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kimbofo's review
3.0
Favel Parrett’s When the Night Comes is one of those lovely, gentle stories that demands nothing of the reader — except to let the quiet, bare-boned prose wash over you.
Set in 1986, largely in Hobart, Tasmania and on the Antarctic ice-breaker Nella Dan, the story charts the friendship between two unlikely people: Isla, a young teenage girl, and Bo, the Danish crewman who boards with her family when he’s not at sea.
Told in short impressionistic chapters — sometimes from Isla’s point of view, sometimes from Bo’s — their intertwined stories slowly unfold. What emerges is an in-depth character study of two people trying to find their rightful places in the world after loss — in Isla’s case, the loss of her father through divorce; in Bo’s case, through the death of his father and, later, a colleague.
To read the rest of my review, please visit my blog.
Set in 1986, largely in Hobart, Tasmania and on the Antarctic ice-breaker Nella Dan, the story charts the friendship between two unlikely people: Isla, a young teenage girl, and Bo, the Danish crewman who boards with her family when he’s not at sea.
Told in short impressionistic chapters — sometimes from Isla’s point of view, sometimes from Bo’s — their intertwined stories slowly unfold. What emerges is an in-depth character study of two people trying to find their rightful places in the world after loss — in Isla’s case, the loss of her father through divorce; in Bo’s case, through the death of his father and, later, a colleague.
To read the rest of my review, please visit my blog.
claire_fuller_writer's review against another edition
4.0
So beautifully written; each short chapter captures a moment in time and place. In 1980s Tasmania Isla becomes friends with her mother's Danish boyfriend, Bo who is a chef on the Antarctic supply boat, Nella Dan. The story jumps about in time and point of view between Isla and Bo as we learn about school and Isla's brother , and Bo's life and work onboard the boat. It's a gentle, sweet novel about kindness, friendship and sometimes loss. But it's never whimsical or cute, just perfectly pitched.
jembw's review against another edition
5.0
A beautifully crafted piece of work. I loved the minimalistic prose and the clever structure which combined wonderfully to tell a very powerful story. Utterly compelling reading.
leannep's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
fast-paced
3.75
Nice enough story. Msinly about the ship Nella Dan a supply ship to Antarctica. The girl in Hobart, and the ship's cook..nice parallel stories to tell the bigger story of the ship. An easy read. Well researched.
lisa_bee88's review against another edition
2.0
How on earth is this by the woman who enchanted me with her sad, beautiful writing in Past the Shallows?? When the night comes was choppy, awkward and frankly a little boring. I'm so sad!!
sonianair's review against another edition
4.0
The bleak existence of a fractured family and the simple acts of kindness that resonate with a young, bright girl are expertly rendered in Parrett's gentle and unassuming narrative. The voice of Isla, the young child narrator whose viewpoint frames more than half of the book, is believable and affecting in its raw innocence. I found it hard to get stuck into this book, but once I did, it was a fast read.
christina112's review against another edition
3.0
I have conflicting feelings about this book. I enjoyed the writing and all of the characters but was confused about the timeline. It seemed that there were huge jumps and I struggled to keep track. I was a fan of the short chapters and the mini stories within them but the overall plot was lacking and I was mainly bored by Bo's chapters. Overall this probably wasn't the book for me (I need more structure) but I would read this author's work again.
hollyway's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
A sweet little slice of life but it didn't draw me in as much as There Was Still Love. Highly likely I'm just not in the right mood for a quiet story like this at the moment.
chai65's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. A sweet book. I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of Hobart (where I grew up), and Isla's school (which I attended).