No Night Is Too Long

Rating:
Summary: Some Books Are Too Short
Review: After reading the very first chapter, i knew i was going to love this book. I was mesmersised by the first chapter, and already felt so involved in the story that it was unbelieveable. I've long been aware of Rendell's genius, but this was a shock even for me.

The story actually moves pretty slowly, but the suspense and tension is just unbearable. You know very well that cataclysmic events are going to occur, but of how and when you know nothing. The sense of wonderment you feel at Rendell (in any of her incarnations) is simply awe-inspiring. You read and read and read, completely unable to tear your eyes from the story, even though its moving with a slow pace. Its thrilling, suspenseful and tense. And i loved it.

Barbara Vine is slightly more literary than her Rendell books, i have found. (Just an observation)

The plot is simple, but very strong. There are good, strong, simple, sensible, realistic twists. They turn the story once or twice, adding just the right amoung of freshness and surprise.

The characters are superbly well drawn and believeable. and quite likeable, despite their flaws. The completely unsettling thing about Rendell's books are the fact that all the people are quite, quite normal. Tim is just a normal, young man, struggling with his identity and sexuality, experiencing the world for what it really is. He's nothing special. Has no psychological abnormalities, is not in any damaged And yet he is driven to murder. This novel is a bravura display of how circumstances can drive people to commit horrible deeds. Quite sane, normal people, slowly taken hold of.

THis is a wonderful book. A masterpiece. The writing is just first class, and the descriptions of the places in which this novel are set are simply stunning. I have never been to Alaska (in particular) but through her descriptions i found myself transported there. And now, my window to it is closed, i want to visit it. It's a desire that should pass in a few days, but its a powerful thing to feel simply after reading a book. (I felt the same after reading "The Empty Chair" by Jeff Deaver, wanting to visit North Carolina. Guatemala after reading about it in Kathy Reichs' "Grave Secrets", and the middle east after reading Jack Higgins' "Edge of Danger" and "Midnight Runner")

I would reccomend this to everyone. I have in the past held of reading Barbara Vine, because i assumed that they would be something very different. SO different as to need publishing under a different name. My, though, was i wrong. After all, a Rendell by any other name is still a Rendell. These books still contain the intensity of subtle plot, great characters, good twists, and all the things i expect from Rendell. It has been months since i've read anything new by Rendell, and now i have discovered this new rich casket of wonders, my future in reading looks very bright indeed.

Rating:
Summary: A Real Twist on a Love Story
Review: I have read most of Ruth Rendell's books written as Ruth Rendell, but this is my first one written as Barbara Vine. I don't really know why I waited this long. Perhaps I didn't want to be disappointed because I love Ms. Rendell's writing so much (especially the Inspector Wexford series). Well, I wasn't disappointed with this book, and intend to read all the others. Although this book is darker than the Ruth Rendell books, it is possible to tell that they are written by Ms. Rendell. She is a wonderful author, and her plotting and characterizations are really good. This book is also a little different because it is a love story when all is said and done, but there is the characteristic Rendell twist at the end of the book. The book is also different because everything in it is narrated, so we read about everything "second-hand" so to speak. But that doesn't kill the tension. I find it strangely kept the tension going tighter and tighter as we read through Tim's narrative. We are front and centre for love, death, fear, superstition and hate. Powerful emotions!

Rating:
Summary: Engrossing
Review: I love Ruth Rendell, I think she is the best current day mystery/thriller writer. I've read most of her books, including the "psychological thrillers", but I've only recently started reading the Barbara Vine books. I literally could not put this book down, and I finished it in one day. I can't remember the last time that was the case. I think it's one of her best books, it just hooks you. It's not fast-paced, but it keeps you guessing, she unfolds the story at just such a pace that you can't stop, you have to know more. I absolutely recommend this book, especially if you're already a Ruth Rendell fan.

Rating:
Summary: Relentlessly Engrossing And Superbly Written
Review: Let me put it to you this way. I lent my sister my copy of this book and even though she is family, even though we are very close, and it is a paperback, I want my book back! You can only own No Night Is Too Long after you have read it. Otherwise, you should pass it along to someone who can appreciate the eternal literary mastery of Barbara Vine, or return it to the rightful owner.

No Night Is Too Long, as all of Barbara Vine's novels, focuses on the horror of unchecked extreme behavioral impulses. Acts committed by people that we may not like much but with whom we can all find some emotional sympathy, some common ground of good intentions.

"No Night Is Too Long" is a wonderful title for a book that takes us to Fairbanks, Alaska. It's a long journey from England, a long cruise from Seattle, a long trip from an obsessed homosexual affair that begins in an English university and ends in an old elegant hotel in Alaska. But nothing in a Barbara Vine novel is ever that uncomplicated. Reading this book, like all of her books, is the next best thing to a long cruise where you confront the possibilities of the unexpected but must remind yourself often that those possibilities are unlikely in your own life. So one cruises along safely, reading this book protected from the unrealities put before you as though they were being viewed under a microscope. Fascinating, disorted, and vaguely familiar. Who can resist looking at anything under such

glorious magnification? Yet, who can look at it for more than a few moments? Barbara Vine compells us to take a very long look and enjoy every creepy, uncomfortable moment.

Someday, Barbara Vine will take her rightful place in the world of English Literature. She transends the genre of mystery writer, over and over again. For now, it appears that only people who truly love the genre seem to be privy to the richness and grandeur of her novels. I would exhort all readers of quality fiction to start with No Night Is Too Long to get to know Barbara Vine and Ruth Rendell. This is no gentle introduction to her disturbing tales of unexpected behavioral horror but it would be a great lead-in to Gallowglass, A Dark Adapted Eye, and A Fatal Inversion.

Rating:
Summary: A Dark, Glittering Gem
Review: So far I have read only three of Barbara Vine's novels. I was dissapointed by THE BRIMSTONE WEDDING and ANNA'S BOOK, but I will keep coming back to Vine/Rendell on the strength of this beauty. A dark, angst-filled, and twisty tale of slippery love. People who give it, people who don't. For these characters, acheiving love is like pushing two ends of the same magnet together...the more they try to be together the more frustrated they get, the more frustrated they get...well, you'll see what happens when they get frustrated.
Actually the big twist in the middle of the book I saw coming a mile away, but I still was swept along in the sheer masterful plotting of it all. Rendell/Vine neatly bridges the gap between gooey pulp and high-brow literary. This one is a flat-out gem.

Rating:
Summary: Probably Rendell's Only Love Story
Review: There is probably no other writer with as cold and bleak a vision as Ruth Rendell. Even in her slightly warmer incarnation as Barbara Vine, her take on human foibles and on matters of love tends to be chilly and steely-eyed. (Some people dislike her for this reason -- not me, I think she's amazing.)

Rendell has said that she created the new "Vine" line to be able to take a more human, personal viewpoint than she did in the Rendell books -- well, perhaps so, although the main character Tim Cornish, from whose viewpoint this is told, is vintage Rendell, i.e., hard to like. Tim is not evil but confused, self-absorbed, befuddled by emotions, weak and fumbling.

That said, this haunting novel stands out among Rendell's/Vine's other superb works -- and that's saying something, as she is probably the finest writer in the mystery/thriller, bar none.

Like her other books, this one features a sinuous plot that keeps springing subtle and believable changes on you, and characters that are just odd enough to be interesting yet still realistic, and throughout, her elegant and poetic writing.

It's also her only real love story. Yes, many of her novels feature the theme of obsessive love -- that's one of her recurring favorites -- but rarely does love do anyone any good in a Rendell or Vine novel. But, without spoiling the ending, let me note that when I finished this novel I was shocked to discover that for the first time, she'd actually written a book where she gave love a chance to succeed. That in itself is remarkable, and the way she pulls it off, even more so.

If you've never read Rendell or Vine, this is a terrific one to start with (personally I don't think the Vines, other than this and "The Brimstone Wedding" ever came up to the Rendell quality). If you're already a fan, well, there's nothing I need to add.

Rating:
Summary: Long On Psychology, Short on Thriller
Review: To those who need an adrenaline rush before page 10, this is not the book for you. My first assessment of "No Night Is Too Long" was that it was monstrously slow starting. Upon reflection, I don't think it could be structured any other way. The story's effect hangs on our thorough understanding of Timothy's point of view contrasted with how others see him. Tim is atrociously self-absorbed yet almost without personal vanity. He is a recreational liar, but never to himself. It takes a good and sufficient time to develop this young man, and if he were not developed, the story would have no meaning. The reader must see beyond Tim's startling beauty. Given the visuality of Ms. Rendell/Vine's prose, it takes a long lead-in for readers to see Tim plain and unadorned. Think of young Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt. I have always been convinced those two would stop traffic whether famous or not, and not one person would be aware (or care) if they were sensitive, caring, or struggling. They would be thinking: "Wow!" This is Tim Cornish.

When Tim meets Dr. Ivo Steadman, (who else but Rupert Everett?) he is certain he must be in love because he has never felt this way before. He has had a few dilatory girl friends that didn't stir him, only occasionally "scratched an itch." So what was this? The shortness of breath? The obsessing for Ivo's presence? This was something startlingly new and different, and it must be love! Tim found it also had a very short duration. As soon as Ivo dropped his Rochester/Heathcliff airs of arrogance and disdain, Tim was quickly out of love and into contempt. Alas, poor Ivo who made more and more frantic and futile efforts to entice and ensnare the errant Tim. I couldn't help but sympathize with Tim at this point. Have you ever had anyone (be it a discarded lover or your great-aunt Sally) shower you with attentions and pleadings of which you wanted no part? It makes monsters of us all. The stage is set.

Ivo more or less forces the reluctant and sulky Tim on a cruise of the shores of Alaska. Tim meets the beauteous Isabel in Juneau while Ivo is off lecturing. And now the story quickly picks up a headlong pace. Ms. Rendell/Vine has us hooked good and proper, and we are in for some mind-boggling surprises. The key to this book is obsession, not romance. The author deftly ties up the loose ribbons and presents us with a nicely wrapped finished package.

Though I don't believe this book is as powerful as "A Dark Adapted Eye," it does demonstrate the author's great versatility and goes way beyond "well developed characterization." You can't help thinking, "there, if not by the grace of God, go I" I would recommend it for when you are in a pondering mood.

Rating:
Summary: Barbara at her Best
Review: Vine titles are the darker side of Rendell's mysteries and this one is typical; the story unfolds slowly and dramatically. The format, consisting in large measure of articles mailed to the speaker-subject of the book, is unusual and deftly handled. Vine/Rendell is in my opinion the best mystery writer alive and one of the best authors in any category. I'm a fan.