Staff Pick
By Nightfall is a fascinating character study of several New Yorkers who are forced to examine their lives and question the paths that got them where they are. New York City itself is more a character than a setting, with its own desires, demands, and image to maintain. Recommended By Tom L., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Peter and Rebecca Harris: mid-forties denizens of Manhattans SoHo, nearing the apogee of committed careers in the artshe a dealer, she an editor. With a spacious loft, a college-age daughter in Boston, and lively friends, they are admirable, enviable contemporary urbanites with every reason, it seems, to be happy. Then Rebecca's much younger look-alike brother, Ethan (known in the family as Mizzy, the mistake”), shows up for a visit. A beautiful, beguiling twenty-three-year-old with a history of drug problems, Mizzy is wayward, at loose ends, looking for direction. And in his presence, Peter finds himself questioning his artists, their work, his careerthe entire world he has so carefully constructed.
Like his legendary, Pulitzer Prizewinning novel, The Hours, Michael Cunningham's masterly new novel is a heartbreaking look at the way we live now. Full of shocks and aftershocks, it makes us think and feel deeply about the uses and meaning of beauty and the place of love in our lives.
Review
"Rather witty and a little outrageous . . . for pure, elegant, efficient beauty, Cunningham is astounding. A cerebral, quirky reflection on the allure of phantom ideals and even, ultimately, on what a traditional marriage needs to survive." Ron Charles, The Washington Post
Review
"Where art and humanity converge and where they part form a double helix in By Nightfall and account for the novel's most considered and lovely prose. Cunningham’s observations of our desperate search for the real fill and break the heart." Ellen Kanner, Miami Herald
Review
"So many of Cunningham's physical descriptions read like confident prose poems, where you imagine what's left between the lines . . . As a testament to the richness of the literary imagination, By Nightfall is a success. You can't read this novel without the sense of how worlds can be found in a drop of water, or in an offhand comment, or in the curve of a vase. . . By Nightfall is a meditation on beauty, and it has its own indelible qualities of beauty." Matthew Gilbert, Boston Globe
Synopsis
Peter and Rebecca Harris: mid-forties denizens of Manhattan's SoHo, are admirable, enviable contemporary urbanites with every reason, it seems, to be happy until her much-younger look-alike brother shows up for a visit. Like his legendary, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Hours, Cunningham's masterly new novel is a heartbreaking look at the way we live now.
Synopsis
Like his legendary, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Hours, Michael Cunninghams masterly new novel is a heartbreaking look at the way we live now. Full of shocks and aftershocks, it makes us think and feel deeply about the uses and meaning of beauty and the place of love in our lives.
Synopsis
A New York Times Bestseller
Peter and Rebecca Harris, midforties, are prosperous denizens of Manhattan. Hes an art dealer, shes an editor. They live well. They have their troubles—their ebbing passions, their wayward daughter, and certain doubts about their careers—but they feel as though theyre happy. Happy enough. Until Rebeccas much younger, look-alike brother, Ethan (known in the family as Mizzy, short for the Mistake), comes to visit. And after he arrives, nothing will ever be the same again.
This poetic and compelling masterpiece is a heartbreaking look at a marriage and the way we now live. Full of shocks and aftershocks, By Nightfall is a novel about the uses and meaning of beauty, and the place of love in our lives.
Synopsis
Peter and Rebecca Harris: mid-forties denizens of Manhattans SoHo, nearing the apogee of committed careers in the arts—he a dealer, she an editor. With a spacious loft, a college-age daughter in Boston, and lively friends, they are admirable, enviable contemporary urbanites with every reason, it seems, to be happy. Then Rebeccas much younger look-alike brother, Ethan (known in the family as Mizzy, “the mistake”), shows up for a visit. A beautiful, beguiling twenty-three-year-old with a history of drug problems, Mizzy is wayward, at loose ends, looking for direction. And in his presence, Peter finds himself questioning his artists, their work, his career—the entire world he has so carefully constructed.
Like his legendary, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Hours, Michael Cunninghams masterly new novel is a heartbreaking look at the way we live now. Full of shocks and aftershocks, it makes us think and feel deeply about the uses and meaning of beauty and the place of love in our lives.
About the Author
Michael Cunningham's novel The Hours won both the Pulitzer Prize and a PEN/Faulkner award, and became an Academy Award-winning film starring Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, and Meryl Streep. An earlier novel, A Home at the End of the World, was recently made into a film starring Colin Farrell, Dallas Roberts, Sissy Spacek, and Robin Wright Penn. He lives in New York. Hugh Dancys film credits include Confessions of A Shopaholic, Adam, The Jane Austen Book Club, Evening, Tempo, and Black Hawk Down, among others. He was nominated for an Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in Elizabeth I, and has also acted in television miniseries of David Copperfield. His theater appearances include Madame Bovary and Daniel Deronda. He is the narrator of the audio book By Nightfall by Michael Cunningham as well as George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt and George's Secret Key to the Universe, Stephen Hawking's books for children.
Reading Group Guide
1. What were your first impressions of Peter and Rebecca? What aspects of their marriage were presented in the opening scenes as they observed a traffic accident, attended a party, and went to bed?
2. Ethans nickname originated as a reference to his parents unplanned parenthood so late in life. Did the label shape his impressions of himself, or were his problems inevitable? Did his parents and his sisters, Rosemary, Julianne, and Rebecca, expect too little of him?
3. How did Peters and Rebeccas families influence them well into adulthood? What did Peter and Rebecca offer each other when they were first dating? How did the basis for their attraction change over the years?
4. What is Peters role in the lives of the artists he represents, beyond securing a high price for their work? What intangibles does he sell his buyers? What makes him good at his job?
5. How does the concept of leverage play out in By Nightfall? Who are the novels most vulnerable and most powerful characters?
6. How does Utas philosophy of life different from Peters? How does she balance the reality of her role as a businesswoman with the intuitive and emotional aspects of her profession? For her, is there any distinction between her profession and her passions?
7. What does By Nightfall say about making art, and marketing it? How does Peters work compare to Rebeccas in shaping the futures of creative individuals? What new freedoms and challenges does twenty-first-century American culture bring to creative fields, and to our personal lives?
8. Ultimately, what is Bea blaming her father for? Is she right to blame him? What does he teach her to expect from men? When Rebecca worries about her daughter, what fears is she also expressing about her own future?
9. What purposes does sex serve for the novels primary characters? How did sexuality shape Rebeccas self-esteem before and after she was married? What longings is Peter responding to at the moment of the kiss? For Mizzy, does sex present anything more than an opportunity to be manipulative?
10. How does the purpose of marriage evolve throughout Peter and Rebeccas life together? What reasons do they have for remaining married after Bea has left for college? What identity did marriage create for them in their careers?
11. Michael Cunningham provides us with Peters thoughts throughout By Nightfall. How would the novel have unfolded if it had been told from Rebeccas point of view instead?
12. Is Mizzy a victim or a victimizer, or both? If he were your little brother, would you respond to him the way Rebecca does?
13. The novel concludes with the beginning of an honest dialogue. How much of Peter and Rebeccas previous talks had been truthful? Had they been honest with themselves? What predictions do you have for the closing lines conversation and its aftermath?
14. Discuss the novels title: What symbolic nightfall exists in the characters lives? How does it apply to the concept of aging and other transitions that may seem difficult to navigate in the "dark"?
15. Through his fiction, what has Cunningham shown us about the nature of love and longing? What new facets are revealed in By Nightfall? What role do artists (literary, visual, and otherwise) play in his storylines?