Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips
- Angela Roloson
- Nov 11, 2024
- 2 min read
In 1874, in the wake of the War, erasure, trauma, and namelessness haunt civilians and veterans, renegades and wanderers, freedmen and runaways. Twelve-year-old ConaLee, the adult in her family for as long as she can remember, finds herself on a buckboard journey with her mother, Eliza, who hasn’t spoken in more than a year. They arrive at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia, delivered to the hospital’s entrance by a war veteran who has forced himself into their world. There, far from family, a beloved neighbor, and the mountain home they knew, they try to reclaim their lives.
The omnipresent vagaries of war and race rise to the surface as we learn their their flight to the highest mountain ridges of western Virginia; the disappearance of ConaLee’s father, who left for the War and never returned. Meanwhile, in the asylum, they begin to find a new path. ConaLee pretends to be her mother’s maid; Eliza responds slowly to treatment. They get swept up in the life of the facility—the mysterious man they call the Night Watch; the orphan child called Weed; the fearsome woman who runs the kitchen; the remarkable doctor at the head of the institution.
Genre: Historical Fiction
Literary Accolades
My Thoughts
I was excited to read this book, after reading last year's Pultizer winner Demon Copperhead. In my opinion, this book was not at that level. My understanding of the Pulitzer Prize is that it must be a book that says something about America, so the question is what is this book saying about "us." Phillips depicts a ravaged world in which so many have lost their way or had it stolen from them, both physically and mentally, so perhaps that is the connection to our American condition.
My biggest complaint regarding the book is that I felt that none of the main characters were developed. I didn't feel like I knew or really even understood any of them. There were elements of the story that I liked, especially the parts at the lunatic asylum, but overall I felt like the novel was a bit choppy and honestly I was a bit disappointed. I gave this one 3.5 stars.
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