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  • After finishing Sarah Waters' The Night Watch, I immediately went out to buy all her previous works. The Night Watch showcased the talents of Waters, putting her in the same league as Ian McEwan and David Mitchell.

    The Night Watch is a story revolving around 4 persons in wartime England, name ... Continue

    After finishing Sarah Waters' The Night Watch, I immediately went out to buy all her previous works. The Night Watch showcased the talents of Waters, putting her in the same league as Ian McEwan and David Mitchell.

    The Night Watch is a story revolving around 4 persons in wartime England, namely Kay, Helen, Viv and Duncan. What makes the book so special is the structure of the story: it started in 1947 (the end of the plot) and ended in 1941 (the beginning of the plot).

    The relationships among the 4 protagonists were complicated. As the story was narrated backwards, you would solve many of the mysteries that you have read earlier on as you proceed along. It's a really fascinating and enjoyable experience.

    Meticulously researched, The Night Watch also gave a vivid and disturbing account of the bombing of London during WWII. Waters' writing is fluid and poetic. Among the 6 novels shortlisted for the 2006 Man Booker Prize, this is my favourite. It's a pity that it finally lost to The Inheritance of Loss.

    Superb and highly recommended.

    P.S. Waters' works are of the homosexual genre. Some of the scenes in the book are quite explicit. Not for those who have got an issue with gay/lesbian writing.

    

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• ― Tracy W said on Mar 15, 2008 about the Paperback edition| Add your feedback

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  • A departure from her earlier novels, because this story takes place during the Second World War and not in Victorian times.
    It is a gripping tale of lesbian love - anguish, jealousy - in a time of uncertainty.

    

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• ― Linda Wilke said on May 7, 2007 about the Paperback edition| Add your feedback

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  • 莎拉華特斯《夜巡者》Night Watch

  • 莎拉華特斯今年跟英國布克獎得主印度裔女作家Kiran Desai的Inheritance of Loss一起入圍的小說，莎拉華特斯的前三部小說都是設定在維多利 亞時代的倫敦，比狄更斯小說更污穢陰暗的巷角的奇情野艷故事，莎拉 華特斯雖然也拿過橘子獎，上一本小說也入圍過布克獎，但她的小說並 不難讀，她本身是維多利亞文學博士出身，該時代的掌故極熟，描繪起 那年代的豪門屋帷內的頹唐縱慾、黑暗巷道內的骯髒萎縮非常精采，莎 拉華特斯又大量引用類型小說擅長的曲折劇情，她的書高距排行榜不是 罕見的事。

    在第四本小說《夜巡者》Night Watch中，她把年代移到了第二次世界大戰前後的倫敦，整本小說 ... Continue

    莎拉華特斯今年跟英國布克獎得主印度裔女作家Kiran Desai的Inheritance of Loss一起入圍的小說，莎拉華特斯的前三部小說都是設定在維多 利亞時代的倫敦，比狄更斯小說更污穢陰暗的巷角的奇情野艷故事， 莎拉華特斯雖然也拿過橘子獎，上一本小說也入圍過布克獎，但她的 小說並不難讀，她本身是維多利亞文學博士出身，該時代的掌故極熟 ，描繪起那年代的豪門屋帷內的頹唐縱慾、黑暗巷道內的骯髒萎縮非 常精采，莎拉華特斯又大量引用類型小說擅長的曲折劇情，她的書高 距排行榜不是罕見的事。

    在第四本小說《夜巡者》Night Watch中，她把年代移到了第二次世界大戰前後的倫敦，整本小 說以倒述的方式，從戰後蕭條的1947年開始，回述至戰事如火如 荼的1944年，再以充滿緊張空氣的1941年告終。個人以為倒 敘是一個吃力不討好的敘事手法，讀者既已知道故事的結局，要繼續 讓他們在接下來的幾百頁繼續熱心關切主角的命運是很困難的事，又 或者說，使用這種敘事法的小說，已經預先為自己籠罩上了一份緬懷 過去的哀愁氣氛；莎拉華特斯在這裡便是如此。1947年讀者初次 認識每個角色時，她們一個個都好像那個戰後蕭條的城市一樣，都蒙 上了一層灰樸樸的重紗：整日著西裝如行尸走肉遊蕩在戲院街頭的凱 、在一段已食之無味逐漸衰亡的感情中仍緊抓著戀人的海倫、陷在一 段沒有未來的婚外戀情的薇、跟甫從牢裡出來，對世界早已陌生充滿 懼怕的鄧肯。

    但1947這段，幾乎整整一百頁都只在介紹描繪她的每個角色，沒 什麼進展，或者說每個角色都卡在一灘遲滯的死水中，沒有目的、沒 有希望。真正的故事，要到 1944年，才突然鮮活起來。1944年的倫敦，被德軍飛彈轟炸 不休，這時候的凱，不萎靡不行尸走肉，每個夜晚開著救護車穿梭在 被砲彈轟炸的倫敦；海倫這時仍被凱眷寵著，並遇見了曾經跟凱在一 起，之後卻將成為她戀人的作家；薇跟軍官情人的戀事跟戰事一樣如 火如荼；鄧肯在獄中，寂寞的咀嚼著那個令他抱憾終身的秘密…

    戰爭當然是殘酷的，但是很不可思議的，戰爭卻也給了莎拉華特斯筆 下的女人們不可遇的機會；因為戰爭，因為青壯男士都已從軍，所以 凱可以從事女人平常不可能接近的「男性」救援工作；因為戰爭，人 們不再有時間餘裕去拿著道德放大鏡去檢視每個人的言行舉止，女人 著短髮褲裝，跟另一個女人住在一起，並不如平時那樣地招人側目； 因為戰爭，或者所有人明天都將在一場轟炸中死去，薇於是可以不去 想著戀人的妻兒，彷彿世界只剩下兩人一樣，軍人請假不易，他們偷 著時日，在破敗的飯店裡幽會，那情景，讓我有點想起《愛情的盡頭 》或是《盲眼刺客》…

    整本書最動人的地方，莫過於在某個子夜，海倫跟即將成為她戀人的 茱莉，穿過在另一場air raid中，又被砲彈轟炸至星辰都近乎黯淡的倫敦：地下道，車站 ，河域旁的走道，鐘樓，教堂，展開一場充滿魔幻氛維的幽會，兩人 所到之處，幾乎都是斷壁殘桓，戰鬥機轟炸下的倫敦時而震耳欲聾， 時又靜如死寂，這幾乎要被戰爭給炸的灰飛湮滅的倫敦，竟奇特地成 了一段隱密戀情的溫床。

    這本書其實是莎拉華特斯至今野心最大，也最嚴肅的一部小說，不再 用前幾部維多利亞奇情、不再用戲劇化的情節、艷麗的故事來寫一個 在歷史隧道另一端的遙遠世界，二次大戰的倫敦，是一個有許多照片 文獻記載，多少仍真切有實體而歷歷在目的世界，講到的女性議題也 比較逼近真實、嚴肅、悲劇，但從某方面來說，這也是莎拉華特斯最 失敗的一本小說，坦白說就是我不認為莎拉華特斯有那個功力支撐起 這麼悲壯的戰爭史詩悲劇，以致於她在用倒述的這個敘事方法上，幾 乎是接近失敗的，先熬過蒼白無味的第一部1947年，好不容易第 二部1944有些動魄的劇情，到最後一段1941年，講幾個主角 怎麼認識等等，就整個都掉下去了，我知道了後面，知道了中間，最 前面這段絲毫不讓我感到nostalgia、哀傷、預知事記的無 能為力無奈等，莎拉華特斯第一次寫男性角色，也稍嫌能力不足，以 致於鄧肯的故事線成了四個人中最弱的一環。

    關於倒述的文本，要能夠蕩氣迴腸，我以為多少要有比較豐富的纹路 、較多的層次去供人玩味，(不包括在敘事上作過多切割前後錯置花 招的文本諸如《記憶拼圖》、《靈魂的重量》)，《王牌冤家》是一 絕，擺放進去的是記憶，隨著記憶推衍/回溯而形成的對一個人一件 事完全迴異的印象跟認知；《疑雲殺機》也是另外一個用倒述用得非 常好的例子，(我去年最愛的電影之一，個人認為這部片更勝《無法 無天》，更加內斂值得反覆玩味)，這部片是由句部認知而造成的刻 板印象，再經不斷地透露其他片面的印象，在逐漸完成全景的過程中 ，來添補修正記憶中的印象。

    當然這些我比較喜歡的幾個例證都不是很直線或很單純地倒述，不過 如果同樣使用莎拉華特斯這樣簡單的Z>Y>X的敘事 方法，交給也常寫回憶、緬懷往日的石黑一雄，絕對能夠達到該有的 效果，石黑一雄一定會舉重若輕的穿過不同年月，也不特別有什麼戲 劇化暴烈的情節，然後到終章時突然一記悶棍，狠狠地敲你一記，力 道十足的餘韻繞樑三日而未休..

    **********************
    ps1 應該不會有人把這本書跟俄國的爆米花電影《決戰夜》搞混吧?不過 還是特別註明一下
    ps2 莎拉華特斯的前三部小說小知堂有出版中文版，我沒看過不知道翻的 怎麼樣，但是光看封面設計覺得頗糟的，尤其是Tipping the Velvet，這個封面會不會太少女漫畫言情小說了一點阿...
    http://www.books.com.tw/exep/prod/booksfile.php...

    

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• ― ari (freeradic) said on Jan 30, 2007 | Add your feedback

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  • I did quite enjoy this. It started very slowly, the way the story was written she took excerpts from people's lives going backwards in time, 1947, 1943 and then 1941. So it started with people being miserable and then slowly discovering why. Overall it still felt a bit too modern and not really writ ... Continue

    I did quite enjoy this. It started very slowly, the way the story was written she took excerpts from people's lives going backwards in time, 1947, 1943 and then 1941. So it started with people being miserable and then slowly discovering why. Overall it still felt a bit too modern and not really written in the time, in particular the way people talked and acted.

    While I enjoyed the characterisation I did feel that most of the characters were a little pathetic or annoying. The younger brother in jail in particular felt like a waste. But there were some rather brilliant scenes. The two women walking through the Holborn to the City in the blackout really stood out. There was definitely some interesting and intense things in this book though overall I felt it was lacking. I think this is largely my problem with historical fiction in general, particularly an era which is written about already by people who were there. But it seems to make much more sense to read books by people from that time than people imagining what that time was like, no matter how extensive their research. The historian in me just always prefers the primary literature.

    Having said that I will probably pick up her other novels as I come across them in second hand book shops as I do like books about lesbians.

    

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• ― Robot-mel said on Aug 25, 2009 | Add your feedback

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  • I have to say that I love Sarah Waters... Tipping the Velvet is one of my favourite books of all times and Fingersmith is just...perfect. Given this, I was unable to stop and let this overwhelming admiration drain out before approaching another of Water's book. I approached the book not as one per s ... Continue

    I have to say that I love Sarah Waters... Tipping the Velvet is one of my favourite books of all times and Fingersmith is just...perfect. Given this, I was unable to stop and let this overwhelming admiration drain out before approaching another of Water's book. I approached the book not as one per se but as one within a brilliant saga: the possibility of being disappointed were exceptionally high. And I felt a bit let down as it is not as thrilling as the previous two. It convey a more subtle set of emotions that slowly but steadily grow into you. Her prose though is still amazing: she can convey the smells the lights and the horror of London within war time. This is not only the result of her fantastic way of writing but also of her detailed and accurate research that, at the end of the book she, so generously acknowledge...
    title in Italian: Turno di Notte

    

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• ― Marina (bibliomari) said on Jul 6, 2009 | Add your feedback

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  • "...whenyou were well, you never thought about being well, you could only really feel what it was like to be healthy for about a minute, when you stopped being sick. But when you were sick, it made you into a stranger, a foreigner in your own land. Everything that was simple and ordinary to everyone ... Continue

    "...whenyou were well, you never thought about being well, you could only really feel what it was like to be healthy for about a minute, when you stopped being sick. But when you were sick, it made you into a stranger, a foreigner in your own land. Everything that was simple and ordinary to everyone else became like an enemy to you. Your own body became like an enemy to you, plotting and scheming against you and setting traps..."

    

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• ― Amusaur83 said on Jul 4, 2008 about the Paperback edition| Add your feedback

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