Monday, November 11, 2013

Night Film by Marisha Pessl - Book Review

BookNight Film: A Novel
AuthorMarisha Pessl
Genre: Historical Fiction 
Publisher/Publish DateMilkweed Editions / September 3, 2013
SourceARC courtesy of publisher
Pages: 256
Rating: 3.5/5
GoodReads  •  Amazon

(This post may be a bit spoilery, sorry.)

Creepy. Gripping. Insightful. Gritty.

After a wrong turn in an investigation into the mysterious life of cult-horror-film director Cordova leaves him disgraced, Journalist Scott McGrath hoped he has left that story behind for good. But the suicide of his daughter Ashley draws him back into his investigation. His search leads him to meet two witnesses, that become part of his team, and the story leads him on a journey through belief and unbelife. McGrath risks a lot in search of the truth, which in turn he may never be able to find.

I was attracted to this book because of it's use of images, and screen shots of web pages, and other "interactive" elements. They never came off as gimmicky, but actually enhance the story. (see the reviews on GoodReads for photos of the inside pages). Though I wasn't expecting the novel to be so dark, including satanic rituals, mysterious bridges, and lots of twisted characters.

I'm still a little uncertain about how I feel about this book. I was enraptured by it, finishing the 580 page novel in just a few days. And though the book tried to have a clear take away, I'm not sure if I got that personally from reading the book.

I felt that while the tone of the book wavered from comical (i.e. buddy cop) to way intense and creepy, plot plows a consistent path that never wavers. But maybe this is more like life. There are funny moments, and there are scary moments.

My favorite part was the first 2/3rds of the novel. I just wasn't satisfied with the ending. I didn't feel like much was truly answered.

I'm really interested in reading her other book Special Topics in Calamity Physics. Anyone read that? What did you think? Anyone else think this could make a really great movie?

Now I'm off to go read a fun and light-hearted book to cleans my palette (and mind).

What did you think of Night Film?

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