Richard B.Wright

Richard B.Wright

   Richard Wright has written fifteen books.  I had already read two of them- "Clara Callan" and "October".  I wasn't terribly fond of either of them, so I am not sure why I thought that I should read his new book.

   "Clara Callan" is about two sisters- Clara and Nora. They were born in a small town in Canada.  Nora moved to New York and became a soap-opera star, while Clara stayed in the small town.  The focus of the book is the bond between sisters.
A librarian that I knew said that "Clara Callan" was her favourite all-time book.  It didn't click with me.

   In "October", James Hillyer traveled from Canada to England to visit his daughter, Susan, who had been diagnosed with cancer.  While there, he encountered Gabriel Fontaine, a man he knew from one summer when the two men were teenagers in Perce, Quebec. Gabriel was dying of cancer and asked James to accompany him to Switzerland where he had arranged to be euthanized.  These events caused James to recollect that summer sixty years in the past, and to ruminate on life and relationships and death.  I liked this book better than "Clara Callan" and found it an enjoyable read.

             And so, the new book: "Nightfall"

Beautiful cover.

   Goodreads calls this 'a love story for the elderly'.  Oh, yes, that's why I decided to read it!

   Well, Richard Wright picked up the story of James Hillyer when he was 76.  There were passages repeated from "October" to show how James had met Odette one summer when they were 14.  

   In this book, James' daughter has died and James is despondent.  Then he remembered Odette and searched for her.  So, yes it is a love story.  But I did not find it nearly as fascinating as this blurb in Goodreads describing it: 

"Nightfall skillfully captures the way in which our past is ever-present in our minds as we grow older, casting its spell of lost loves and the innocent joys of youth over the realities of aging and death. The novel is skillfully grounded in observation, propelled by unforgettable characters, and filled with wisdom about young love and old love.  Drawing on the author's profound understanding of the intimate bonds between men and women, Nightfall is classic Richard B. Wright".

Wouldn't that write-up convince you to read the book?