Night Film Book Review

Rawr Reader,

Well I'm a little behind. I finished this days ago.
I'm determined to actually hit my reading goal this year and while I'm not leading the packs in books read so far (how have people already like 10, 15, 20 books only seven weeks into the new year??) this is my third book and I'm so proud. Especially since they've all been pretty lengthy reads. I've owned this book for two years but it's been on my To Read pile for eight . . .
Sooo unlike me.
>__>
I went to my local library last weekend and picked up 4 books, then a few days later I got an ebook I've had on hold for five months also from the library, so I was extra motivated to finish this one quickly. This 600 page tome offers a lot, so let's get into it.

The synopsis for Night Film by Marisha Pessl is provided by Goodreads:

On a damp October night, 24-year-old Ashley Cordova is found dead in an abandoned warehouse in lower Manhattan. Though her death is ruled a suicide, veteran investigative journalist Scott McGrath suspects otherwise. As he probes the strange circumstances surrounding Ashley's life and death, McGrath comes face-to-face with the legacy of her father: the legendary, reclusive cult-horror film director Stanislaus Cordova—a man who hasn't been seen in public for more than thirty years.

For McGrath, another death connected to this seemingly cursed family dynasty seems more than just a coincidence. Though much has been written about Cordova's dark and unsettling films, very little is known about the man himself.

Driven by revenge, curiosity, and a need for the truth, McGrath, with the aid of two strangers, is drawn deeper and deeper into Cordova's eerie, hypnotic world. The 

                                                                  last time he got close to exposing the director, McGrath 

                                                                 lost his marriage and his career. This time he might lose 

                                                                       even more.

Review:

   I'm going to lead with the biggest takeaway: try to go into Night Film as blind as possible. 
   And I'm going to restrain myself from comparing this to House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski as much as I can because 1) that is one of my favorite novels of all time and 2) there are a few similarities that I couldn't help making.

   I'd like to say Night Film reminds me a bit of Citizen Kane, Agatha Christie, Hitchcock, and Shutter Island, and any great psychological thriller. You're always expecting another twist to be thrown into the hay ride. The novel is long so there will be a lot of questions and misdirections but there is such reward in it.

   The prologue immediately pulls you in, from the writing to the suspense to the [dark under]world[-building]. I marked quotes I knew I wanted to use for this review and man, I couldn't narrow it down so check out more of my favorite quotes below the spoilers at the bottom.

   Ashley Cordova's death is the Third-Act-That's-Really-The-First-Act explosion (our catalyst), but it's her father Stanislas Cordova who's the trail of gasoline that drives the plot to the explosion. It's less getting to the end but peeling off the layers and uncovering the bodies buried in the closet. Our protagonist Scott McGrath was once a renowned journalist who's life went spinning after "discovering a story" on the enigmatic filmmaker several years prior. Right off the bat, we want to know why Ashley is dead. Was it really suicide, which was what the coroner rules her death as, or was it something more menacing? McGrath believes there are more nefarious powers at work and he is aided by two others who may or may not have their own agendas and their own ties to the mysterious solitary beauty.

   One quick note I have to mention related to House of Leaves that makes Night Film more compelling is that Pessl incorporates a myriad of other mediums to unravel the mystery, from: newspaper clippings, online forum posts, photographs, website articles, and more. It makes the investigation more immersive placing you right there with McGrath and his two acquaintances as they ruffle through data and try to find interlinking clues. 

   The search for answers is a treasure hunt. A treasure hunt except there isn't a gleaming chest of treasure at the end, but darker, more sinister questions and answers waiting for you that might put our freelance detectives in danger. And reveal truths that might have better been left unknown. All the while, we want to know more, we need to know more about Stanislas Cordova. The further you go, the further into the rabbit hole you fall.

   His oeuvre of films is mentioned often and revisited as clues appear and conspiracies become coincidences . . . or intentional red herrings?? (Are you intrigued yet? hehe) Seriously one of the strengths of the novel is the strong incorporation of film and how alluring and powerful art can be to people. It's an outlet, but it's also expression—for some people how they cope with and understand the world—and if done well can forge a bond between creator and audience that spans time and space and culture. The people who enjoy and cherish, idolize and adulate Cordova's works are known as Cordovites, and the way Pessl writes them make them as real and fleshed out as the individual characters. 

   Down Alice's rabbit hole one feels like it never ends which—in terms of suspense—is fantastic, however in Night Film it was my only complaint (which is hard to find because this novel is seriously worth the hefty tome.) It's 600 pages and it maybe could have been shortened 100 pages. Again, a personal complaint, however a small one. One I had to look for and one you only feel closer to the end. The first half to first three-quarters is solid What-Is-Happening, Holy-Crap-This-Family-Is-Insane, What's-Gonna-Happen-Next-I-Can-Definitely-Read-For-Another-Hour-Who-Needs-Sleep suspense.

   I've been dipping my toes more into horror and suspense (and recently falling in love with nonfiction) in terms of movies and books and the more I explore and discover the more I begin to really love these genres. I've *mostly* been a fantasy/historical fiction reader but it goes to show there is so much fantastic content out there if you're willing to give it a chance. 

   Night Film would make such a great movie but I could understand budget-wise why that would be difficult (even covering a handful of all of Cordova's films on top of all the settings McGrath visits would likely make this movie flop if the direction, writing, and acting weren't on point). A psychological thriller covering art and film in a more-or-less contemporary New York with a large array of strange characters, c'mon that sounds like a total blockbuster right? (Side note: my wish is ironic since Cordova stands for the literal opposite.) 

   An added bonus is the author has "interactive elements" in the back where you can discover Easter Eggs through the illustrations including images and audio. I haven't checked it out yet, but isn't it lovely when authors and publishers go above and beyond for their readers. :)
This reminds of Carlos Ruiz Zafón ((RIP)) who created music to go along with his Cemetery of Forgotten Books series.

   The end though. Man, oh man, the end. It leaves you with chills. Night Film is joining the shelf of books I'll never be able to stop thinking about.

   All I can say is I wish I could watch a Cordova film. Haunt me, oh mighty ghost!

I give this book 4/5 stars.

Quotes:

"This is a summons to those watching to break out of your locked room, real or imagined."

***

"I love to put my characters in the dark. It's only then that I can see exactly who they are."

***

"I will show you fear in a handful of dust."

—Night Film, Marisha Pessl

(for more goosebumps quotes, check below the spoilers~)

My Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636?ref=nav_profile_l

Next To Read:

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

Spoilers:

   I definitely looked for Cordova everywhere. For most of the novel, I thought Scott's friend Beckman was Cordova. I mean, he had the knowledge. Yeahh I guess that wasn't much to go on. I love throwing wild theories out there. I'm always wrong. But time and time again, I waited for the man himself to pop up. Oh what foolish thoughts. The novel is stronger for it not being that way.

   A mystery that wasn't quite solved but I guess technically was was the true identity of the caller (John) that notified McGrath in the beginning. Inez said it was someone, likely Cordova, who made the call, but I feel like I need to know who it was exactly. Cut and dry. A part of me wants to believe it was Ashley, although it being Cordova makes so much sense. 

   Oh another issue I had while reading was how every person was so open to share with McGrath and crew. Like everyone they met was almost more than eager to share. Pessl explained it somewhere near the end but I can't remember where, all I remember thinking was, "oh you know? so it's okay now?" Inez eventually admitted to paying everyone off which makes them disappear

   I'd like to know Genevieve Wilson's connection to Ashley. She pops in and out of the story I would have forgotten about her if I hadn't made a list of names as I read. Had she tried to bribe her? Did Genevieve know Devold might fall for Ashley? My best guess is Pessl needed to connect Devold to Briarwood but it felt the most contrived out of every (convenient) revelation shared with McGrath.

   Why did Olivia reach out to McGrath all of a sudden? Again another ambiguous tie that seemed manufactured. It felt more plot hole than plot bridge. 

   What was in the pool at The Peak? There had to have been some poisonous plants growing there right?? The entire part at the Peak I felt could have been condensed. It was one of the parts of the story that felt like it'd never end. It was great at first, but then it felt like it needed to be long because it was The Peak. 

    Speaking of, the missing persons by The Peak?? I mean not to fall for the duck test rhetoric and reasoning but if it looks like a duck and acts like a duck . . . 

    Another mystery (but man do I not mind it remaining a mystery): Rachel Dempsey, the actress who went missing in Nepal who had a phone that turned on in Chile, what was her connection to the Cordovas? Or should I say which connection did she have? Was she in Chile for Stan or Theo? 

   I'd like to know why Inez stayed in New York? Why Ashley was put in the Briarwood Institution considering the truth. I don't know if I read over the explanation or it just takes another reread to pick up the little clues because I felt this book jumped around a lot in terms of timing and mental state of characters. And why did Astrid Goncourt, Stan's third wife dip so quickly after Ashley's death? Actually you know what, backtrack, where was Ashley and Astrid staying if not The Peak? And Stan, how long had he been gone? The end took so long to get to but Inez deux ex machina of plot tie-ups felt rushed and not explained enough for missing timelines and sensible character whereabouts.

    The truth about Ashley feels obvious. The allure of Stan disillusions you as the reader, you want the macabre, you want the supernatural to be the reason, however at the same time, it also felt like a cop out considering all of the strange things that happen. If that was Pessl's aim, then I guess she achieved that. Like a good psychological movie, I think I'll need to reread this to understand and pick up on the clues throughout.

   Oh, reading that is mind-boggling but fun. Books are the best aren't they? 

   I am half agony, half enamored.

Until Next Time,

Nicole Ciel

Extra

Quotes Continued:

(all quotes below are from Night Film by Marisha Pessl)

"Everyone has a Cordova story, whether they like it or not."

***

"He's underground, looming unseen in the corners of the dark. He's down under the railway bridge in the river with all the missing evidence, and the answers that will never see the light of day."

***

"It was always surprising to me how ferociously the public mourned a beautiful stranger—specially one from a famous family. Into that empty form they could unload the grief and regret of their own lives, be rid of it, feel lucky and light for a few days, comforted by the thoughts, At least that wasn't me."

***

-"What about occult worship in the city? How prevalent is it?"

-"Does worshipping money count as occult?"

***

"It was all human in his eyes and thus worthy of inquiry, of examining from all sides."

***

"Time to let the vines take over."

***

". . . I couldn't help but wonder if someday someone might track them down and show them my photo as I'd showed Ashley's."