Nothing But the Night

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John Williams, author of the singular quiet masterpieces Stoner, gives us this peculiar novella filled with Beckettesque futility & lyricism. Arthur Maxley, our young protagonist, is aimlessly drifting through life. A family tragedy has made him unable to meaningfully connect with his friends & peers. Nothing but etc is told from a third person perspective, but Williams digs into Maxley's psychology, or better yet, worms his way into his mind👇

vivastory so thoroughly that you often forget that you're not reading it from his perspective. There are a few scenes that are lyrically disorienting, for lack of a better phrase, as Williams offers a portrait of a character who has become alienated, despite attempts to connect. A minor & unusual masterpiece Nothing But the Night joins the ranks of my fave novellas.
There was a recent Twitter thread about the creepiest NYRB covers. Weeks later I'm still (edited) 3y

vivastory kicking myself for forgetting about this cover before someone else posted it.
https://twitter.com/mookse/status/1379564219515858944
@saresmoore Looking forward to your thoughts! 3y

Prairiegirl_reading That is definitely a creepy cover!! 😬 3y

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vivastory @Prairiegirl_reading It really is. I have to put it cover down when I'm not reading it 😂 3y

Prairiegirl_reading @vivastory 🤣 my first reaction to your post was my god that‘s creepy!! Then I kept reading 🤣🤣 3y

mija333 @Prairiegirl_reading 😂 3y

TrishB Great review, and agree a very creepy cover! 3y

emilyhaldi Great review 💙 3y

BarbaraBB I read a review about this one that made me unstack this one but now I‘m putting it back on my TBR! 3y

82 likes2 stack adds9 comments

saresmoore

Nothing But the Night | John Williams

This book is a trip! Aside from the obnoxious “male gaze” description that lasted waaay too long, I appreciate the interior deep dive and the pretty wordsmithery that Williams is bringing, thus far. There is a quirky cast of characters, but the book is really only about Art, albeit on many levels.

vivastory

saresmoore Have you started this one, Scott? 3y

vivastory Not yet. I hope to start it today. It sounds fascinating! 3y

Hollie That cover is creepy...but the background baby is super cute! 3y

saresmoore @Hollie Isn‘t the cover unsettling? I don‘t much care to look at it, so I always place it cover side down. 😅 3y

78 likes2 stack adds4 comments

sisilia

Nothing But the Night | John Williams

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3⭐️ This novel is about a day in a life of Arthur Maxley, a rich college drop-out dealing with childhood trauma. I recognized John Williams‘ meticulous description of events and feelings, but it was not enough to hold my interest; I got bored halfway as I was thrown in and out reality vs dream sequence 😑

Cinfhen Hi 👋 💕 4y

sisilia Hola, @Cinfhen 😘 4y

BarbaraBB That‘s too bad and probably the reason why he distanced himself from it? 4y

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sisilia @BarbaraBB I think so. Stoner and Butcher‘s Crossing are both very engaging and I was with book hangover. With this novel, it was a struggle for me 😑 I still have Augustus in my TBR. I want to read it and I don‘t want to read it, coz it‘s going to be my last Williams 😅 4y

BarbaraBB I haven‘t read that one either but my bf has and he really liked though it‘s very different in style from Stoner and Butcher‘s Crossing. 4y

Lesliereads Love your photo😍 4y

sisilia @Lesliereads Woot! Thank you! 4y

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sisilia

Nothing But the Night | John Williams

Next read! My third John Williams, and he disowned this novel. I wonder why....

erzascarletbookgasm Curious and look forward to your thoughts:) 4y

BarbaraBB Me too. 4y

60 likes2 comments

ReadingEnvy

Nothing But the Night | John Williams

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This is the author's debut novel, which he wrote after dropping out of college. The novel starts with a disturbing but memorable dream sequence. The main character, Arthur, is a college dropout and seems to be suffering from PTSD, but from unknown circumstances. He struggles to connect with others, and then his father comes to town....
.
This reads more like psychological drama/horror and/or commentary on loneliness. Out Feb 2019 from NYRB.

Booksnchill Seriously creepy cover art😧 5y

Weaponxgirl @Booksnchill I was thinking the same thing. 5y

Ms_T That cover 😳 5y

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catiewithac It‘s looks like the creatures from Cocoon 👽 5y

ReadingEnvy @Booksnchill I know! Bonus points if you know what it's from! 5y

ReadingEnvy @catiewithac right? It has nothing to do with the contents! 5y

Booksnchill @ReadingEnvy i don‘t know, do tell! 5y

ReadingEnvy @Booksnchill oh well the background behind the book cover is from the movie Stalker, from Russia. I don‘t know what the cover art is actually 5y

71 likes3 stack adds8 comments

TheWordJar

Nothing But the Night | John Williams

Just wanted to say thank you to @Betty for the sweet (and gorgeously handmade!?!) #jb card I recently received. And I just thought of you this morning as an email from #nyrb informed me that the tagged book is their pick of the month, and for the next few days they are offering 30% off all John Williams titles. This one looks interesting! (And I do have Stoner and am enjoying it immensely. But also slowly! Sorry!)

Betty As long as you have Stoner and are enjoying it, keep it until you‘re done. 5y

60 likes1 comment

cathysaid

Nothing But the Night | John Williams

Look look look!! @Tamra look!!!!

Tamra 😵😵😵 How did you run across this?? Thank you for tagging me! 😘😘😘 5y

Tamra I see there is a 1990 edition on Amazon I wasn‘t aware of either, but the new one has an interview with his widow. 5y

cathysaid @tamra I opened iBooks (which I rarely do anymore) and found this is the ‘Coming in 2019‘ section. Actually yelped in happy surprise! 5y

Tamra @cathysaid I‘m glad you did! 5y

Tamra @cathysaid I just accidentally preordered the Kindle version, but that‘s ok. 😆 5y

31 likes5 comments

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