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lori85's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Genocide, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Antisemitism, and Outing
sometimes_samantha_reads's review
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
The Night Ocean was a pleasant surprise to me! I had picked it up from the dollar store from a huge unorganized mess of books. It was something that was slightly out of my normal genre but I was intrigued. But I didn't pick it up until over a year later. That was a mistake! The story evoked so many of my emotions in a way that not many books I've read recently were able to do.
The prose of Paul La Farge was beyond enjoyable. The book, written in mostly internal monologs or incredibly realistic dialog, played so well to its intended imagery. At times I even forgot I was reading! His words played out so naturally it was hard to remember I was looking at words on a page rather than viewing the characters in flesh in front of me.
The ONLY reservation I have about giving The Night Ocean a 5 star rating is the ending. It fit PERFECTLY with the rest of the story and was in no way lazy. It was very intentional but I wanted to know more! Maybe when I have time to process I'll come back and change it to 5 stars (haha) but I emphatically recommend this to anyone who doesn't mind a little bit of a psychological thriller.
The prose of Paul La Farge was beyond enjoyable. The book, written in mostly internal monologs or incredibly realistic dialog, played so well to its intended imagery. At times I even forgot I was reading! His words played out so naturally it was hard to remember I was looking at words on a page rather than viewing the characters in flesh in front of me.
The ONLY reservation I have about giving The Night Ocean a 5 star rating is the ending. It fit PERFECTLY with the rest of the story and was in no way lazy. It was very intentional but I wanted to know more! Maybe when I have time to process I'll come back and change it to 5 stars (haha) but I emphatically recommend this to anyone who doesn't mind a little bit of a psychological thriller.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Addiction and Suicide
Minor: Vomit
There is adultery in this book.otterno11's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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
5.0
“No reality, but in books”
In his affecting novel The Night Ocean, Paul La Farge crafts a truly intricate tapestry of interwoven historical fact and fantasy, one that kept me enraptured and craving more. Building a mysterious and compelling narrative that travels back and forth through time, he grapples with the fraught legacy of H.P. Lovecraft, one in conversation with the true horrors of the twentieth century and the sexual, racial, and social realities of the twenty-first century. Like the best work of Lovecraft, La Farge writes with a pseudo-authentic voice, imbuing real life with eerie meaning, interrogating truth, fiction, and the fuzzy liminal space between them, capturing and critiquing the strange appeal of the horror author and of fandom in general.
Narrated by Dr. Marina Willett, a New York psychologist whose husband Charlie has disappeared in typical Lovecraftian fashion after his investigations into Lovecraft’s relationship with his young fan Robert H. Barlow began to spiral out of control, Marina too finds herself investigating Charlie’s research. Relying on the unreliable and eventful life of an unassuming elderly Canadian, Leo Spinks, who back in 1952 published the Erotonomicon, a salacious lost diary of Lovecraft himself admitting his sexual relationship with Barlow, Marina delves into a dozen striking stories within stories. Leo seems to know more than he lets on, and in fact, is the axle upon which the story revolves. Or is he?
It turns out that, like the Necronomicon of Lovecraft’s writing, what is real and what is imaginary begins to blur, as hoaxes and revelations compete for the reader’s attention. Just when you think the truth is coming out and a great revelation is at hand, it is pulled away, leaving our narrator and the reader scrambling for meaning. In this Russian nesting doll of a narrative, the way La Farge interweaves these narratives into a believable whole provides a perfect homage and criticism of Lovecraft’s place in fandom and popular culture, and why he remains relevant.
I write about other works that use Lovecraft as a fictional character in my article Lovecraft Reanimated at Fandom Fanatics.
In his affecting novel The Night Ocean, Paul La Farge crafts a truly intricate tapestry of interwoven historical fact and fantasy, one that kept me enraptured and craving more. Building a mysterious and compelling narrative that travels back and forth through time, he grapples with the fraught legacy of H.P. Lovecraft, one in conversation with the true horrors of the twentieth century and the sexual, racial, and social realities of the twenty-first century. Like the best work of Lovecraft, La Farge writes with a pseudo-authentic voice, imbuing real life with eerie meaning, interrogating truth, fiction, and the fuzzy liminal space between them, capturing and critiquing the strange appeal of the horror author and of fandom in general.
Narrated by Dr. Marina Willett, a New York psychologist whose husband Charlie has disappeared in typical Lovecraftian fashion after his investigations into Lovecraft’s relationship with his young fan Robert H. Barlow began to spiral out of control, Marina too finds herself investigating Charlie’s research. Relying on the unreliable and eventful life of an unassuming elderly Canadian, Leo Spinks, who back in 1952 published the Erotonomicon, a salacious lost diary of Lovecraft himself admitting his sexual relationship with Barlow, Marina delves into a dozen striking stories within stories. Leo seems to know more than he lets on, and in fact, is the axle upon which the story revolves. Or is he?
It turns out that, like the Necronomicon of Lovecraft’s writing, what is real and what is imaginary begins to blur, as hoaxes and revelations compete for the reader’s attention. Just when you think the truth is coming out and a great revelation is at hand, it is pulled away, leaving our narrator and the reader scrambling for meaning. In this Russian nesting doll of a narrative, the way La Farge interweaves these narratives into a believable whole provides a perfect homage and criticism of Lovecraft’s place in fandom and popular culture, and why he remains relevant.
I write about other works that use Lovecraft as a fictional character in my article Lovecraft Reanimated at Fandom Fanatics.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Genocide
Moderate: Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, and Antisemitism
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