In the mouth of madness

Author : Marisha Pessl
Title : Night Film
Published : 30/01/2014
Pages : 624
Format : Paperback
Publisher : Windmill






     On a damp October night the body of beautiful Ashley Cordova is discovered in a Manhattan warehouse. Though her death is ruled a suicide, investigative journalist Scott McGrath suspects otherwise. The last time McGrath got too close to the Cordova dynasty, he lost his marriage and his career. This time he could lose his mind.

     Night film is a book I came to as a recommendation. A friend of mine had just finished the book and was enthralled with it. Marisha Pessl's work is something I am familiar with having read her previous book not to long ago. So reading the description for this one I could not wait to get stuck in to it. This is Soyinka don't do to often as I prefer to give some space between reading books by the same author. But I decided to throw caution to the wind a grabbed a copy with great anticipation.

    The heros of this book are a motley crew. An aging reporter a teenage girl and a guy in his twenties search for the truth behihis friends death. The characters are well fleshed out giving the each a reason to be involved in this story. As we learn they are all broken in their own ways. All in some way hoping for some form of redemption. The author has done an amazing job of getting the people in to your head and heart. They will proberbly stay with me for some time.  Scott McGrath The reporter has an obsession that run deep   to his soul. Always search for the truth in what he perseveres to be the most rational way. She has surrounded her protagonists with people ranging from the strange and bizarre to the down right creepy. Not to mention Stanislas Cordova the director and our main villain if that's what he is. Always seeming to be one step ahead. 

     Passel's books are not for the week of heart. The story's she tells are always long and filled with lots of details and side shoots. But for me this never seems to be a problem. She draws me in and it will take a lot for me to set the book to one side. Usually because I've fallen  asleep in the wee hours of the morning desperately trying to make it through one more chapter.  The worlds which she creates and then plays with seem to have there own internal gravity. Pulling you every closer to the heart of the matter. In night film I found my self starting to question the reality of events. Could these far fetched and creepy situations actually be true in the world of the book. And who at the end of the day was telling the truth. Her writing is solid and dence and I found my self having to keep track of each of the supporting characters story arcs. This is not one to just dip in and out of. I also liked that scattered throughout are pictures,web pages and newspaper clipping all enhancing the readers experience of this book. she does a great job of blending together genres leaving you unsure at any moment which one your in. 

     Over all I'm glad I got to spend time with this book. The story is so complete and self contained. In some ways it reminds me of the early films of dario argento with hints of true detectives season one. And a little bit of the club Dumas.  What the author has created is fascinating a book that is 624 pages long. And will hold on to you for all of them. I'm sure at some point I will come back to this book. And will enjoy it just as much a second time. So if your looking for something On the dark and creepy side you should give this one a go.