Pulitzer Review: Night Watch (no spoilers)
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- čas přidán 6. 09. 2024
- Night Watch was recently awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Here is a brief review. I'd love to hear your thoughts about this book or to know if you're interested in reading it!
Here's another review (if you haven't already seen it!). @EricKarlAnderson
• How did "Night Watch" ...
I currently have a survey on my Community Page regarding other Pulitzer content. If you haven't voted, please do so as I plan to create some other Pulitzer-related videos in June.
Books mentioned:
Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips
Lark and Termite by Jayne Anne Phillips
The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
The Night Watch by Sarah Waters
Night Watch by Terry Pratchett
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I agree with a lot of what you say Kelly. There were some good elements to the story. The middle section when ConaLee and Eliza were at the asylum was the best part. The part where she listed the reasons someone might be admitted to an asylum , such as "novel reading" or "political excitement" was funny, and a bit of a palate cleanser from the grimness surrounding it. However, The writing felt purposely obscure, as though Phillips wanted to keep the reader at a distance. Many of the characters felt underdeveloped. Weed is supposedly an important character, but what did he do besides climb trees? Hexum is described as "the fearsome woman who runs the kitchen" on the book jacket, but I don't recall her doing anything to invoke fear. Papa was such a contrived character, I knew he would come back at the end to further spread his stink, and he did-ugh!!
I'm reading through all the Pulitzers, and Night Watch isn't the worst. I ranked it 32nd out of the 37 that I've read so far. It is better than A Fable and Tales From the South Pacific for sure.
Adam! So great to hear from you again. I loved hearing your thoughts about Night Watch - underdeveloped characters indeed! I felt like Weed could have been completely eliminated from the book and it would have made no difference. Also love hearing it’s not the worst. I hated Michener long before I started reading the Pulitzers and I have asked multiple Faulkner fans to explain A Fable to me and no one can tell me anything! 💛
I enjoyed this book and am glad it won. Some of your negatives about the book seem quite inane, such as whether the book is long enough or should the author have included pictures & description (which were both helpful, imho). Have you read the other two finalists? One is about Korea and the other a collection of stories that totals 256 pages, so it is doubtful that either of those would have met Pulitzer criteria, either. Maybe you have done a video about your favorite Pulitzer Prize winners for Fiction? - that would be a more positive and enjoyable listening experience.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I am so glad you enjoyed it. I have made a video previously about my favorite Pulitzers, although I have since reread some of the books and the list would be different today. You are welcome to check out all my Pulitzer content on my Pulitzer playlist! 🌜
I’m a retired mental health nurse, with some knowledge of historical mental health facilities. I found the depiction in the book spot on. For this reason alone, I liked the book. In some respects it read more like nonfiction than fiction. Also, publishers sometimes like to use titles that are similar to existing bestsellers in hopes that readers might stumble upon a new publication.
@@deborahc1738 Deborah, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and adding insight to this book! I appreciate it! 💛
I agree.
@@flannerymonaghan-morris4825 Thank you!
I am reading this novel now and think it is amazing. It is my top read this year to date. The story is gripping.The writing is superb.I disagree with your assessment that the characters needed to be fleshed out more.For me,they were fully realized.As far as the rape scene, I think Philips did a masterful job depicting the terror that the character experienced and her focus on protecting her daughter.
Joni, I'm so glad that you loved and enjoyed the book! I really appreciate you sharing your perspective in the comments, so other people can see it. Again, so glad you have your top read of the year-to-date and who knows? Maybe your best book of the year!
I honestly think that this book was actually quite good, although it isn’t the best of Jayne Anne Phillips’s books. Lark and Termite is much better. She’s an excellent writer, no doubt about it. And this book had plenty of potential to be excellent.
The thing is, is that with fellow BookTubers, for some weird reason, not a lot of people like it.
I have never ever DNF’d a book in my life. And I don’t plan on doing so, and I am one of those people who likes all of the Pulitzer Prize winners.
I honestly think that this is a book that could work better as a miniseries/movie. Miniseries moreso.
@@flannerymonaghan-morris4825 Again, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts! I appreciate it! 💛
Thanks for the review Kelly.. when I reserved it on Libby it was the tenth book that came up under that title! And none of the ones ahead of it were the better known novels that you mentioned
My goodness! They could have called the book so many other things! Sigh. I look forward to your thoughts about it! 🌜
I read this one b/c it was a Pulitzer. I've read 51 of them so far. As a writer, I feel like I should at least read all of the Pulitzers. lol. But I totally agree with you, that at least half are MEH. Most have interesting concepts that weren't fleshed out enough. (As for Night Watch, I can't believe you didn't mention the fact that there are no quote marks when characters are talking. I don't know how this became a thing, but it drives me crazy!)
LOL! No quotes has become a thing, but ... I don't know ... I guess I'm getting better at just rolling with things. 51 Pulitzers is excellent! Which one(s) have you enjoyed the most so far? Thank you so much for watching and commenting!
@@booksimnotreading No problem. I was just wondering what others thought of Night Watch. Some of my favorites have been Demon Copperhead, of course. I'm a history major, so I actually dug Trust. The Goldfinch was good. Oscar Wao I liked b/c I can speak Spanish, and it all made sense to me. I liked Lonesome Dove, Roots, and Gone With the Wind.
Kelly thanks for sharing your thoughts on this latest Pulitzer Prize winner. Per your review (and another) I’ll give this one a pass. Last year I read a very good non-fiction of a woman unjustly committed to an asylum.
If anyone wants to read a very dramatic true story about a 19th century woman being unjustly committed to an asylum, I strongly recommend “The Woman they Could Not Silence” by Kate Moore. It’s a true story about Elizabeth Packard who was committed to an asylum by her Confederate-favoring Presbyterian minister husband. Why? It was because she had the temerity to publicly disagree with her husband on a point of theology. It’s a remarkable book.
Thanks so much for the recommendation, Mary! 🌜
Hi Kelly! Thanks for your review of the book! That's too bad that it was disappointing to you (I was interested what you would say, because I saw another review on YT a few weeks ago questioning how did it win the Pulitzer, indicating disappointment).
7:27: I thought what you said about the redundancy there was especially interesting. There is a famous French film director, Robert Bresson, and one critical analysis of his film "Pickpocket" that I've seen talks about how Bresson uses "doubling"--e.g., you see (visually) a diary with a written entry, and then you hear the protagonist speaking the same exact lines concurrently over the soundtrack. At another point in the movie, there is actually "tripling"--you see the diary reading "I walked into a bank...," the protagonist speaks "I walked into a bank...," and then this dissolves to the action of him walking into a bank! This is but one element (among others) that the critic argues Bresson is using to make the viewer feel unsettled/uneasy (probably in a subtle, 'unconscious' way), since as you point out, this is not normal. So, one hypothesis is maybe it's a similar thing going on with "Night Watch" (especially if this sort of thing recurs throughout the book)? But then again, maybe it's just a bad editing choice. :D I think of other example of photos, etc. used in books that are 'woven into' the narrative (e.g., Andre Breton's "Nadja" and more famously W.G. Sebald's works)--I've always just took these as comparable to footnotes or references so it didn't bother me, but I could also understand why they could be disruptive or disliked by the reader. Happy reading!
Thank you so much for your very thoughtful comment. It could be intentional as the characters themselves sometimes have multiple identities. I would have never thought of that. Really interesting idea! So grateful that you pointed that out! 🌜
Couldn’t agree more. The book felt very half baked. In a year with some other outstanding books, I was gobsmacked that this one took the prize.
Hello! Thank you so much for watching and sharing your thoughts. What do you think should have won the Pulitzer? 💛
Thanks for the review Kelly. And congratulations on reading all the Pulitzer winners for fiction; that is quite a feat! 👏 That would make a fascinating project for anyone to do. Best wishes!
Thanks Larry! Happy reading!💛
It's so interesting that you found the book unfinished in a way and the Pulitzer judges thought it deserved the award. I wish we could hear their reviews. I'm not doubting your opinion because it seems to be in line with others I've seen. I will skip this one.
Laurie, I could be wrong. Others have brought up really interesting points in the Comments section that had never occurred to me. Like all prizes, it’s subjective.Thanks for watching and commenting! 🌜
I’ve been surprised at the amount of trigger warnings and people’s reactions calling the rape scene graphic. I felt the writing was quite stylized and nothing really shocking compared to other things I’ve read, but perhaps I’ve read some very dark and disturbing things that this pales in comparison and others have not. All in all it was nothing beyond most literary fiction and it wasn’t done salaciously.
I couldn’t figure out what the point was of adding the images, it certainly didn’t benefit the book and the reading, it just came off as an awkward marriage of text and images. The period quotes charts did have added benefit.
Hello! I agree with you that when I finally read the rape scene it was nowhere near as shocking as I was expecting. As for the images, I wish I could have just read the book and been trusted to leave things to my own imagination. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts! 🌜
Hi Kelly, thanks for sharing your thoughts on this novel. I will give a pass. 😊 happy reading my friend 💛
Happy reading Charmaine! 💛
I’ve been to the Allegheny Lunatic asylum in Westin West Virginia
It was an very interesting place
The tour guides shared that local high schools used the auditorium for prom and dances because it was the biggest building around
If ever in the area it’s worth checking out
I want/ wanted to read it( I still will) but your review of character development is a disappointment for the book
Because I’ve been there and because I love most books that take place center around Appalachia I will check it out.
I loved Demon Copperhead - finished that two months ago
Thanks for review and video
Thanks so much for sharing that with me. Your experience of reading the book could be very different since you’ve actually been to the place. 🌜
Very thoughtful review, Kelly. I haven't read this one yet. I probably will still read it, but I'm sensing a lot of disappointment in most of the people reviewing this one.
I look forward to hearing what you think! Thanks for commenting! 🌜
Pat, I hope you do give it a try. I just finished and really enjoyed!
@@pennyg156 oh I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks!😊
@@pennyg156 Penny, I'm so glad you enjoyed the book!
I don't think I will bother with this one. I tend not to read much contemporary literary fiction. From reviews and a general impression, I get the feeling that much of modern literary fiction seems badly structured, is in many cases unfinished, and is badly in need of a competent editor.
Definitely poor editing - if nothing else than with the title. Thanks for watching and commenting! 🌜
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👍 go well Kelly!
Be well, Nathan. 🌜
why didn't you make a last haircut video like before?
That’s very sweet, but no more hair cutting videos from me. My channel is about books, and I had no idea when I made those videos, I’d be tapping into Hairtube. Sorry about that. 💛
I made it seven minutes in, you don’t like the title, you don’t like the font size… ugh 🙄
Thank you so much for making it seven minutes into this review. I definitely need to improve my reviews. I am sorry you missed my sign-off which is: Please be kind to yourself, be kind to others. I hope you have a great day. 💛
@@booksimnotreading No, I finished the video. i’m very excited to learn about this book, as it’s about our asylum, which I’ve visited approximately 25 times. As you mentioned, there are very few video reviews on this book, and it seemed a bit unfair that one of the only reviews I did find focused so much on the title, and the font size, and illustrations, which seemed perhaps more like a publishers choice instead of an authors choice. also, regarding the length of the book, the audio version is over 10 hours, which seems not unappropriate for a novel. I have no doubt your reviews will improve, and I look forward to more of them in the future. I do hope you will focus on content, and not presentation. As the old adage goes, never judge a book by its font size.
@@jnvestal3626 That’s very cool that the real asylum is so close to you. Thank you for your feedback. 💛
@@booksimnotreading yeah, it’s in disrepair, and the police keep going in there illegally to do paintball. it’s really fun during Halloween season. enjoying your channel so far. Checked out a few more videos and recommendations. Please don’t take too much offense with this one comment
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