That Night - Beautiful but Boring
Written: Feb 22 '07 (Updated Feb 22 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Well Written
Cons: Nothing Happens After the First Pages
The Bottom Line: If you can catch the first 10 pages standing in a bookstore, you've read enough. There's not much story following.
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| Petra's Full Review: Alice McDermott - That Night |
As the title already hints to, That Night is about one particular night in which an important event took place – in this case, the night during which Rick, a young man in love, shows up at Sheryl’s mother’s house, demanding to be allowed to speak to his love.
He brings along his gang of misfits and as soon as they pour out of the hot rods they arrived in, they are in the mood to cause whatever ruckus it may take to get Sheryl out of the house and explain to Rick why his love is no longer welcomed. What Rick doesn’t know is that Sheryl, pregnant unbeknownst to him, has long been shipped off to relatives in another state.
Before Rick ever has a chance to find out the truth that night, the neighborhood men, armed with trashcan lids, shovels and whatever else they can find, square off with the kids and a fight ensues in the front yard. Eventually the police arrives, and the night turns quiet again. So, unfortunately, does the book.
The event which the book is titled after, takes place in the first few pages. The rest of the 177 pages talk of the people who live on the streets including the narrator, a little girl at the time of That Night, and the time that led up to it. Sheryl and Rick, both from dysfunctional families, meet, fall in love and believe themselves invincible as long as they’re together.
When Sheryl discovers she is pregnant, she doesn’t tell Rick; instead she tells her mother who, having lost her husband and thus all enjoyment in life, takes charge in that hard-nosed manner that makes a good dramatic story: she ships her daughter off and taunts Rick for a few days with stories about Sheryl not being able to speak to him right now when he calls for her. And that’s how the story turns into That Night.
Although That Night is written really well. “A rich, discursive prose style…”, one of the comments on the back of the book says, and it is certainly right about that, and the author often expresses thoughts that are definitely memorable, even quotable. Unfortunately, though, even the most impressive writing doesn’t make for pleasant reading when the story is just plain boring.
The conclusion of the story is upfront and after that, we just read about life stories, pregnancies, other peoples’ children, and youngsters dating, but there are no more events. Of course Sheryl runs away from her relatives’ house and makes a suicide attempt, but it’s nothing the reader wouldn’t expect as it happens in any pregnant, love-sick teenager story.
While the first 30 or so pages were still captivating, anything thereafter just left me wishing something interesting would take place to make me not want to regret spending time on this book. Fortunately, it was just 177 pages worth of time and good writing.
Recommended:
No
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