It’s a Christmas present for my daughter who hasn’t read ...it yet but it was on her gift wish list
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
Funny, erudite, realistic, unusu...al. Really enjoyed it
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Anna, an Oxford historian, is strugg...ling to finish a book on late 18th century childhood, whilst battling a motherhood vs career crisis. She is also suffering from low self esteem and extreme sleep deprivation. However, this multi-layered novel is far from 'run of the mill', for Anna is currently living on an isolated island in the outer Hebrides with Giles, her puffin counting ornithologist husband, hyperactive Moth, her sleepless toddler and Raphael, her precocious, death-obsessed 7 year old. This is both a sad and comic story. It is original and accomplished and the writing is stylish. Anna's modern day narrative is interspersed with letters found in the family cottage from May, a neonatal nurse living on Colsay island in the 19th century; sent there to introduce hygenic medical methods to the impoverished inhabitants. The two women's stories are linked by a mystery. I loved the way Night Waking gave Julia Donaldson's iconic picture book, 'The Gruffalo', a cameo role. And I appreciated the significance of peppering opening chapters with John Bowlby's attachment Theory, but you don't have to be a psychologist to realize Anna gave her attention to the wrong sibling. The night scenes were so realistic, I found myself screaming, 'For goodness sake, put that X?!X?! child down' The author makes the most of the remote location, which was apparently inspired by St. Kilda, where Victorian islanders rejected mainland maternity help despite an 80% child mortality rate. The entire novel is extremely atmospheric; you almost feel you are living on that remote, unforgiving island. Sarah Moss' descriptions of that bleak landscape compare with Ali Shaw's desolate portrayal of a similar northern archipelago in 'The Girl with Glass Feet'. Night Waking is an absorbing novel, sprinkled with black humour and suspense.