Book Review: Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips

Rating: 3.5⭐

Set in the aftermath of the Civil War the novel opens in 1874 where we meet twelve-year-old ConaLee and her mother, Eliza, who has been mute for over a year as they are dropped off by a man she calls “Papa” at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia. O’Shea, the Night Watch lets them in and eventually, they find refuge in the Asylum, with Eliza under the care of the Physician Superintendent and ConaLee hiding the truth of her relationship with Eliza to be employed with the Asylum as caregiver to Eliza in return for room and board.

As the narrative progresses, we get to know more about ConaLee and Eliza’s story and the people and events that led to the present day. Eliza’s husband never returned from the War and with Dearbhla, who had raised her as her only friend, Eliza’s life had not been easy. Eliza’s story of loss and grief, fear, and abuse. Under the care of the kind doctor and the “Moral Treatment” practices in the asylum, Eliza begins to heal and ConaLee begins to search for answers about her mother’s past.

Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips is an interesting work of historical fiction that touches upon themes of PTSD, the ravages of war, trauma and abuse, mental health, and healing. The author describes the setting well and paints a vivid picture of life in the post-Civil War period. The main characters are well-developed, and the story is overall engaging despite the uneven pacing and slightly disjointed narrative that moves between past and present. The pace of the novel is on the slower side in the first half and uneven throughout. I thought the ending was rushed and a tad contrived, which is why I cannot give this novel a higher rating, though I did like the plot structure and how the story developed until the final quarter of the novel. Please note that there are disturbing descriptions of war injuries and sexual assault, which might be triggering for some readers.

The narrative is interspersed with quotes by Dr . Thomas Story Kirkbride, a physician known for his compassionate and respectful methods of treating the mentally ill. I found parts of the narrative quite informative and was motivated to read more about Dr. Kirkbride's methods for treating the mentally ill and about the Asylum which was a psychiatric hospital in West Virginia that was in operation from 1864 until 1994.

Many thanks to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, Anchor and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.