Meg Mabry has spent her life with her back turned to her legendary family legacy. In the 1890s her great-grandmother Hannah Bass composed starkly revealing diaries of her life on the southwestern frontier, first as a Harvey Girl at the glamorous Montezuma Resort in New Mexico and later as the wife of brilliant, and often-absent, railway engineer Eliott Bass. A generation later, Hannah's daughter, Claudia Bass, renowned historian known to all as Bassie, staked her academic career and reputation on these vibrant accounts, editing and publishing them to great acclaim. Thanks to the journals and to the industry Bassie created around them, Hannah would forever be one of the most romantic and famous figures of southwestern history.
Meg, however, Bassie's granddaughter, finds the family lore oppressive. When an excavation on the old Bass family property beckons a now-elderly and viper-tongued Bassie back to the fabled land of her childhood, Meg only grudgingly consents to accompany her. Determined not to live under the shadow of her ancestry, Meg has never even read the journals. But when an unexpected discovery casts doubt on the history recorded in their pages and harbored in Bassie's memories, Meg finally succumbs to the allure of her great grandmother's story and ventures even deeper into Hannah's life to unlock the mystery at the journal's core.
Reminiscent of Carol Shields' The Stone Diaries and the novels of Anita Shreve, The Night Journal is an enthralling tale in which Indian ruins, majestic desert hotels, and the hardship and boldness of frontier life fit seamlessly with a modern-day story of coming to terms with loss, family secrets, and shattering truths that lie shrouded in memory.
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"A very good read if not a bit slow/meandering at times, especially towards the first half of the story. The tale takes a while to tell, as a lot of set up is given to establish Meg, Bassie, Hannah's history and they all relate to each other. In my opinion, the journal parts of the book are the most intriguing, as they put the reader directly in line with those experiencing history (Hannah and Elliott). The book, and perhaps larger Western drama, attempts to present a reasonably accurate depiction of the events, emotions, and hazards experienced by pioneers and travelers as they struck out West in search of opportunity and adventure. After reading this, a definite draw of the Western genre would be the setting itself. A significant amount of the text is given over to painting the landscape and sky and helping create the world that will serve as a backdrop for - and it's so large at times, it feel as though it's in itself a character - of the story. Another draw includes the myriad of detail and attention paid to the setting Old West, like cultural and national politics historical events like the Mountain Meadows Massacre of 1857. Through her story, Crook presents how those in history are affected by the events surrounding them and echo through their lives. One could also argue that perhaps the appeal lies in the fact that despite the passage of time, people experience the same emotions - hope, betrayal, love, and guilt - as they go through their lives. The past is also never really the past and despite our best efforts continues to influence and shape us, rippling down through time."
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Amanda (4 out of 5 stars)