Customer Reviews

Night Crossing (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

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This is the first work I have read by Don J. Snyder. "Night Crossing", has an inviting cover, with an interior that does not match. I understand that the notes inside the jacket are meant to interest a reader enough to proceed with the book, these notes tell the reader more than half the story, and the minority of the tale that remains is of little interest.

The novel begins with a promising look into plans of terrorists that are unusual as well as murderous. The plans are an example of any ends justifying the means. Some may find the plan ultimately acceptable; many readers will find this the most, and only enjoyable part of the book. The story begins with all the elements of a thriller, and then changes directions and locale, in a manner that can only be called jarring.

This may be a case of a male writer attempting to document extremely distressing circumstances for his female character. Some writers can write of either gender with skill, this is not the case with Mr. Snyder, at least in this book. I found the woman's behavior unbelievable when she encounters her first shock. I found the international trip, and descriptions of a visit to a lingerie shop, very funny, and that was absolutely not what the reader should be feeling. The writer then places Nora in a terribly humiliating situation that seemed to be gratuitous.

When Nora makes a decision to flee her home to a country that places a high value on Christian Religion, with the idea of solving a problem she has, any sense of a plot and a reasonable story come to an end. The circumstances she volunteers for, goes along with, or demands to be included in, are not credible. The tale dissolves into a series of events Nora has no ability to deal with, despite the writer forcing her through the tale.

I really did enjoy the start of the book, and had the story retained the elements of its introductory phase, "Night Crossing", could have been a good book. Unfortunately it slips into cliché, and then slides farther into events that require a suspension of disbelief that was beyond me. There were also numerous events that popped up, generally involving water, which read as though dropped into the tale as opposed to supporting it.

His other books may be tremendous, however, "Night Crossing", cannot be one of his better works.

I have little in common with the main character in this novel, Nora, but I feel connected to her throughout this story. It is not a thriller in the Tom Clancy sense (thank God) but more in a Joan Didion kind of way. The observations made about war in Ireland (the politics of as well as the horror) are moving. The questions Nora asks herself you'll ask yourself as well. I think this book is particularly well written, one of my recent favorites, and I encourage readers to try it. It is a relatively quick read but it stays with the reader... This is the kind of book that you carry with you in your mind for quite some time.

Although I found it hard to believe that an American woman would get caught up in this terrorist scenario and go through the ordeal that she did, I have read enough thrillers and enough Irish history to make it believable enough. I liked Snyder's style of writing, and the brevity of it made it a faster read and a definite page turner. I especially liked Nora's reflections on life, especially those things that seem to stay with you forever, whereby you can remember every detail of the place, the day, the events. It makes you reflect on your own life and purpose.

Night Crossing follows a woman who finds herself in the middle of a terrorist attack in Ireland. The story is fairly interesting, but the writing in my opinion is not that great. The story line sounds interesting, but the way Snyder writes seems to cut down on the action. I would not really recommend this book.