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Last Night in Montreal
May. 24th, 2019 10:09 amHaving reread Station Elevent recently, I decided to try some of Emily St John Mandel's other books and started with her debut, Last Night in Montreal. It's a fragmented, lyrical tale about the search for connection and the difficulties of maintaining relationships. It follows the story of Lilia, abducted by her own father at the age of seven and doomed to a life of endless travelling, unable to cultivate the ability to stay.
I found the story instantly engaging because of the beautiful mundane detail, interspersed wtih fascinating droplets of tantalising mystery. There's an internal awareness of it as a story that may be unreliable on multiple levels, due to the nature of memory and the keeping of secrets. I liked this aspect, as well as the intricate interweaving of sometimes tenuous connections that link the characters together.
There are perhaps too many point-of-view characters for such a slim novel, and the order of the fragments doesn't always work in revealing details or the use of unnecessary repetition of information. However, I loved the pervasive sense of suspension that sets in towards the end - of time, of action and of disbelief. All the main characters get stuck in endless loops of their own making, unable for a time to break free or move forwards.
I was impressed that the novel reaches a satisfying conclusion without going for the obvious - and incorrect - ending. It was sad and beautiful, with the sense of the characters' lives continuing after the last page, but in a way that allowed the main issues to be resolved. Very lovely stuff.
I found the story instantly engaging because of the beautiful mundane detail, interspersed wtih fascinating droplets of tantalising mystery. There's an internal awareness of it as a story that may be unreliable on multiple levels, due to the nature of memory and the keeping of secrets. I liked this aspect, as well as the intricate interweaving of sometimes tenuous connections that link the characters together.
There are perhaps too many point-of-view characters for such a slim novel, and the order of the fragments doesn't always work in revealing details or the use of unnecessary repetition of information. However, I loved the pervasive sense of suspension that sets in towards the end - of time, of action and of disbelief. All the main characters get stuck in endless loops of their own making, unable for a time to break free or move forwards.
I was impressed that the novel reaches a satisfying conclusion without going for the obvious - and incorrect - ending. It was sad and beautiful, with the sense of the characters' lives continuing after the last page, but in a way that allowed the main issues to be resolved. Very lovely stuff.
