- Paperback: 363 pages
- Publisher: W. W. Norton & Co.; 1 Reprint edition (19 Mar 2010)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0393338320
- ISBN-13: 978-0393338324
- Product Dimensions: 14 x 2.5 x 20.7 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,994,791 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
Starred Review: A triumph.
Product Description
How is tonight different from all other nights? For Jacob Rappaport, a Jewish soldier in the Union Army, it is a question his commanders have answered for him: on Passover, 1862, he is ordered to murder his own uncle, who is plotting to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. After this harrowing mission, Jacob is recruited to pursue another enemy agent this time not to murder the spy, but to marry her. Based on real historical figures, this eagerly awaited novel from award-winning author Dara Horn delivers multilayered, page-turning storytelling at its best.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is the third Dara Horn novel I've read. I can see why some fans of her previous books have been disappointed by this - it's a more traditional, blockbuster-type story - but not me. I loved it. It's an absorbing, very romantic tale featuring a young man from the North, Jacob Rappaport, who becomes a spy and is sent on various dangerous missions across the Southern border. During one of these he falls in love with a Confederate spy, Eugenia. This prompts an agonising crisis of conscience, as Jacob tries to choose between his feelings for Eugenia, and his strong anti-slavery political convictions. Their relationship is portrayed movinly, with great skill and subtlety, and along the way the reader undergoes a real education in the American Civil War. I knew almost nothing about it before reading this book, but came away feeling inspired to learn more. A great read and highly recommended for all fans of historical or espionage fiction!
Format:Paperback
"All Other Nights," is the third novel from Dara Horn, award-winning author of The World to Come; and In the Image: A Novel. It gives us the American Civil War, freshly reimagined, as it tells the story of Jacob Rappaport, a young Manhattan Jew, who joins the Union Army to escape his immigrant businessman father's choice for his bride. Soon enough, his officers discover he has many talents, relatives, and contacts. They send him to New Orleans, disguised as a Confederate soldier, to murder his own uncle, Harry Hyams, who is involved in a plot, orchestrated by high Confederate official Judah P.Benjamin. to assassinate President Lincoln. He is then sent to the home of Philip Levy, one of his father's Virginia business contacts. Levy's four daughters are conspiring together as Confederate spies, to revenge the death of their mother at the hands of a crazed elderly slave woman. Jacob falls in love with Jeannie, the second daughter, and marries her; but this marriage, considering its underlying conflicts, hardly seems slated for success.
In her short career so far, Horn has been selected as one of "Granta" magazine's "Best Young American Novelists," and won the National Jewish Book Award twice. She's done a mountain of research for "All Other Nights," and ably gives us much little-known Jewish American history. Few general readers, for example, will know that Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America, had as his right-hand man his Secretary of State Benjamin, who was Jewish; and that Benjamin also served as the Confederacy's spymaster. (There is actually a plaque in downtown Wilmington, North Carolina, where I now live, indicating a house in which Benjamin once lived; but had I ever paused to think of what Benjamin actually did during the Civil War? Nope.) Even fewer general readers are likely to know that U.S. General Grant expelled all Jews from certain territories occupied by the Union Army. In this book, the author also provides an interesting look at the problems of recent immigrants and their children.
More than anything, however, the book functions as a meditation on how much we owe our country, our ideals of social and racial justice for all; against what we owe our families and those closest to us. It's a conflict known since ancient times; the subject of many a classic Greek play, such as "Antigone," by Sophocles, in which the title character is determined to see her disgraced, defeated-in-battle brother properly buried, at any cost to her. And certainly, it's with us to the present day: the British author E.M. Forster once said, "If I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend, I hope I should have the guts to betray my country." Twentieth century authors as distinguished as Britishers Graham Greene and John LeCarre are still puzzling it out.
Horn is a strong writer; she gives us excellent narrative and description and her dialog is crisp and realistic. But beyond that, she gives us a glimpse of history that resonates to the current day.
In her short career so far, Horn has been selected as one of "Granta" magazine's "Best Young American Novelists," and won the National Jewish Book Award twice. She's done a mountain of research for "All Other Nights," and ably gives us much little-known Jewish American history. Few general readers, for example, will know that Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America, had as his right-hand man his Secretary of State Benjamin, who was Jewish; and that Benjamin also served as the Confederacy's spymaster. (There is actually a plaque in downtown Wilmington, North Carolina, where I now live, indicating a house in which Benjamin once lived; but had I ever paused to think of what Benjamin actually did during the Civil War? Nope.) Even fewer general readers are likely to know that U.S. General Grant expelled all Jews from certain territories occupied by the Union Army. In this book, the author also provides an interesting look at the problems of recent immigrants and their children.
More than anything, however, the book functions as a meditation on how much we owe our country, our ideals of social and racial justice for all; against what we owe our families and those closest to us. It's a conflict known since ancient times; the subject of many a classic Greek play, such as "Antigone," by Sophocles, in which the title character is determined to see her disgraced, defeated-in-battle brother properly buried, at any cost to her. And certainly, it's with us to the present day: the British author E.M. Forster once said, "If I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend, I hope I should have the guts to betray my country." Twentieth century authors as distinguished as Britishers Graham Greene and John LeCarre are still puzzling it out.
Horn is a strong writer; she gives us excellent narrative and description and her dialog is crisp and realistic. But beyond that, she gives us a glimpse of history that resonates to the current day.
Format:Paperback
Dara Horn's novel is about a Union spy who falls in love with the Confederate spy he is sent to track. It is a fascinating insight into the life of Jewish Americans in the Civil War - an aspect I'd never considered before despite interest in both Jewish history and American history. The story has some wonderful scenes, vividly described, and some heart-wrenching plot turns. However, I never felt fully engaged by any of the quirky and unusual characters in it, not even the central couple. It feels a little as if they are being held at at arms length. I'd have preferred more empathy and less observation. The plot is complex and not always easy to follow for British readers as the machinations of the spies, governors and soldiers of 1860s American are described in detail. The author's impressive research felt as it sat a bit heavily on the page at times. Nevertheless, a very accomplished, enjoyable and unusual novel.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Absolutely loved it!
I have read all Dara Horn's books and enjoyed them all too. I think she is a fabulous writer, really talented. But I have to say that I enjoyed this one the most. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Londonreader
Interesting but I was expecting something better
The book is quite interesting, specially to learn a bit more about the Jewish community in USA during the Civil War. Read more
Published on 10 Oct 2009 by AGDA
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