
The Night Watch (Paperback)
Sarah Waters (author)- 10+ in stock

Told in reverse chronology, Waters’ masterful drama examines the effects of the Second World War in shaping the inner and exterior lives of those who lived through it. Wonderfully redolent of the austerity and listlessness of the 1940s and the war’s immediate aftermath, The Night Watch tracks the journeys of a quartet of Londoners backwards through time with immense flair and compassion.
Shortlisted for the Orange Prize and the Booker Prize
'Brilliantly done... the period detail never overwhelms the simple, passionate human story. It's a tour-de-force of hints, clues and dropped threads' Suzi Feay, Independent on Sunday
Moving back through the 1940s, through air raids, blacked out streets, illicit liaisons, sexual adventure, to end with its beginning in 1941, The Night Watch is the work of a truly brilliant and compelling storyteller.
This is the story of four Londoners - three women and a young man with a past, drawn with absolute truth and intimacy. Kay, who drove an ambulance during the war and lived life at full throttle, now dresses in mannish clothes and wanders the streets with a restless hunger, searching... Helen, clever, sweet, much-loved, harbours a painful secret.. Viv, glamour girl, is stubbornly, even foolishly loyal, to her soldier lover... Duncan, an apparent innocent, has had his own demons to fight during the war. Their lives, and their secrets connect in sometimes startling ways. War leads to strange alliances...
Tender, tragic and beautifully poignant, set against the backdrop of feats of heroism both epic and ordinary, here is a novel of relationships that offers up subtle surprises and twists. The Night Watch is thrilling. A towering achievement.
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
ISBN: 9781844082414
Number of pages: 512
Weight: 380 g
Dimensions: 196 x 126 x 36 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
'The Night Watch is a truthful, lovely book that needs no conjuring tricks to make you want to read it again' - Philip Hensher, The Observer
'Brilliantly done... the period detail never overwhelms the simple, passionate human story. It's a tour-de-force of hints, clues and dropped threads' - Suzi Feay, Independent on Sunday
'...this outstandingly gifted novelist releases her imagination into her most compelling depiction yet' - Peter Kemp, The Sunday Times
'The Night Watch is sharply and compassionately observed, richly coloured, and compelling to read' - Michele Roberts, Independent
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“Excellent”
Having only read The Little Stranger before this I can see now why Sarah Waters deserves her excellent reputation. I thought the idea of splitting the story into 3 times - 1947, 1944 and 1941 - and telling the story... More
“The Night Watch”
Set in wartime Britain, the Night Watch tells the stories of four characters who experience the turmoils and enjoyment of love, sex and war.A thoroughly enjoyable book but not for any prudes out there!
“Not quite Fingersmith but still very good.”
In a move away from what was fast becoming Water's trademark era, the transistion to the war time Britain is well accomplished.
The scene setting, as would be expected, is brilliant, as is the story telling. The...
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