Hal Tepfer

Good start; predictable finish. But, the path the author took to get there was full of wit, and also reminded me of how much I have enjoyed so many other cultural items (movies, books, video games).

Wow, what a disappointment. I was looking for something that would have an edge to it, and the Amazon review led me to think this would. It didn't. I found it poorly written and meandering. And, there were too many times to mention that it felt as though the authors were trying to be too cute about the atmosphere. The plot had more holes than a bagel shop, and didn't really come together. The style that they started with (checklist at the start of a chapter) quickly stopped, as though they changed direction, which added yet another layer of confusion to the book. While I can see what they were trying to get at by “updating” Les Liaisons Dangereuse, it failed. No character development, dead ends that were just a waste of time, literary cruelty to dogs, sex scenes that were cut and pasted from some not-great book... I could go on.

So, in sum: I didn't like this too much.

So, I'm late to the party on this one, having known about this amazing book for a while, but not getting to it. Until now. And, I'm glad that I did because it is - as others, including the critics and award-givers have said - an amazing portrait of illness. It is truly amazing to me how Mr. Green is able to inhabit the mind and body of a young woman, a woman who has foresight and consciousness about herself, and yet one who - for all her wisdom and remarks - is still very young. I was most taken by the banter between Hazel and Gus, and it reminded me of what it was like to be a teenager (albeit, perhaps not as clever or wise as either of them).

But, the portrait that Mr. Green has painted of the two of them, their relationship with each other, and Hazel's with her parents is really great. Typing this, I can still hear the characters, and most of them are telling me that I'm being far to trite, but I'll leave the wonderful dialog to Mr. Green.

I only hope that unlike the sad author Van Houten, Mr. Green finds a way to continue with his writing.

Okay, I was a huge fan of Ms. Pessl's first book, and was so excited about the prospect of a new book that I placed my order on January 1, 2011, when I first heard about it. In the time between then and now, I received a large number of emails from amazon.com, telling me that the date was pushed back and pushed back and pushed back (and, occasionally, pushed forward). But, I calmly waited, sure that it would be worth the wait.

And, now, Night Film has come out, and it's only sort of worth the wait. There was much about this book to like, and I know from reading other reviews that others have written about a lot of it.

But, I wanted to talk a bit about what disappointed me. I did love the way the book began, with the pastiche of web sites and the Times article as an introduction about the world that we were about to enter. I was glad, by the way, that I bought a hard copy, since I can only imagine the difficulty in navigating an e-book.

And, from those first pages, I thought we were being set up to dig into the works of Cordova, and that some of what was alluded to in the early dialogue and description would infuse the plot. As I read, and had to abide by most of the characters' needing to “talk to someone” or “get something off their chest”, I let it pass, despite the fact that it did not ring true. I mean, if one of these people were real, a real person, they'd more than likely say nothing or be cryptic or run away or whatever. But, I understand that sometimes such moving parts are necessary to move the plot forward. It's just that I expected more from Ms. Pessl, given how wonderful the first book was.

As the book continued, and the unlikely group came together to investigate (trying not to give too much away, here), I felt as though this was far too random to be true. Sure, there are perhaps other reasons it would happen, and so I assumed that would later be revealed. Still, it was a disappointment that there wasn't more to this.

And, most importantly, for the bulk of the book, aside from some glancing comments about Cordova and his philosophy and life (and, of course, the big ‘set piece' toward the end), there really wasn't much about those “films” that were mentioned initially. I felt this to be a great let down. I felt as though the entire book, a twist on a murder/mystery, could have been set anywhere with any “patriarch” and family, and that the tease about the films wasn't exploited nearly enough.

All in all, while I found the book to be somewhat entertaining, it was a let-down. Which is not to say that I didn't like it; I think that my expectations, both as a result of her first book and the first part of this one, were perhaps too high.

This sometimes frustrating, always entertaining, and ultimately satisfying book is a gem. The author mixes a detective story, full of twists and unexpected events, with a discussion of the writing process itself. The result is a book that is fun to read and one that keeps the reader, even one jaded by other detective stories, riveted. I found the dialogue to be wonderful, and the plotting really was fun. Events that were incompletely described early paid off later as the book reached a surprising and unexpected finish. All the while, the author talked about the process of writing a book: this book. In doing so, he added a layer of complexity to what was already an enjoyable read. To discuss the plot would be to repeat what others and the dust jacket have done. But, I will say that I completely agree with and always have agreed with the author's coda: “[the reader] should look at the jacket and smile a little sadly because he is already missing all the characters.” Yes. Yes. Yes.