Synopsis
THE NIGHT WATCH begins in 1947 London as the city and people recover from the exhausting experience of the Blitz. Then the novel snakes backwards to 1941, charting the lives of four young people--three women and a man--and their illicit adventures in love and lust amid a world in chaos. Shortlisted for the 2006 Man Booker prize, THE NIGHT WATCH proves that Sarah Water's research is as rich and detailed for World War II as it was for her novels set in the Victorian period.
| Details | | Narrated by: | Juanita McMahon |
Publisher's Note
Moving back through the 1940s, through air raids, blacked out streets, illicit liaisons, sexual adventure, to end with its beginning in 1941, The Night Watch is the work of a truly brilliant and compelling storyteller. This is the story of four Londoners, three women and a young man with a past, drawn with absolute truth and intimacy.Kay, who drove an ambulance during the war and lived life at full throttle, now dresses in mannish clothes and wanders the streets with a restless hunger, searching; Helen, clever, sweet, much-loved, harbours a painful secret; Viv, glamour girl, is stubbornly, even foolishly loyal, to her soldier lover; Duncan, an apparent innocent, has had his own demons to fight during the war. Their lives, and their secrets connect in sometimes startling ways. War leads to strange alliances. Tender, tragic, and beautifully poignant, set against the backdrop of feats of heroism both epic and ordinary, here is a novel of relationships that offers up subtle surprises and twists. The Night Watch is thrilling. A towering achievement.
Industry Reviews
"[V]ery much worth reading."
Kirkus (07/01/2005)
"Waters's sharply drawn page-turner doesn't quite equal the work of literary greats who've already mapped out WWII-era London. But she matches any of them with her scene of two women on the verge of an affair during a nighttime bombing raid, lost in blackout London with only the light of their passion as a guide." (starred review)
(12/12/2005)
"...Waters...has done meticulous research, and renders wartime scenes with unnerving authenticity."
(04/10/2006)
"...THE NIGHT WATCH shows off...[Waters's] talents beautifully....The tension she builds....Her images stand out....And each character is so carefully realised....She also has a powerful way of accessing the heart of an era through its emotional terrain."
(02/01/2006)
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