Excellent if you're looking for something to bring you down! (The Night Following - Morag Joss)

Member Name: crazyminx

Product:	The Night Following - Morag Joss
Date:	17/08/09 (41 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Stylish prose

Disadvantages: Not much dialogue, depressing

The Night Following by Morag Joss is a story about a middle aged woman who, on discovering her husband is having an affair, loses concentration whilst driving and accidentally hits and kills another woman, Ruth. The majority of the book tells us about her thoughts and feelings towards this, and the way that she tries to relieve her guilt by watching over the Ruth's husband Arthur. However there are also two other strands in the book: letters written by Arthur to Ruth, and an unfinished story that Ruth was writing.

Most of the book is made up of the first strand, the thoughts of the unnamed woman. These thoughts are discussed at great length, in stylish but often greatly extended prose. If you are looking for a deep psychological study of a mind deteriorating from guilt and confusion then you'll enjoy this, but it requires dedication to get through all the prose which is almost devoid of dialogue and which is at times a bit tedious and overblown.

The other strands of the book are easier to read, and Arthur's letters in particular are painfully absorbing as we see him struggling with the loss of Ruth. Ruth's story is also well written and adds some lightness to the book, and another dimension to the characters.

I'm not sure what to make of this book really. As an in depth look at grief it succeeds, somewhat, and as an examination of how people can lose their minds it is also worth looking at. But ultimately it is a sad and depressing story that, whilst occasionally beautifully written, was rarely if ever hopeful or uplifting.

Some people will love this book but it's not for me - I prefer something with a bit more plot, a bit more dialogue and a bit less continual introspection.

This book has an RRP of £12.99 for the hardback edition, but it can be bought for £9.09 from Amazon.co.uk.

(updated from my review on Amazon.co.uk)

Summary: Not a book to cheer you up