Walking Into the Night

by Olaf Olafsson

Book Overview

As butler to William Randolph Hearst at San Simeon castle, Christian Benediktsson lives quietly, almost invisibly. He completes his tasks efficiently and with aplomb, catering to the whims of the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375422544
• ISBN13: 9780375422546
• Release Date: October 2003
• Publisher: Pantheon Books
• Length: 265 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.9" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

The Bookschlepper Recommends

Since reading the author's brilliant The Journey Home, I've wanted to read more from him; this was no disappointment. Again we have an unapologetic person examining long-ago decisions. Christian is not a likeable man; he has left his wife and children in Iceland and come to the US for the love of an exotic dancer, an equally unlikeable character. Left alone, he finds his solace at San Simeon, running the estate of another unlikeable character: William Randolph Hearst. With no one around to win Ms/Mr Congeniality, Olafsson pins his story on connecting the threads between past and present while juxtaposing two men of similar self-interest, whether they are building a business, jettisoning a family, or blind to all but a woman. Of course, if one has money, one is merely eccentric; without funds, one is an outcast.

A powerful achievement

Kristjan Benediktsson left Iceland and came to America during the Great War. In 1921, after living some time in New York and working as a waiter at the Waldorf-Astoria, he met the enormously wealthy press magnate William Randolph Hearst who offered him the position of butler at his extravagant castle in San Simeon, California. Although Heart is still married to his wife who lives on the East Coast with their five sons, he shares his life with Miss Davies, an ageing, depressed and alcoholic movie star. As Kristjan undertakes to write numerous and never to be sent letters to his wife Elisabet in Iceland, the reader slowly discovers the man's tragic destiny. The contents of the letters partly explain the circumstances which lead Kristjan to marry Elisabet, to save her father's business and then to abandon both his shipping company and his family to flee to New York. What were his reasons? What did he seek in America and did he find what he was looking for? Why could Elisabet never find Kristjan despite her pathetic journey to New York with two of their four children? Mr Olafsson masterfully depicts a desperate character who can never face the members of his family again because of the choices he made earlier in his life. It is interesting to compare "Walking Into The Night" with Kazuo Ishiguro's "The Remains Of The Day" because, although both novels convey a different atmosphere, they both show that certain vital decisions we take in our lives are irrevocable.

captivating

I loved it from the first sentence but it seemed oddly familiar until I realized that for me it felt much like reading "The English Patient" - a man reflecting on a lost lover and recounting events leading up to catastrophe in a manner that builds suspense and renders every detail of loss and betrayal with painful clarity. There was even a similar obsession with the hollow in a lover's neck. Among its many outstanding qualities was its ability to pack such emotional intensity into austere language and quick scenes (a once-successful businessman who now waits tables at the hotel where he was a regular guest and doesn't care who was asking for him because there's no one he wants to see). I look forward to reading it again soon.

Not always easy, but always mesmerizing

Christian Benediktson, the butler of William Randolph Hearst at his castle in San Simeon, is a man of mystery. He's quiet, unassuming, and intensely private, revealing himself to readers thru bits and pieces revealed in a series of letters to the wife he abandoned years ago. These letters accumulate in his desk drawer at the Hearst home. There are other chapters, some told in 1st person, some told in omniscient 3rd person, a few in the point of view of other characters, that round out the story of Christian's complicated past lives in Iceland and New York. It is frequently difficult for readers, at the beginning of some of these chapters to tell exactly who is speaking and what point in time is being related. While this is initially confusing, it adds, ultimately, to the mesmerizing, dream-like quality that allows readers to feel they are being carried along, floated along, on the sad, guilt-ridden narrative. Very loosely based (via a series of journals and letters that came into the author's possession) on Hearst's real-life butler, the story is peopled with real people and narrates real events in their lives, all seen thru the remorseful eyes of the butler.Excellent, excellent, excellent...

IT MAKES YOU WONDER......GREAT BOOK

"Such a long time ago," he repeated to himself in the quiet of the evening and chose to leave it all at that, rather than acknowledge how many years it had been. He gripped the balcony rail with both hands, leaned forward then, straightened up and went inside.The pale moon had risen above the ragged mountains."Which man would abandon his lovely wife and four children in Iceland to travel to America without a cold shoulder or quarrel?And which man having left his homeland will start a new affair with an American-Swede actress, treat her shoddily for no real reason except for the fact that he didn't give a hang about anyone but himself? That person is none other than Christian Benediktsson, the main character of this novel.After leaving his family in Iceland, Christian Benediktsson becomes involved in a tragic affair in New York with Klara an actress. As the relationship comes to an end, Christian's funds begin to dwindle, forcing him to take on small jobs, waiting tables and whatever else. He is waiting tables at a big hotel when he is noted by William Randolph Hearst for his competence and attentiveness. He offers him a job which he readily accepts leaving New York for California to become butler to Hearst and Marion Davis, his good friend.He enjoys his years working at San Simeon, the massive and lavish estate in California where Hearst entertains celebrities and politicians regularly. He is Hearst's second man and in charge of all activities at San Simeon, however large or small. Nothing can happen without Christain's involvement and he is well respected in the circles that flaunt this wealthy dwelling place.But Christian has his moments too, and it is only when settled at San Simeon that he becomes haunted by his past life. Everything he sees or hears draws him back to Iceland. He entertains us with his thoughts as he writes letters to his wife Elisabet; letters that never leave; letters that never reach the far-a-way destination.Mr. Olafsson has written a clear and captivating novel proving that however far one runs when the things of life get uncomfortable, when the crunch comes, there is nowhere to hide. At least not for very long. Highly recommended!!!Heather Marshall 4/1/04