I finished reading The Night Watch by Sarah Waters late last night. I stopped reading a little after midnight, was tired, sleepy even, which isn't always a given lately. I've had the windows open for a few weeks now day and night, and even though the cool night air was streaming in, I could hear people outside talking. I really (really!) hate that. I mean, it was after midnight. Go inside, already! It takes everything for me not to scream out the window! So, instead I turned the light back on and finished my book.
I would give this book a B (4 stars out of 5). It was very good but a little tedious. I'm not sure what kind of book I want to read, but none of them have been hitting it out of the ballpark for me lately.
One thing I really did enjoy though was the format of this book. It started the story in 1947, after World War II in England, telling the stories of the lives of Helen, Julia, Duncan, and Viv. Then the second part was set in 1944 during the war, when there were bombings and night watches daily. The third part is set in 1941.
It's very interesting getting the back story at the tail end of the book! Ah, so that's why she knows here. Hmmm. Another book written in this format is Charles Baxter's First Light. I loved it a bit more, I think, but I really enjoyed seeing this drifting back technique in Sarah Waters' book too.
Book Read: The Night Watch
Author: Sarah Waters
ISBN: 1-59448-905-X
