Book Review | Book Chatter

My book group met last night to discuss The Meaning of Night, by Michael Cox. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed this book.

The setting is Victorian England during the mid-nineteenth century. We meet Edward Glyver and he has committed a murder, of which he is confessing to. Here is a snippet from Barnes & Noble:

“After killing the red-haired man, I took myself off to Quinn’s for an oyster supper.” So begins the “enthralling” (Booklist, starred review) and “ingenious” (Boston Globe) story of Edward Glyver, book lover, scholar, and murderer. A chance discovery convinces Glyver that greatness awaits him. His path to win back what is rightfully his leads him to Evenwood, one of England’s most enchanting country houses, and a woman who will become his obsession.

While attending school, Edward Glyver is framed by his friend Phoebus Daunt and expelled from the institution. As Daunt continues to be favored by all those around him, Glyver struggles with who is is and can’t seem to find his purpose in life. Frustrated over his predicament, he manages to secure a job with Mr. Tredgold, who sees in him, what others cannot see. It is during this time that he changes his name to Edward Glapthorn.

During his employment with Mr. Tredgold, Glapthorn (Glyver) discovers a bit of information that could change his future for the better and put Mr. Daunt in his place, once and for all. In his quest for proof, he meets Miss Emily Carteret and falls madly in love.

When I started to read this book, I was a little taken aback by the immense size of the novel. It weighs in at just over 700 pages. As I began to read, it seemed a bit wordy for me but by page 100, I was completely hooked. I’ve heard from a few of you that you have this book in your TBR pile but that you have yet to pick it up. Well, pick it up and start reading!

The story is beautifully written. Every time I picked it up, I felt as if I was right there next to Glyver, feeling his frustration and pain. Glyver is the classic “anti-hero”. He doesn’t always make the right decision and sort of flounders through life, yet he is very likable and real and the reader can relate to him. If you like a book to take you away, then this would be a good one to read.

Since this was my book selection for the group, I worried at first that there may not be much to talk about. I mean, other than enjoying the book, would there be enough to discuss? I am happy to say that there was plenty to discuss and to my surprise, everyone read it! Even given its 700+ pages. We all agreed that the story did not really start until page 100. So if you read it, keep that in mind.

Many of the group members compared Cox’s writing style to that of Charles Dickens. I have to agree with them and in a Q&A session posted here, he mentions that David Copperfield and Great Expectations started his love affair with Victorian fiction. He also mentions other novels such as The Woman In White and Moonstone.

After doing a bit of research, I found out that Cox has written a sequel to this book and it just came out this week! It’s called The Glass of Time. I went straight to Barnes & Noble to buy it but I believe my book group wants to pitch it for next year’s list so I’ll hold off and wait until it gets selected. Maybe.

If you’ve read it, what did you think of it?

I received my copy of Run, by Ann Patchett as part of Gayle’s online book club over at Everyday I Write The Book. Thank you Gayle! If you’d like to read some of the comments from the group, click here.

Now, on with the review. Here is the blurb from Barnes & Noble:

It’s a winter evening in Boston and the temperature has drastically dropped as a blizzard approaches the city. On this fateful night, Bernard Doyle plans to meet his two adopted sons, Tip the older, and more serious and Teddy, the affectionate dreamer, at a Harvard auditorium to hear a speech given by Jesse Jackson. Doyle, an Irish Catholic and former Boston mayor, has done his best to keep his two sons interested in politics, from the day he and his now deceased wife became their parents, through their childhoods, and now in their lives as college students. Though the two boys are African-American, the bonds of the family’s love have never been tested. But as the snow begins to fall, an accident triggers into motion a series of events that will forever change their lives.

The accident leaves Tip injured and an unknown women in critical condition. Shortly after the accident, they learn from the woman’s 11 year-old daughter, Kenya, that there is more to the story and that Kenya and her mother, have been keeping a secret for quite some time. This secret affects the Doyle’s in many ways and makes them question what’s important. As a result of the accident, they are all thrown together and forced to be around each other. This creates quite a bit of tension and awkwardness.

In my opinion, this is a story about family. It’s also a story about identity and acceptance. Tip and Teddy struggle with who they are and what they are expected to become. Doyle, their adopted father, wants the best for them but he wants very specific things. Teddy tries to do right by him in order to please him, but Tip wants to be his own person and refuses to give in to his father’s wants. Even Sullivan, Doyle’s biological son is at odds with who is is.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I enjoy character driven stories but I do not feel that these characters were fully developed and I was left wanting to know more about them. This was especially the case with the older brother, Sullivan. His is such a tragic story. When he was younger, he was involved in a car accident and his girlfriend was killed. Instead of offering support to his grieving son, Doyle convinces Sullivan to go along with the idea that the girlfriend was in fact behind the wheel, and not Sullivan. Being the Mayor at the time, Doyle felt compelled to protect his family in this way. However, that act ended up pushing his son away from him for good.

The relationship that Doyle has with all of his children is really quite sad. His expectations remain high and he never learns, even in crisis, the importance of self-worth. Yet even with all of his faults, you can sort of see why he wants each of his kids to live a certain way. I’m sure many parents want the best for their children but go about it the wrong way. That part is very realistic.

I should mention that much of this book is told within a 24 hour timeframe. This created a sense of “hurry” and gave it a claustrophobic feeling at times which further emphasized the frustration and angst between all of the characters. Although I felt the story could have gone a different way, overall I enjoyed the characters and would definitely read another book by Patchett. I just wish that some of the characters came away with more than what they started with.

Book Club Girl recently hosted a radio show with Ann Patchett. It’s a great interview and hearing what she had to say helped me understand the story a bit more. To check out the radio show, click here.

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