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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Elegant; haunting; dark but brilliant! A masterpiece!, 6 Dec 2008
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
What are our lives but the stories that we weave in order for us to construct some semblance of meaning, not so much from the reality of the world we inhabit, as from the remembrances of the things that we have glimpsed in dream or otherwise imagined? How much of other people's stories do we absorb and make our own, binding them into our own life-threads through our sudden and everyday encounters? How easily -- casually almost -- can our life-story be altered or turned around by those encounters? Or by events that are thrust upon us by fate? Are the ghosts that surround us real, or do we simply make them as we need them to be? Can we turn back time and take over the life-story of another if we feel the need badly enough?
Morag Joss' dark novel of deception, betrayal, guilt, loss, atonement and redemption is elegantly written and masterfully constructed. And for all that the events she unfurls within this book become ever more unlikely as it progresses, the story-telling is so engaging that any disbelief one might have simply falls away, as one is drawn ever deeper into her tale, in the hope that redemption and reparation will triumph in the end.
Mixing pathos, poignancy and humour in a sharply observed and deftly painted picture of human relationships, "The Night Following" weaves a fabulous tale of interlocking and devastatingly interacting life-stories. These intertwine and affect each other at several narrative levels and in altogether unexpected ways in a stunningly brilliant story that pushes at the boundaries of psychological thriller and suspense novel but is so much more than either. Hauntingly beautiful in places but never less than dark throughout, this book is a masterpiece of invention and extremely cleverly built and executed. Reading it is like peeling the layers of an onion and not just because it has you reaching for the tissues time and time again! Wonderful stuff!
(Incidentally, whoever included the story synopsis on the dust jacket should be shot! Do not read it if you want to savour the full impact of the way this story unfolds!)
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Very well written, but too dense for me..., 21 July 2009
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
When I saw THE NIGHT FOLLOWING amongst one month's selection for Vine, I was drawn to it because of it being described by another reviewer as a well written psychological novel. Having studied psychology as well as counselling, novels which delve into the dark recesses of the human mind and psyche appeal to me. So, I believed that I would love this book. However, every time I picked it up and began to read, I found myself wanting to turn away from it fairly quickly.
I cannot deny that it is well written. Joss has done an expert job at creating a character who, in a split second, changes not only her life but the life of another. Guilt is a complex emotion, and Joss has superbly shown just how complex it can be - it truly can eat you up.
So why my reluctance at progressing with this novel? Well, as daft as this sounds, I think it is because Joss has done too good a job. Reading, for me, is escape from my normal everyday life - which, working as a counsellor in bereavement and cancer care, means that I hear about people's struggles with loss and guilt every working week. So although THE NIGHT FOLLOWING is a well crafted book, it was just plunging me into what I have in the counselling room.
If, like me, you read for some light relief then you may want to pass THE NIGHT FOLLOWING BY. If, however, you like psychological novels which drag you under, this could be right up your street.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sorrow and Redemption, 13 Dec 2008
Morag Joss has written a dark novel with themes of deception and betrayal, guilt, sorrow and redemption. It is cleverly told through three separate stories that join together to form an eloquent tale. To read the grieving widower's letters that he writes to his late wife is to feel his pain and bewilderment, along with his anger at her tragic death and that of his helplessness. Then there is Ruth's life and her unfinished story that form a beautiful part of this novel. The final element is that of the narrator, who on discovering her husband's affair shares her sense of betrayal with us. She talks about the events that follow in such a heart-rending manner that the reader is compelled to listen to her tragic tale.
Joss is a masterful storyteller and I can't wait to read more by her.
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