A Review of By Nightfall by Michael Cunningham

By Nightfall: A Novel
4 out of 5: In By Nightfall, Michael Cunningham’s sixth novel, Peter and Rebecca Harris have a comfortable, if complacent, marriage. Peter runs a mildly successful art gallery, and Rebecca works for a soon-to-be sold art magazine. In a textbook example of the “stranger comes to town” plot, the Harris’s relationship is thrown off balance when Rebecca’s feckless and beautiful younger brother, Ethan, comes to visit.

Cunningham writes intelligently about the art scene, but the primary focus of this novel is on the characters rather than the context. By Nightfall explores the precariousness of human relationships with sensitivity without shying away from the worst parts of human nature. With a fluid, stream-of-consciousness style of narration, Cunningham enters into Peter’s head and reveals his deepest thoughts and darkest desires. This point of view captures Peter’s second-by-second existence in a way that feels real and honest. Some of Peter’s decisions seem a bit impulsive and out of character, but, on the whole, By Nightfall is a revealing portrait of a man who almost loses everything in his reckless quest for love.

A Review of World and Town by Gish Jen

World and Town
4.5 out of 5: In World and Town, Gish Jen’s fourth novel, the small Vermont town of Riverlake isn’t quite sure how to interact with a troubled Cambodian family that moves into a trailer under the sponsorship of a local church. Hattie Kong, a 68-year-old widow grieving both her husband and her best friend, lives next to the newcomers and befriends their 12-year-old daughter, Sophy. To complicate matters, Hattie’s first love returns to town after a long absence. It is a tribute to Jen’s abilities as a writer that this novel tackles so many different themes—love, death, grief, friendship, family, community, religion, domestic abuse, drugs, alcoholism—and yet never feels messy or overextended.

Jen’s prose is both blunt and dense, as exemplified by the novel’s first few sentences:

Last week, a family moved in down the hill—Cambodian. They plan to build themselves a little house, people say. Hoping that the house will—ta daah!—become a home. Well, that’s not so simple, Hattie happens to know. But never mind; this is an age of flux. She, Hattie Kong, came from China; her neighbors from Cambodia; is there anyone not coming from somewhere?

Jen’s writing has the satisfying heft of 9-grain bread, but it’s lightened with enough humor to avoid being overly weighty. The details of her characters’ lives and relationships are revealed slowly and obliquely. Jen leaves much unsaid, trusting in her readers to pay attention. Such writing rewards close and patient reading. World and Town is a masterful depiction of the world from the perspective of a small town.

Essay Anthologies

I am a longtime reader and collector of essay anthologies. A well-written essay provides an opportunity to learn something new and interesting, and also an opportunity to sample the writing of an unfamiliar author, without committing to a full-length book. Essays are often the perfect length to read from start to finish in one sitting, providing a satisfying feeling of accomplishment. Further, for someone who generally prefers to read fiction, an essay delivers a nice dose of nonfiction without becoming too great a distraction from other reading. Essay anthologies offer the added benefit of variety—of subject, of author, and of original publication. For all these reasons, I’m rarely without an essay anthology on my nightstand.

The Best American series releases several annual essay anthologies, including The Best American Essays, The Best American Travel Writing, The Best American Science and Nature Writing, and The Best American Sports Writing. This year’s The Best American Essays (2010), edited by Christopher Hitchens, collects writings on a wonderful variety of topics, including a trip to Tolstoy’s house for an academic conference, the emotional burden associated with the power to declare a person’s time of death, a rogue lion in a wildlife preserve in Africa, the various ailments of eyes, encounters with literary luminaries, and much more. Most of the selections are concerned with subjects of general interest rather than specific events or people, ensuring that most of these essays will be just as accessible and relevant years from now as they are today. I also appreciate the mix of shorter and longer writings included in the collection. No matter the amount of reading time available, this anthology includes an essay of the perfect length to fill that time. Consider this anthology for your nightstand or as a sure-to-be-appreciated gift.