hayreading 's review for:

Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips

3.5

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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There are a lot of great things about this book. Talking about the effects of the civil war and the lives of mentally disabled individuals, as well as the effects of trauma and how it shows in different people. However, there are several aspects of the book that bring down my rating. The detail of the abuse seems excessive. The lack of quotations makes sense for Weed's perspective, but for the others it feels unnecessary and makes the reading experience more difficult. I wanted to see more about the "bad" wings of the asylum, to understand what their life would be like. The abrupt change in Papa's behavior felt out of place and at odds with the type of abuser he was in the early sections of the book. The Nightwatch dying after suddenly knowing his past felt unrealistic for the rest of the story. Overall, it was a difficult book to read, with many faults, but much of the content was interesting and had much to say.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Abandonment, War, Classism