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markeefe's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
mhoffrob's review against another edition
4.0
This novel is all about life on the edges - the edges of Portland, the edges of economic viability, the edges of mental health - set within Lynette's disfunctional family, over the course of less than 30 or so hours. Lynette has working furiously to better her situation, hoping to buy the family home from her landlord as housing prices rise exponentially around her. At the last moment, when she has scraped to get the downpayment, her mother decies she will NOT sign the mortgage, which Lynette is not qualified on her own. In a last ditch effort to make it work, she sets off on an odyssey of collecting old debts and a minature crime spree to accomplish that. Her problems run deeper, and the unpredictible happens repeatedly.
minty's review against another edition
2.0
While I found this immediately interesting, with well-drawn characters, the relentless bleakness left me wondering what the point was.
laurasheerin's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
ldelahoz's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
mysterymom40's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Abandonment, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Emotional abuse
wsmythe19's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
bethreadsandnaps's review against another edition
4.0
Lynette has not had a good life. Her mom has been a poor role model, leaving Lynette to care for her disabled brother. She also has to work several jobs, one of which is illegal, to make ends meet and to save some money. Her goal is to buy a house. Unfortunately for the working poor, this is difficult to achieve when house prices rise at such a quick rate.
After three years of saving, Lynette finally has almost enough money together for the down payment on the house she and her mother have been renting. But when her irresponsible mother makes a stupid financial decision and decides to back out of buying the house, Lynette tries to get as much money together as she can. Over the next few days, she tries to collect on all her outstanding loans to shady people.
You want to root for Lynette and see her rise above her circumstances, but at the same time you might want to slap her for her stupid decisions involving the criminal element.
I really enjoyed this one, and so few books have an accounting of finances. I liked that element.
After three years of saving, Lynette finally has almost enough money together for the down payment on the house she and her mother have been renting. But when her irresponsible mother makes a stupid financial decision and decides to back out of buying the house, Lynette tries to get as much money together as she can. Over the next few days, she tries to collect on all her outstanding loans to shady people.
You want to root for Lynette and see her rise above her circumstances, but at the same time you might want to slap her for her stupid decisions involving the criminal element.
I really enjoyed this one, and so few books have an accounting of finances. I liked that element.
obscuredbyclouds's review against another edition
3.0
This book surprised me, mostly in a bad way. I'm a big fan of Willy Vlautin's novels. I love his unflinching look at the underbelly of the USA. His protagonists always have been dealt a hard hand, and his writing style is clear, sparse and concise. To a degree, all of this is true for "The Night Always Comes" too, but something's missing.
1) The main character stays paper thin. I never really felt like I understood her or her motivations. Who is she besides someone with mental health issues and a tragic past? She wants to buy a house and help her disables brother.... and? What kind of person is she? What does she like? She is way too trusting, and not very smart. She makes the same mistake over and over again. I literally found myself cursing at her out loud at some point.
2) The tone and pace was uneven. 2/3 of the novel are so action-filled that it's like reading a thriller. The melancholic and slower pace I normally appreciate about Vlautin only appear in the rest of the novel. All the parts about the main character's earlier life, especially the love story, were so much better than the rest. I wanted to read a whole novel about that tragic love story; I found it so moving.
3) Vlautin is great at showing-not-telling when it comes to descriptions, but the dialogue is a little overloaded at times. These really long expository rants took me out of the story a lot.
4) This is a thesis novel about the plight of the poor and working class people and about gentrification. I agree with the thesis, I just don't like thesis novels when the characterisation suffers. At points, this almost veered a little into the 'misery porn' category for me. There's approx. one person in this novel who is good to the main character and doesn't completely fuck her over.
This is a good but very uneven novel. I liked it. At some points it moved me. But I wanted it to be better. I wanted to believe the people in the novel existed, and I didn't.
1) The main character stays paper thin. I never really felt like I understood her or her motivations. Who is she besides someone with mental health issues and a tragic past? She wants to buy a house and help her disables brother.... and? What kind of person is she? What does she like? She is way too trusting, and not very smart. She makes the same mistake over and over again. I literally found myself cursing at her out loud at some point.
2) The tone and pace was uneven. 2/3 of the novel are so action-filled that it's like reading a thriller. The melancholic and slower pace I normally appreciate about Vlautin only appear in the rest of the novel. All the parts about the main character's earlier life, especially the love story, were so much better than the rest. I wanted to read a whole novel about that tragic love story; I found it so moving.
3) Vlautin is great at showing-not-telling when it comes to descriptions, but the dialogue is a little overloaded at times. These really long expository rants took me out of the story a lot.
4) This is a thesis novel about the plight of the poor and working class people and about gentrification. I agree with the thesis, I just don't like thesis novels when the characterisation suffers. At points, this almost veered a little into the 'misery porn' category for me. There's approx. one person in this novel who is good to the main character and doesn't completely fuck her over.
This is a good but very uneven novel. I liked it. At some points it moved me. But I wanted it to be better. I wanted to believe the people in the novel existed, and I didn't.