In the strange energy of these insomniac nights, I have begun to write as consolation. To make a story that will put an end to reliving flash fragments, to remembering only the most troubling details
Meggie is a conventional young woman, settled into a humdrum job, spending much of her time with her boyfriend, but she’s long yearned to be a braver, warmer, more original version of herself. When the new member of her team sits opposite her at work, she’s first intrigued then swiftly in the grips of a gigantic crush. Sabine is stylish and quickly popular, grabbing life by the lapels in the way that Meggie longs to do. When she abruptly disappears, Meggie tracks her down to another branch of their firm where she’s working the nightshift and sets about getting a transfer using her studies as an excuse. The staff of the nightshift are very different: a bunch of disparate misfits who take care of each other, heading off to the pub after their shift ends for an early morning drink. Meggie works hard to become Sabine’s friend, constantly on the brink of taking their relationship further, encouraged by Sabine’s drunken kisses, always in front of an audience. As Meggie becomes increasingly nocturnal her behaviour becomes wilder until one night, things take a dangerous turn and Sabine slips away.
It wasn’t just about working with Sabine; it was about doing what she had done. Inverting the notion of living by day seemed subversive. She’s slipped stream, and invited me to do the same
As regular readers will know, I’ve a healthy scepticism for hype but Ladner’s tale of one woman’s seduction by another into an entirely different way of life lived up to that promising tweet. She narrates her novel through Meggie, capturing her unravelling through sleep deprivation to a stage where an already impaired judgement results in risky, downright destructive behaviour. The madness of extreme obsession, an obsession so intense Meggie wants to become Sabine, is uncomfortably well done as is Sabine’s shapeshifting personality. The disorienting effects and camaraderie of the nightshift, which attracts eccentrics already outside of mainstream society, is vividly conveyed. It’s a riveting novel, neatly executed with a smartly fitting ending. I may have to dust off that old cliché ‘unputdownable’ for this one. Very much looking forward to reading what Ladner comes up with next.
Picador: London 9781529010381 256 pages Hardback
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Sounds interesting! Great review 🙂
Thank you, Louise. Highly recommend this one.
I’d already spotted this one at Bookish Chat – glad you concur, because I’ve ordered it!
Excellent news, Annabel. I’ll be amazed if you;re not impressed!
I’ve been hearing good things about this one this week, sounds really good!
It’s excellent, Cathy. Both chilling and immersive.
The relationships in this definitely sound intense and uncomfortable. A very compelling, atmospheric story by the sounds of it.
It is. I’ve been pleased to see it getting a lot of attention this week, at least in my Twitter timeline.
This sounds like a super intense and engrossing read.
It is, indeed. Hopes were high for this one and they were actually surpassed.
Your tease of this one a few weeks ago led me to put it on the TBR so I’m glad to hear it lived up to the hype! Not sure when I’ll get to it, but hopefully soon…
Delighted to hear that! I hope it works for you, too.
That cover, with its Rear Window vibes, and the title (which also graces a Stephen King collection of stories and a novel by a little-known Canadian writer about a group of workers in a public building downtown Toronto who work the, you guessed it, nightshift)! And it does sound tremendously engaging.
The Toronto novel sounds interesting. This one gives a real flavour of the disorientation of working the nightshift and the way in which it excludes workers from daytime society. Very compelling.
Great review! This sounds fascinating. I feel like I’ve read a few books recently about seductive friendships between women but this intrigues me with the added exploration of sleep deprivation and night living.
Thank you! Ladner captured that disorientation both of sleep deprivation and living life so differently to daytime workers so vividly. Hope you enjoy it if you decide to read it.
This sounds irresistible. The nightshift is something I would never want to work, which makes me all the more curious about the people who do (either because they want to or because they have to).
Not something I’d want to do, either, Naomi. It does offer a fascinating insight into a different way of living.