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Andrew Smith's Reviews > Last Night in Montreal
Last Night in Montreal
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First, we meet a couple, Lilia and Eli. We learn little of them before they part – Lilia sneaking off without warning. She won't be coming back. From here, we get snapshots of Lilia’s life before Eli. She’s a traveller, that’s to say she doesn't stay anywhere for long. She meets men and sometimes women, striking up short-term relationships before moving on again. Why does she do this? Well, the answer is revealed in a fractured narrative that sometimes left me confused but ultimately knitted together into a brilliantly disturbing tale.
It reads like an art house film. The conversations are interesting, the characters complex and somewhat wacky, and the setting ever changing. The mystery deepens, and then the reveal starts to appear, foggy at first and then stunningly, shockingly crystal clear. It’s a tale brilliantly told by a writer I’m starting to think of as one of my very favourite storytellers.
If you’ve read her her brilliant and best selling Station Eleven, then her style will be somewhat familiar. If you haven't, then you have that joy to look forward to. Emily St John Mandel is a fantastic talent – no time to waste, I’ll be grabbing the other two novels she’s penned faster than a toupee in a hurricane!
It reads like an art house film. The conversations are interesting, the characters complex and somewhat wacky, and the setting ever changing. The mystery deepens, and then the reveal starts to appear, foggy at first and then stunningly, shockingly crystal clear. It’s a tale brilliantly told by a writer I’m starting to think of as one of my very favourite storytellers.
If you’ve read her her brilliant and best selling Station Eleven, then her style will be somewhat familiar. If you haven't, then you have that joy to look forward to. Emily St John Mandel is a fantastic talent – no time to waste, I’ll be grabbing the other two novels she’s penned faster than a toupee in a hurricane!
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Reading Progress
February 23, 2015
– Shelved
February 26, 2015
–
0%
"Told in a similarly fractured way to Station Eleven, this is another gripping tale from an evidently uber-talented writer. I'm loving it."
July 30, 2022
–
Started Reading
July 30, 2022
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Started Reading
(Hardcover Edition)
August 5, 2022
–
Finished Reading
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Interestingly enough, I lost my last toupee in a hurricane, sigh... Nice review--I'm adding this to my stack of "to-reads".
Truman32 wrote: "Interestingly enough, I lost my last toupee in a hurricane, sigh... Nice review--I'm adding this to my stack of "to-reads"."Haha - and thanks for your kind comments. Hope you enjoy this one as much as I did :-)
Elyse wrote: "Andrew....YES YES YES....Your *WORDS* ....are so lovely....'fit' my experience of the book! Thank you...........
...you talented guy, yourself!"
Thank you, Elyse :-)
Paul wrote: "Will look into these thanks."Hope you enjoy them, Paul. I think she's a real talent.
Martin wrote: "Loved Station Eleven so will have to check this one out."Please do, Martin - it's another quality book! I'll be interested to hear your thoughts.
Elyse wrote: "Me too ....Me too......... Me too..........(oops, this is Andrew's thread). Hi Andrew!"Haha - you're always welcome here Elyse! :-)
My library now has a copy, so just ordered it.
Good one, Paul. Hope you enjoy it. I'll be looking forward to your thoughts.
Suzanne - many thanks :)And yes, this one is real good. Catch it if you can!
Great review! Exactly how I feel about the book :) A very good read. Station Eleven caught me even more!
Fleur wrote: "Great review! Exactly how I feel about the book :) A very good read. Station Eleven caught me even more!"Thanks you, Fleur :)
And I fully agree, I thought Station Eleven was even better too!
This looks great, Andrew. Wonderful review!
Christine wrote: "This looks great, Andrew. Wonderful review!"Thanks, Christine. I think she's a really interesting writer. I really enjoyed this one.
Love how you compare it to a film, Andrew. Great review.
Angela - thank you, and it just felt that way to me: off-centre, but enjoyably so 😁
Gets my Dahlgren award. Whiney self-absorbed people going nowhere fast. At the end you say "is that all there is?"
Dale wrote: "Gets my Dahlgren award. Whiney self-absorbed people going nowhere fast. At the end you say "is that all there is?""Wow - thanks for your thoughts, Dale. I guess you didn't like it :))
message 22:
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Lisa - spends more time reading book reviews than she does books-
(new)
Can’t wait to read this, Andrew. Station Eleven was one of my favorite of your recommended books.
message 23:
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Lisa - spends more time reading book reviews than she does books-
(new)
Lisa, who thinks she was British in another life, and only actually knows two British people in this life, is wondering if you watched and loved, After Life with Ricky Gervaise? Lisa, also realizes this is a totally inappropriate venue for this question, but her American friends don’t really understand British humor, and Lisa needs someone to validate her feelings for the show.
Lisa - spends more time reading book reviews than she does books- wrote: "Can’t wait to read this, Andrew. Station Eleven was one of my favorite of your recommended books."Lisa - Mandel is one of my favourite writers. After Station Eleven I worked my way through her earlier books and I’ve subsequently picked off her new ones as they’ve been released. She never lets me down. I’d say that it’s worth checking out any or even all of her books.
Lisa - spends more time reading book reviews than she does books- wrote: "Lisa, who thinks she was British in another life, and only actually knows two British people in this life, is wondering if you watched and loved, After Life with Ricky Gervaise? Lisa, also realizes..."You only know two British people? Where have you been hiding yourself?
Gervaise is (or maybe was - he doesn’t seem to have been around for a while) very popular here. His humour is - as you can tell - quirky, a little off-centre. I watched After Life when we had a new puppy and I was searching around for something to keep me entertained whilst I did the night shift (Teddy was not yet house trained, so I was sleeping downstairs with him for a few weeks).
Having seen quite a lot of American comedy (quite a bit of which I really like) I can see that this show is very different. Gervais is not like any of the American comedic actors I’ve seen. I liked After Life and I think British audiences enjoy his unique take on life, his outspoken - often rude - way of behaving and talking to people. His ability to make people laugh at things that shouldn’t be funny.
Another thing is that British ‘banter’ often involves statements that sound rude and demeaning - ‘how are you doing, you twat’ wouldn’t be unusual when addressing a close friend. What sounds normal and even endearing to our ear might sound cruel and unacceptable to Americans.
In short, yes I liked it. But I get how some wouldn’t.
message 26:
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Lisa - spends more time reading book reviews than she does books-
(new)
I live in a very small Florida Town that used to be in the middle of nowhere. But like the rest of the state we are being encroached upon by northern invaders. It’s horrible, land clearing to make way for over-priced housing is happening in every nook and cranny - paved paradise and put up a parking lot. Our kids cannot afford to buy houses - just average houses - or rent anything near where they were raised. Its that way across the entire insane state.
I never can say why I liked a book or a show like Afterlife as much as I did, but just finish it and really thought it was super. Still trying to work out all uses for the word, “cheers” but I am working on it.
I hate myself for going off on rants on someone else’s post. Wondering if I could use “cheers” at the end of my last sentence 🤔
Ok, enough, thank you for humoring this wannabe Brit.
You are always so kind :)
Lisa - spends more time reading book reviews than she does books- wrote: "I live in a very small Florida Town that used to be in the middle of nowhere. But like the rest of the state we are being encroached upon by northern invaders. It’s horrible, land clearing to make ..."I’ve not visited Florida, though we’d planned a road trip that would have taken us through the top of your state - a trip that became a victim of the pandemic, unfortunately. But I can imagine how it feels to live somewhere the houses are too expensive for locals to buy. It’s happened in our neighbouring county, Cornwall. A poor area really, distant from London and lacking any kind of ‘big’ business. But rugged and beautiful. The homes once bought by young locals have been snapped up by rich Londoners as holiday homes. This empties the towns (the new owners only visit in the summer months) and actually has the effect of making the locals even poorer. It’s hard to see how this catastrophe can be reversed.
Cheers is normally used to close off a conversation. It’s the full stop after you’ve said your piece. It’s also a chant when you’re raising your glass in a pub, of course. Everyone uses it here.
You’re welcome to rant as much as you like, by the way. I enjoy exchanges about books and about how life is lived in part unknown to (and unvisited by) me.
Cheers!
Oh, and ‘cheers’ can also be an ironic response to a comment you’re the recipient of but aren’t too pleased about.And perhaps in a few other ways too… :))
“Arthouse film” was my impression too. Would love to see that happen. I love Emily St. John Mandel’s work. It started with watching the streaming series based on Station Eleven. That compelled me to read the book, because I read there were differences. Loved it. Next was Sea of Tranquility, which I highly recommend.
Laura - Emily is an author I find myself regularly checking upon to see if/when a new book is coming (not often enough being the answer). I loved Station Eleven, which was my introduction to her work - though I haven't yet tracked down the television series (I must). Like you, I also loved Sea of Tranquility.
Many thanks, Allison 🙏
Many thanks Elyse! It's a brilliant book isn't it. I love the mood of it and the pace of it. And each of the characters were a bit strange, a bit spooky. I was never quite sure what was going on or what was going to happen. Brilliant!