Day for Night

by Frederick Reiken

Book Overview

"If you look hard enough into the history of anything, you will discover things that seem to be connected but are not." So claims a character in Frederick Reiken's wonderful, surprising novel, which seems in fact to be determined to prove just the opposite. How else to explain the threads that link a middle-aged woman on vacation in Florida with a rock and roll singer visiting her comatose brother in Utah, where he's been transported after a motorcycle...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316077577
• ISBN13: 9780316077576
• Release Date: April 2011
• Publisher: Back Bay Books
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.4" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Exalting, compelling, a must-read.

The cover of the book, of a carousel submerged into an ocean, the tip visible, is a stunning metaphor of the book itself, as well as a literal scene in one of the book's early chapters. It represents our continuing, revolving narratives, partly hidden from our consciousness, the ocean a repository of life and death, a connection to all. The horse is totemic, an aid to self-discovery and understanding of our past, as well as glimpses into our future. The title is undoubtedly taken from Francois Truffaut's superb movie, whose theme is that movies are more important than life for those that make them. In the book's context, it is the narratives that make up our lives. And what are narratives but the integration of the deepest memories that have broken up like shards and scattered, or hidden in our deepest and repressed recesses? Our narratives don't exist in isolation; the stories travel, the voices make up our universal experiences and nourish our shared humanity. We are a latticework of voices. Reiken's novel consists of ten narratives. In each one, a character is brought into focus, their individual story highlighted. Most characters reappear in several of the other narratives, sometimes in the background, or in counterpoint, or even as a parallel. The core story underpinning all of the narratives is a story of survival during the Holocaust. Five hundred Polish-Jewish men in Soviet-occupied Lithuania were promised jobs as intellectuals, as archivists. When they assembled, they were killed. The story has taken on a fable-like history, the fable being that two of the men have survived. These two men are related to the present-day narrators in some way, either directly or through six degrees (or less!) of separation. Reiken writes with such a natural ease that the connecting lip into deeper consciousness is fairly imperceptible. You start out on the surface of things and spool almost dreamily, tranquilly into penetrating waters. The construct is Jungian and his concept of the collective unconscious is illustrated through the psyches of the narrators and their overlapping stories. The motifs/symbolism is ripe and transcendent. The Shadow self (which Jung describes as the repressed/suppressed aspects of the conscious self that often appears in dreams as a dark figure) is particularly expressed and explored by different characters, but is centered on Beverly, whose father was one of the five hundred men "lost." It is this Shadow self that stalks her and forces her narrative to emerge more fully into the open and connect with other narrators. This novel is unputdownable. It winds around the reader so effortlessly and pulls you down, down, down into the heart of mercy, of kindness, of compassion. Secrets and guilt are often toxins that prevent us from knowing ourselves and understanding our lives fully, and divide us from each other. How do we begin to love, and how do we forgive? All of us with our separate narratives are part of a

Reiken's Elegant Prose Will Embrace You.

`Maybe it's only trick of language, but the word life or death alone could not be understood without awareness of the other. It is the same for light and dark, for day and night, for good and evil.' [Page 196] I believe that this book is meant to be read by mature individuals - those very people who have experienced life, questioned it, coped with adversity, and survived. If you are a young person, and by this I am referring to someone, perhaps, in his or her twenties or thirties, do read this book. However, please keep it to be read again later in life. While reading `Day for Night, I experienced a mysterious and magical travel in time. Suddenly, I was in my paternal grandmother's kitchen. She was speaking to me in her native language, as she usually did. However, she was not saying very much for she seldom did. Everything was a mystery, and somehow, this was okay with me. I think that my childhood prepared me to understand this book. Readers, most likely, will seek answers to the puzzles presented in `Day for Night.' I read, and I read. Then, I sobbed. I knew the answers would come to me quietly, perhaps, suddenly. Most of my questions were answered. I do believe that if anyone is able to understand how millions of innocent people - Jewish people - could be corralled, sent to concentration camps and systematically be killed, then there are no mysteries. In `Day for Night,' the reader is informed that in 1941 five hundred Jewish [male] intellectuals are gathered together, in Kovno, thinking one thing. They may escape mass execution. Instead, they are slaughtered leaving behind families. Again, if a reader is fully able to comprehend this history, then there are no mysteries. `Day for Night' is a boldly ambitious book written with a particular richness I have never before experienced. It contains undeniably beautiful language, as well as a passion for history and for humanity. I found this to be a profoundly emotional book --one which has the capacity to dazzle and bewitch a reader. The narrative flows like the tide with its waves cresting and then, unexpectedly, there is a temporary sense of tranquility. There are many characters in `Day for Night.' Each of his/her stories is amazing. If you read carefully, you will find many of their connections. I absolutely loved reading about Beverly and Miriam. However, I also loved reading about Max and Doris and so many others. `Day for Night,' in its depth and breadth surpassed any book [in this genre] that I have ever read. In many respects, it is a peerless novel, and I am certain that I will be a better reader for having read this. I thank Mr. Frederick Reiken for his understanding, his willingness to share his magical qualities. This is a meditative novel -- be prepared to have a spell cast upon you. This is beyond a 5 star rating.

Coincidences and Connections

Take a woman vacationing in Florida ... and her wildlife guide there ... and his band's female lead singer ... and her comatose brother -- and when you finally look up you'll discover you've followed Frederick Reiken's tangent-filled narrative nearly 100 pages into his terrific third novel. And you haven't yet gotten to a half-dozen other interesting characters. DAY FOR NIGHT is a literary mystery of coincidences and connections. Its ten chapters (each nearly a short story) are told from different points of view, exploring characters' deep backstories and linking them into a growing story in progress. It calls to mind the TV series Lost and the film Crash -- the chains of events that lead people to meet and interact and discover amazing things. I liked pulling back and considering how the stories were building and how they might all be brought together. And I liked being on each page -- traveling around the USA and to Poland and especially Israel with characters I cared about; spending time in nature and with animals; and exploring an aspect of the Holocaust that I'd not previously encountered. Highly recommended. (Review based on an advance reading copy provided by the publisher.)

What Goes Around ..Must Come Around

August of 1941 the period of time when worlds were up side down. Calamitous action plays out in Lithuania, known now as The Holocaust. Many lives were in disarray. From the Holocaust through time each chapter is a different story that at first you wonder if any of the characters will ever begin to lead into any core story . Intertwined in an enthralling adventure as each chapter opens doors that lead to parts of a story that are like mini parts of a whole..intertwines like a vine, each leaf opens drama of dreams,the occult,esoteric knowledge of mysticism, philosophy and all chapters rising higher to a meeting that opens like a flower to display all of the petal of a beautiful tale. All parts are one. Frederick Reiken has managed to bring many separate parts, seemly unrelated lives that are all connected. It is a book that opens your heart and captures your feelings. A strong story of generations of people and ages apart in location and status that are all one story that are tied to each. Back and forth from now and then, here and now ... unconnected but very much connected. Each individual story becomes a mystery and a story in a story. Mystery and sadness, believable in every way. The characters are so very intense with their own life and that they merge slowly with direction to a conclusion that will surprise and delight you. I found that when I had finished this particular book, I realized it was a one of a kind. I was left with a feeling of a powerful tale that will linger for time. If, I could give more than 5 stars I would give this novel 5 more. I did not go into the names of characters and descriptions, as the Editors reviews always are more active and lively than mine. However, I truly hope that this reviewer has allowed her opinions to want you to open the pages and begin a journey that starts on one page only to return to the first page. May you walk in the moonlight till the wind sets you free. Sierra

An amazing reading experience

Well into Day for Night: A Novel is found a very telling passage: "All we can know is that the story must continue. We know that something will be narrated in the paragraphs that remain. So, we read these paragraphs. The tale becomes whole, and suddenly it is as if we have been staring at a hologram. The entire tale has been there all along." It is this passage that really seems to capture my feelings and explain so well why I enjoyed reading this incredible book so much. Day for Night: A Novel is truly an amazing reading experience, one with great reach as well as depth, which moves across time and space to be felt on several levels. Frederick Reiken is a brilliant storyteller who speaks with authority on such a wide variety of subjects. I found the great range of his details fascinating and believable, his characters well developed and engaging, the narratives absorbing and compelling.Day for Night: A Novel is cleverly designed, each chapter representing a different story which are intertwined in an enthralling drama of dreams, mysticism, philosophy, psychology, occult. The core of the story is a calamitous event which happened during the Holocaust in Lithuania during August of 1941. This grave event is the great confluence of resultant events which flow in many directions, back and forth between time, space and seemingly unconnected people. From this conflux the individual stories spin and become a spellbinding reading experience of mystery and of puzzle-building, of revelation and of knowing. Day for Night: A Novel is a powerful and unforgettable tale with much to say. It is sure to produce for the reader an intense and lasting effect. I enthusiastically applaud the author and give my 5 stars.