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The Night Always Comes: a novel

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I think this book might work better as a book to be read rather than listen to. I felt for Lynette and it was very well written, but it was a depressing book to listen to. That’s not to say Christine Larkin isn’t a strong narrator. She imparts all the necessary emotion. Through the long night in search of money, Lynette meets many people who might seem helpful at first but tend to give in to greed and turn against her. While the epigraph of the book quotes a failed politician, I’d prefer to not dignify him with a nod and instead quote Daniel Craig’s nameless character in Layer Cake: ‘ But never get too greedy.’ Lynette’s actions feel justifiable to some extent, particularly as much of the money was owed her or she is acting in response to violence against her, whereas the other characters seem to act out of greed. Like a spaghetti-western film, those who violate justified morals or break their convictions tend to get their come-uppin’s, and fast. I've long thought Kelly Reichardt would be the perfect director to adapt one of Vlautin's books. I think she might've even been attached to NORTHLINE or LEAN ON PETE at some point. But, man, if ever one of his books was tailor made for her, it's this one. Tonally, THE NIGHT ALWAYS COMES doesn't feel that different than Reichardt's recent masterpiece, FIRST COW, which also concerns itself with goodness and greed. I do not travel in intellectual circles and I do not have the opportunity to speak with individuals who have a great interest in reading. Therefore my personal experience may be skewed. However I am beginning to feel that Willie Vlautin is one of the best modern American writers of fiction that I NEVER hear anyone speak about. I accidentally came upon him when reading a novel by George Pelecanos, “The Man Who Came Uptown”. a lot of it, particularly the scenes between lynette and her mother, reads like a play, their dialogue unfurling in long alternating speeches dredging up all the old grievances of the past; fraught and emotional but also expositionally resonant. this would be a powerhouse drama if anyone ever took it upon themselves to stage this.

Over the course of two days, Lynette goes about collecting debts she's owed from the sketchiest of characters, risking her life to salvage a dream. SIDE A 1. Lynette 2. Broken Heart 3. Driving WIth the Safe 4.Leaving JJ’s 5. Walking To Tell Jake 6.Shirley & Lynette The Night Always Comes” is a taut Modern American Noir Fiction set in the modern American West. The author is Willie Vlautin. This is the second novel of his that I have read, the first being “Northline”. Both of these novels are excellent but dark. The novel under review can be a tough emotional experience. I really like this novel and the author, but this is not a light fun read. It is the kind of novel of which, I hesitate to use the word “enjoy”. It is excellent but intense, at times, very intense. To celebrate the publication of Willy Vlautin’s new novel The Night Always Comes (3rd June), Faber has announced a bonus CD for Rough Trade customers. Between looking after her brother, working two low-paid jobs, and trying to take part-time college classes, Lynette is dangerously tired. Every penny she’s earned for years, she’s put into savings, trying to scrape together enough to take out a mortgage on the house she rents with her mother. Finally becoming a homeowner in their rapidly gentrifying Portland neighbourhood could offer Lynette the kind of freedoms she’s never had. But, when the plan is derailed, Lynette must embark on a desperate odyssey of hope and anguish.

Despite my frustrations, this is an exceptional and gripping read. The author's anger at watching his city shit on the vulnerable is palpable, and for this Northwest resident who has witnessed both her former home of Seattle and its beloved kid sister, Portland, become insufferably sanctimonious, impossibly expensive, and unrecognizably gentrified, it's sadly real.

In The Night Always Comes, Lynette is chasing a dream. An All-American goal. She wants to stop paying rent and buy the house—even with its issues—where she lives. To do this, she needs her mother Doreen’s help to qualify for the loan. And right when the plan is coming together, Doreen changes her mind and spends cash on a new car. “I’m fifty-seven years old and I still buy my clothes at Goodwill. It’s a little late for me to care about building a future,” says Doreen. Vlautin's finest work to date, marrying his typical deep empathy for troubled characters with a robust and dynamic plot reminiscent of classic American noir crime fiction . . . All of this is done with a prose style that sings with simple clarity, like an arrow straight at the reader's heart. Extraordinary stuff.' - Big Issue Amazing . . . Vlautin hit the nail on the head with this. I could not stop thinking about the characters and where the story would take them.’ It's propulsive, moving, dark and full of hope and heart. He's a genius. My book of the year.' - Craig Silvey, Sydney Morning Herald You cease to distinguish between right and wrong. You can no longer see clearly what is good and what is bad."For a lot of years the only way I used to know how to get control of my life was to get mad. It was the only way I knew how to stand up for myself. Whether or not that dream is worth the risk and if it's even the right dream to nurture is the novel's central mystery. The combination of fate and circumstance that hurtle Lynette to the book's wrenching, breathless end will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Published in the US, several European and Asian countries, Vlautin's first book, The Motel Life was well received. It was an editor's choice in the New York Times Book Review and named one of the top 25 books of the year by the Washington Post. I thought of another film a lot, too. TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT by the Dardenne Brothers. In fact, watching that film was probably the last time I cried as hard as I did reading THE NIGHT ALWAYS COMES. Sandra, played by Marion Cotillard, has a lot in common with Vlautin's Lynette. They're both trying to survive. They're both treading water in a world that seems content to let them drown. They're both on an odyssey--Sandra takes two days and one night to try to convince her coworkers to give up their bonuses so she can keep her job, while Lynette takes two days and two nights to scrape dirt out of the darkest corners of her past. Both the film and book are rooted in concepts of compassion and forgiveness. They're both beautiful in their sympathetic portraits of shattered women trying to piece themselves together again. Hard-hitting, fast paced, this is such an enjoyable book even in all its grime and grit. Vlautin has an important message and Lynette’s story is certainly an effective way to deliver it. This is also a novel that shows even when things don’t work out there may still be more paths to take forward, which is a type of ending I quite enjoy. This is a thrill-a-minute ride with a lot of heart. Oh, and for those wondering, my old apartment still stands. The homeowner passed away and it was bought by a group who turned the building into temporary housing for people in need. I’m glad to know the space where so many memories were made is now a space keeping safe people who need it most.Audiobook version and it was excellent. Christine Larkin was the narrator and she was very talented and a good choice for this story! Great job Christine. This is a novel that lives firmly in the melancholia of the city's gentrification, hurtling readers through one woman's desperation to keep her life afloat in a city that's pushing its working class out, one razed lot at a time.' - New York Times Is almost every other character a greedy, selfish, lying scumbag who paints themselves as the victim whenever they can to weasel out of anything they can? Yes. In a neighborhood that once was labeled as a poor urban area, has been changed through gentrification. A very controversial topic with the influx of more affluent residents and businesses changing the facade of the area and displacing many of the ones that were already having a difficult time surviving.

I’m not sure how author/songwriter/bandleader, Willy Vlautin, wants us to perceive his protagonist, Lynette, an early thirties three-job hustler. Courageous? Hapless? Victim? Self-sacrificing? Psychotic? Or a representative of a class that is systematically being ground down by the success of others? As often with Vlautin's writing, it is some of the diversions from the main plot that are highlights.A book trailer which shows some of the locations mentioned in The Night Always Comes can be seen here.

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