Watch That Ends the Night [Paperback]

Hugh MacLennan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1969

George and Catherine Stewart share the worry of Catherine's illness, which could cause her death at any time, and the memory of Jerome Martell, Catherine's first husband and George's closest friend. Martel, a brilliant doctor passionately concerned with social justice, is presumed to have died in a Nazi prison camp. His sudden return to Montreal precipitates the central crisis of this novel. Hugh MacLennan takes the reader into the lives of his three characters and back into the world of Montreal in the thirties, when politics could send an idealist across the world to Spain, France, Auschwitz, Russian, China, and back, finally, to his old home.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The Watch That Ends the Night is a novel of affirmation ... The vanity of human wishes, death itself, are part of the mystery to be loved ... I would not trade MacLennan for a legion of beatniks or a whole flotilla-full of angry young men. Queen's Quarterly --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Born in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Hugh MacLennan (1907-1990) taught at McGill University from 1951 to 1981 and wrote novels and essays that helped define Canadian literature. His novels include Barometer Rising (1941), Two Solitudes (1945), Each Man's Son (

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Signet (April 1, 1969)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451024443
• ISBN-13: 978-0451024442
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

More About the Author

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It was a good book, but slightly over-detailed., May 25, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Watch That Ends the Night (Paperback)

I found this a very good book. Hugh Maclennan described each character very well to the point where i felt that i was part of the characters' lives. It was enjoyable to read what Montreal was like then and compare it to Montreal today, and read about the same streets that i walk on almost every day (I live in Montreal). In all, a good book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book - A must read for Tragically Hip fans, May 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Watch That Ends the Night (Paperback)

Very interesting book. Takes you back to the time when the "in" thing to do was to go off and fight for a noble cause. Contains the piece of the Tragically Hip sound "Courage" in it. A bit difficult to get into but once you do, you're captured.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Montreal in the Thirties, September 4, 2001

By 

JACK WHITE (Montreal, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The watch that ends the night (New press Canadian classics) (Paperback)

This is a very interesting book on two main counts, it describes the political climate amongst the intelligentsia in ther 1930's and it also offers a glimpse of what Montreal was like during the great depression.
Hugh Mclennon was a Montreal author, originally from Nova Scotia whoe was also a distinguished classics teacher teaching in Mcgill University.
The story is basically the relationship between Jerome Martell, a Monreal surgeon and his alter ego. George. Both are in love with the same women Catherine. Catherine is George's childhood friend who eventually marries Jerome then a successful surgeon. Jerome is someone from a modest background who had fought in WW1 and was notably damaged by his experience. He is a somewhat heroic charecter loosely based on Dr. Norman Bethune. At first he is happy with Catherine who is barely clinging to life with a damaged heart. However when Jerome becomes politically active, the relationship deteriorates and he abandons Catherine and their daughter Sally and goes off to fight on the Republican side in thr Spanish Civil War. He eventually disappears and is presumed dead. Catherine then turns to her old friend George and they marry. Jerome reappears twelve years later at the height of the Korean War and Catherine nearly dies of shock when she meets her ex husband.
The stregnth of the book is the descrition of St.Catherine Street, the main Montreal thoroughfare during the thirties with its unemployed crowds shuffling aimlessly. It is also good in the social ferment, in particular between the commuunist and the right wing French Canadians. Mclennon tries to use Jerome as a political everyman showing how devotion to a cause though well intentioned leads only to misery all around. He does this very well. In style the book sometimes reminds me of a Canadian Hemingway with occasional touches of A.J. Cronin. The weakness of the book is the sometimes unconvincing dialogue and the sketchy portraits of the female charecters. In summary this is a very informed and entertaining novel.