorient your understanding of the many characters and their connections. But I can't imagine lingering - you will be compelled by the narrative's tension and pace to push through to the bittersweet end.
It is impossible not to compare Day for Night to the contemporary masters of interlocking narratives: David Mitchell and Michael Cunningham. Reiken's writing doesn't exhibit the same ethereal lyricism of these writers. By contrast, his characters are far more earthbound in language, emotion and action. But like Mitchell and Cunningham, Reiken writes deftly from multiple perspectives: children, women, the elderly, American, Israeli, Eastern European, the hunter and the hunted.
There were enough threads left dangling and a few grasps into a black hole of metaphysical speculation to hint at an overreach of plot. I'm still trying to determine if the many inspired parts build a coherent whole. But if a story lingers and teases at my consciousness long after I have read the end page, I know I've encountered a bit of literary magic.
An attempt to summarize the story would detract from a reader's discovery of its many layers and nuances. Each chapter leads the reader deeper into a mystery that includes a 60's political fugitive, Katherine Goldman, who eludes capture by CIA Agent Sachs, a cult of wealthy sadists engaged in the torture of children, a dramatic reawakening from a coma, stories of love and cuckoldry in desperate times, an escape to the Negev desert from a mold-infected home on the Atlantic seaboard, a gifted young woman whose intellectual curiosity forces open the infected wounds of a buried past. Music, manatees, martyrs, moonlight and multiple personality disorder make for a novel that will drain and exhilarate. If you take too long to read Day for Night, you may find yourself flipping back through chapters to reorient your understanding of the many characters and their connections. But I can't imagine lingering - you will be compelled by the narrative's tension and pace to push through to the bittersweet end.
It is impossible not to compare Day for Night to the contemporary masters of interlocking narratives: David Mitchell and Michael Cunningham. Reiken's writing doesn't exhibit the same ethereal lyricism of these writers. By contrast, his characters are far more earthbound in language, emotion and action. But like Mitchell and Cunningham, Reiken writes deftly from multiple perspectives: children, women, the elderly, American, Israeli, Eastern European, the hunter and the hunted.
There were enough threads left dangling and a few grasps into a black hole of metaphysical speculation to hint at an overreach of plot. I'm still trying to determine if the many inspired parts build a coherent whole. But if a story lingers and teases at my consciousness long after I have read the end page, I know I've encountered a bit of literary magic.
misterwonders's review
4.0
The cynic in me wants to be disappointed. Although the stories weave together effortlessly and the complexity of the telling is what I love about Frederick Reiken, everything comes together with too neat a bow. However, I'm ignoring that side of myself because from the outset the book pretty much tells you that the bow isn't really the point. Everything else is. Frederick Reiken has been a long time favorite of mine and although Day for Night falls short of the beauty that is Lost Legends of New Jersey, it is still an excellent and compelling read.
hrhacissej's review
4.0
I wish I could write a review that would do this book justice. I suggest reading other Goodreads reviews of 4/5 stars to get a sense of this book. I actually went so far as to ask one of the reviewers (who I don't know...at all) if I could copy/paste her review into mine.
Reiken has written a plot driven book that overflows with symbolism and thought provoking dualities (spellcheck doesn't think that this is a word but I do).
Reiken has written a plot driven book that overflows with symbolism and thought provoking dualities (spellcheck doesn't think that this is a word but I do).
werds's review
3.0
Hm. I liked the feeling more than I liked the stories? Complete review at http://recenseernogeenkeer.wordpress.com/2012/11/04/day-for-night/
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