JULY 2020 - AudioFile
Oates taps into the current zeitgeist with a timely story about police brutality and its implications on a family. Cheryl Smith’s poignant depiction of the characters as they deal with the consequences of that senseless act conjures listeners’ empathy. It’s the dominant parent who is killed, and the death sets in motion a series of reactions from his children and, most surprisingly, his grieving widow—all of which Smith delivers with compassion and several striking character arcs. Oates’s fans have come to expect detailed examinations of social and cultural norms. Smith elevates this one by adding a layer of perceptiveness that enhances the compelling narrative. R.O. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
From the Publisher
Timely, monumental. . . . Yet another piercing examination of American culture by the writer this reviewer considers our country's greatest living novelist. . . . It is brilliant. How blessed we are to have her as a novelist in our chaotic, confusing times. Night is spot on for these times of racial divide, as well as in portraying the fractious family dynamic that many of us know all too well. . . . Night deserves the top spot on your quarantine nightstand. Here's a fervent salute to Oates, our finest American novelist, for this one.” — Star Tribune
Star Tribune
Timely, monumental. . . . Yet another piercing examination of American culture by the writer this reviewer considers our country's greatest living novelist. . . . It is brilliant. How blessed we are to have her as a novelist in our chaotic, confusing times. Night is spot on for these times of racial divide, as well as in portraying the fractious family dynamic that many of us know all too well. . . . Night deserves the top spot on your quarantine nightstand. Here's a fervent salute to Oates, our finest American novelist, for this one.
