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A review by zjanda
Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips
challenging
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
There are scenes in this book that are extremely graphic and disturbing.
I wasn't a fan of this book. It is well researched but I found the writing dense, repetitive, and (despite some poetic and flowery language) somewhat shallow. I'm very surprised to see to see a majority of people score this as "strong character development". I don't feel like I ever got to know any of the characters and therefore was never moved by their struggles. At best the characters escape their tropish borders but none of them feel memorable or lived.
Overall this book is fine. It's extremely underwhelming for a pulitizer prize winner and tiers below the runner up Same Bed Different Dreams. It's well researched and harrowing but never gives you a reason to care about it other than being witness to the horrors it describes. The prose is muddy and makes for a slow read.
The juice just isn't worth the squeeze on this one.
I wasn't a fan of this book. It is well researched but I found the writing dense, repetitive, and (despite some poetic and flowery language) somewhat shallow. I'm very surprised to see to see a majority of people score this as "strong character development". I don't feel like I ever got to know any of the characters and therefore was never moved by their struggles. At best the characters escape their tropish borders but none of them feel memorable or lived.
Overall this book is fine. It's extremely underwhelming for a pulitizer prize winner and tiers below the runner up Same Bed Different Dreams. It's well researched and harrowing but never gives you a reason to care about it other than being witness to the horrors it describes. The prose is muddy and makes for a slow read.
The juice just isn't worth the squeeze on this one.