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A review by bookswithlukas
By Nightfall by Michael Cunningham
2.0
Only read this if you can suffer through pretentious art talk.
I don't really know what to make of this novel. It was a quick and easy read (it is quite short), but it just really failed to make much of an impression. It really is like a brief little glimpse into these characters lives, but it's more like you're following them around watching what's happening, instead of experiencing it in your head.
The story here is a little bit like 'Death In Venice'. Our protagonist is Peter, and when his wife's young, wayward, drug addicted little brother comes to stay, he finds himself inexplicably, becoming attracted and obsessed with him.
The main problem with this novel was all the boring, completely unrelated to the plot and incessant discussions of art. These characters are forever hanging out in galleries (our MC even owns one! Of course he does!) and reflecting on artists and their work, and I just….didn't care. Maybe someone who likes Art will appreciate it, but for me, the whole thing was boring and I'll admit I glossed over a lot of it, and still felt I didn't miss anything important.
The whole obsession Peter has with his wife's brother gets a lot of build up, but it's ending feels unsatisfactory, and anti-climatic. I actually liked the ending where the couple discuss the fact that their marriage is kind of dead, but the novel ends halfway through that conversation, so I was left disappointed. The writing is really good though, so that's why I'm giving this two stars, instead of the dreaded one.
Overall, I can't say there is a whole lot to recommend here. If you're a fan of the author you might want to check this out, but otherwise, you certainly aren't missing out on much.
I don't really know what to make of this novel. It was a quick and easy read (it is quite short), but it just really failed to make much of an impression. It really is like a brief little glimpse into these characters lives, but it's more like you're following them around watching what's happening, instead of experiencing it in your head.
The story here is a little bit like 'Death In Venice'. Our protagonist is Peter, and when his wife's young, wayward, drug addicted little brother comes to stay, he finds himself inexplicably, becoming attracted and obsessed with him.
The main problem with this novel was all the boring, completely unrelated to the plot and incessant discussions of art. These characters are forever hanging out in galleries (our MC even owns one! Of course he does!) and reflecting on artists and their work, and I just….didn't care. Maybe someone who likes Art will appreciate it, but for me, the whole thing was boring and I'll admit I glossed over a lot of it, and still felt I didn't miss anything important.
The whole obsession Peter has with his wife's brother gets a lot of build up, but it's ending feels unsatisfactory, and anti-climatic. I actually liked the ending where the couple discuss the fact that their marriage is kind of dead, but the novel ends halfway through that conversation, so I was left disappointed. The writing is really good though, so that's why I'm giving this two stars, instead of the dreaded one.
Overall, I can't say there is a whole lot to recommend here. If you're a fan of the author you might want to check this out, but otherwise, you certainly aren't missing out on much.