Talking about The Night Watch

Tonight is the fourth meeting of my book club. For the first time we're reading a book that I suggested, which adds a slight element of stress to the evening. My book group "co-captain," if you will (meaning that we always deal with the logistics, send out the emails, choose the locations, etc.), keeps saying that whoever suggests a book is in charge of leading the discussion about it. Though our conversations are usually pretty organic and don't need leading, per se, I feel like I should prepare something (which I won't). My other worry, of course, is that I suggested a book everyone ended up hating.

Luckily, I picked a good book if I do say so myself. The Night Watch, by Sarah Waters, is about the ignition, development, and, sometimes, demise of relationships in London during and in the aftermath of World War II. Broken into three distinct sections, Waters tells the story in reverse chronology, letting the reader know immediately how things turn out but only slowly revealing how they all came to be in the first place.

One of the most successful elements is Waters' ability to capture both the beauty and heartbreak of loving another person. Her unspoken insistence that one person is always more invested than his or her partner, her portrayal of someone knowing she's sabotaging a relationship she values but not being able to stop, and the lasting effect of even the briefest of encounters all rang true. I'd recommend The Night Watch to all my reader friends out there.

And, for what it's worth, I'd also recommend Waters' Fingersmith and Tipping The Velvet.