Mid-Read Review: The Night Strangers.

I'm currently reading The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian and am thoroughly enjoying it.

Bohjalian's prose is economical and accessible. It's neither so simple as to seem uninspired or pedestrian, nor so complex as to sound contrived or to leave me reaching for a dictionary. There's a very natural, almost heartbeat-like rhythm to the words in my head as I read along.

I also find it interesting how Bohjalian changes up the narrative not only through the use of alternating narrative point of view but also via the use of more than one style of narrative voice. The majority of the story is told in third-person -- a great deal of it from the perspective of Emily, wife of Chip (the protagonist). Some is told also (in third-person as well) from the perspectives of Emily and Chip's daughters, Hallie and Garnet, and a handful of other secondary characters. Bohjalian mixes it up, however, when the reader experiences Chip's point of view. He writes it in second-person, which has the effect of really making me, as a reader, easily imagine that Chip's thoughts and actions are mine. It makes me sympathize more with Chip (who's an extremely sympathetic character to begin with) than I think I would were I to read his story "from a distance" in the third-person. It makes his emotions and thought processes altogether more immediate and intimately understandable than those of the other characters.

I'm only about halfway through, but the story is compelling and fresh. It's a fantastic blend of an examination of family dynamics in the wake of a personal falling out after a public disaster; of the struggle to overcome personal demons and post-traumatic stress disorder; of the blurred lines between hallucination and the (possibly) paranormal; of the friction between newcomers and an isolated, close-knit community; of the hint of magic as a common thread in everyday life.

I'm sure I'll blaze through the rest of this story pretty quickly. I'm to that point where abandoning the book (Kindle) is altogether impossible, and leaving it for any stretch of time unlikely. It's that downward trajectory, the rollercoaster gaining speed. It's the end in sight and wanting to get there quickly, but at the same time wanting to savor the twists and turns along the way. All too soon it'll be over, and I'll be on to the next.

Speaking of the next, my "to read" list is fantastically long. So many choices! So many must-reads....

I should mention also that although Bojhalian has written a number of books, the only other of his that I've read is Midwives, which also was very good. It's been a long time, though, so I can't say much more about it than the story was gripping, the idea terrifying in a "life takes a wrong turn" and "good intentions are criminalized" kind of way, and as with the Night Strangers, I very much enjoyed the prose.