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Wow.

It took me a minute to sink into the third person present PoV and the lack of paragraphs and dialogue marks and the certain Irishness of the prose. And then ... suddenly … I found myself swept away by this fevered dream of a mother struggling to scrape out a bit of sanity in an insane and tragic world, mama-bearing her way through as best she can.

Wow.

You have never read a story like this and will never again. I highly, highly recommend this.

Wow.

…

Oh, by the way, this won the Booker Prize in 2023.

It won the Pulitzer. I can see why. The prose is spectacular. Night Watch is a story of how trauma is experienced in so many ways and how, in the end, we cope. This book was a four star for until the wrap up. SPOILER? It felt like the author struggled and … forced THE ending. Otherwise, an impressively created story.

"The night was loud with frogs and cicadas competing for space."

That line from this volume is, perhaps, an apropos characterization of the swirling thoughts, feelings, and conflicted actions and intentions that then highlight the beats of our lives.

I love a good short story collection and this one did not disappoint. Cushman writes with such earnestness. He writes with a yearning for understanding and meaning in a crazy world of relationships forged by serendipity and an effort to make it all work.

"Our books became ash, then dust, years ago. The girl looks a little younger than my son, maybe ten, not old enough to remember books, schools, our lives before this life. I can hardly remember what came before. Before hurts so bad it's not even a memory."

This short story collection is bold. Penetrating. Each story a story of lives laid bare. So stunningly well written.

Banned in a Florida school on 5/20/2024. I immediately purchased it. Of course.

Excellent middle grade novel about students finding their strength and learning a harsh lesson about the real world and the awful (and not so awful) people who fill it.

The characters are vibrant and relatable and the author teases out a narrative that is so creative and nuanced. I am forever impressed when authors reach deep and somehow find their childhood voice so effectively.

This book touches upon a host of thoughtful topics and I can't recommend it enough.