The All-Night Sun: A Novel by Diane Zinna
The All-Night Sun: A Novel
by Diane Zinna
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Ratings 4.5/5
Synopsis
Lauren Cress teaches writing at a small college outside of Washington, DC. In the classroom, she is poised, smart, and kind, well-liked by her students and colleagues. But in her personal life, Lauren is troubled and isolated, still grappling with the sudden death of her parents ten years earlier. She seems to exist at a remove from everyone around her until a new student joins her class: charming, magnetic Siri, who appears to be everything Lauren wishes she herself could be. They fall headlong into an all-consuming friendship that feels to Lauren like she is reclaiming her lost adolescence. When Siri invites her along on a trip home to Sweden for the summer, Lauren impulsively accepts, intrigued by how Siri describes it: Everything will be green, fresh, new, just thawing out. But once there, Lauren finds herself drawn to Siri's enigmatic, brooding brother Magnus. Siri is resentful, and Lauren starts to see a new side of her friend: selfish, reckless, self-destructive, even cruel. On the last night of her trip, Lauren accompanies Siri and her friends on a seaside camping trip to celebrate Midsommar's Eve, a night when no one sleeps, boundaries blur, and under the light of the unsetting sun, things take a dark turn. Ultimately Lauren must acknowledge the truth of what happened with Siri and come to terms with her own tragic past in this gorgeously written, deeply felt debut about the the transformative relationships that come to us when things feel darkest.
My Thoughts
I wasn't sure if I would like this book. As it turns out, I loved it. This is my first Diane Zinna book. I really enjoy all characters that are well developed considering complicated issues. All that is here but none of the extreme sellout shock value of Lauren Cress. Diane Zinna is so talented. The writing is smooth and enjoyable. I suppose there's not too many plot lines that I haven't already seen in part of whole but what's original is the characters; people that are authentic, real and whole created from her pen and mind. Books are a personal choice. If you like characters, realistic conflicts, real life struggles and a few surprises than I would say this does the trick. I felt that the author did very well in defining the main characters and the emotions were conveyed extremely well. It is obvious early on in the book what the theme of the story is, but in no way is the "surprise" given away too early. I was almost shocked at the ending, it was unexpected. I highly recommend this book and please read it till the end. You won't be sorry.
A story of choices, friendship, emotions and events so intimate I felt I was part of it. The novel is wrenching, the emotions radiant, and it will leave readers transformed. This was a pleasure read as much of my reading is these days. The story was easy for me to picture in my head. I thought something completely different than the surprise!
The characters are so believable and human. Great story about family, friendship and love. I couldn't put it down. Will search for more by the author.
Highly Recommended!
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