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Last Night in Montreal
Lilia Albert has been leaving people behind for her entire life. She spends her childhood and adolescence traveling constantly and changing identities. In adulthood, she finds it impossible to stop. Haunted by an inability to remember her early childhood, she moves restlessly from city to city, abandoning lovers along with way, possibly still followed by a private detective who has pursued her for years. Then her latest lover follows her from New York to Montreal, determined to learn her secrets and make sure she is safe.
Last Night in Montreal is a story of love, amnesia, compulsive travel, the depths and the limits of family bonds, and the nature of obsession. In this extraordinary debut, Emily St. John Mandel casts a powerful spell that captures the reader in a gritty, youthful world charged with an atmosphere of mystery, promise and foreboding where small revelations continuously change our understanding of the truth and lead to desperate consequences. Mandel's characters will resonate with you long after the final page is turned.
Last Night in Montreal is a story of love, amnesia, compulsive travel, the depths and the limits of family bonds, and the nature of obsession. In this extraordinary debut, Emily St. John Mandel casts a powerful spell that captures the reader in a gritty, youthful world charged with an atmosphere of mystery, promise and foreboding where small revelations continuously change our understanding of the truth and lead to desperate consequences. Mandel's characters will resonate with you long after the final page is turned.
230 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 3, 2009
About the author
Emily St. John Mandel
18 books24.9k followersEmily St. John Mandel was born and raised on the west coast of British Columbia, Canada. She studied contemporary dance at the School of Toronto Dance Theatre and lived briefly in Montreal before relocating to New York.
She is the author of five novels, including The Glass Hotel (spring 2020) and Station Eleven (2014.) Station Eleven was a finalist for a National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award, won the Morning News Tournament of Books, and has been translated into 34 languages. She lives in NYC with her husband and daughter.
She is the author of five novels, including The Glass Hotel (spring 2020) and Station Eleven (2014.) Station Eleven was a finalist for a National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award, won the Morning News Tournament of Books, and has been translated into 34 languages. She lives in NYC with her husband and daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,275 reviews
April 13, 2024
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!
August 9, 2018
Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel is a Vintage publication.
What an incredibly absorbing story!
Again, I have no memory of how this book crossed my path. I can’t remember who recommended it or where I first noticed it.
It’s not a new release, originally published back in 2009, and is apparently this author’s debut novel. But, it’s new to me, as is this author. But no matter how I discovered it, or how old it is, I still found this book to be a very atmospheric mystery, and I’m glad I ran across it.
Why has a private detective been following Lilia Albert for most of her life?
This story follows the events that sent Lilia and her father on the run, her unconventional childhood, and the detective who became obsessed with her case. As an adult, Lilia has incredible difficulty staying in one place for too long or sticking with a romantic relationship for any length of time.
In her soul she wishes she could settle, but she is always restless. The questions about her childhood, the events that led her father to steal her away in the midst of a cold wintry night, haunts her even though she is an adult now and her father has remarried has a new family.
But, Lilia isn’t the only one whose life was left in a strange kind of limbo. Also, deeply affected, like a snowball effect are Lilia’s half- brother, who knows more than he’s telling- the detective who has become so obsessed he deserts his own wife and child, and every single person Lilia has left behind. Lilia’s most recent boyfriend, is determined to find her, becoming nearly as obsessed as the detective who still searches for her, after all this time, even though she is an adult now.
The writing is stark and the atmosphere is heavy, fraught with a fitful frustration. Lilia’s frustration stemming from her inability to remember anything prior to her father’s sudden late-night arrival, the frustration felt by those who want to be close to Lilia, and frustration by those who are looking for her, but have been thwarted in their mission time and time again. But, one of the most profound elements of the story is the effect Lilia has had, by proxy on the detective's family, who have found themselves abandoned, even replaced by an obsession they can’t fully comprehend.
The story is sad, moody, and dark with a taut psychological tone that kept me invested in the story. One will gather early on, even if no details are initially forthcoming, most of the whys and wherefores of the events that led Lilia to this point in her life.
While I could understand her flightiness and her compulsive nature, I’m not sure I could really understand the way so many people became fixated on her. It’s like the Winston Churchill quote:
It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, but perhaps there is a key.
The possibility that there is a key is what may be driving these people to continue a fruitless quest that comes at such an incredibly high cost to so many people.
The ending is so emotional and melancholy, and while I wasn't happy with some developments, at all, the conclusion hints at forgiveness, and also grants Lilia a wish that could, after all this time, give her enough ammunition to finally find overdue peace of mind and grant her the ability to finally stop her nomadic life and enjoy a bit of normalcy.
This book is gripping, the pacing is quite slow. For me this only added to the suspense, forcing me to acquire virtuous patience, which did indeed reap rewards. The writing is just amazing, very impressive, which now has me curious to see what other books this author has written. I’ll definitely read more of her work!
4 stars
What an incredibly absorbing story!
Again, I have no memory of how this book crossed my path. I can’t remember who recommended it or where I first noticed it.
It’s not a new release, originally published back in 2009, and is apparently this author’s debut novel. But, it’s new to me, as is this author. But no matter how I discovered it, or how old it is, I still found this book to be a very atmospheric mystery, and I’m glad I ran across it.
Why has a private detective been following Lilia Albert for most of her life?
This story follows the events that sent Lilia and her father on the run, her unconventional childhood, and the detective who became obsessed with her case. As an adult, Lilia has incredible difficulty staying in one place for too long or sticking with a romantic relationship for any length of time.
In her soul she wishes she could settle, but she is always restless. The questions about her childhood, the events that led her father to steal her away in the midst of a cold wintry night, haunts her even though she is an adult now and her father has remarried has a new family.
But, Lilia isn’t the only one whose life was left in a strange kind of limbo. Also, deeply affected, like a snowball effect are Lilia’s half- brother, who knows more than he’s telling- the detective who has become so obsessed he deserts his own wife and child, and every single person Lilia has left behind. Lilia’s most recent boyfriend, is determined to find her, becoming nearly as obsessed as the detective who still searches for her, after all this time, even though she is an adult now.
The writing is stark and the atmosphere is heavy, fraught with a fitful frustration. Lilia’s frustration stemming from her inability to remember anything prior to her father’s sudden late-night arrival, the frustration felt by those who want to be close to Lilia, and frustration by those who are looking for her, but have been thwarted in their mission time and time again. But, one of the most profound elements of the story is the effect Lilia has had, by proxy on the detective's family, who have found themselves abandoned, even replaced by an obsession they can’t fully comprehend.
The story is sad, moody, and dark with a taut psychological tone that kept me invested in the story. One will gather early on, even if no details are initially forthcoming, most of the whys and wherefores of the events that led Lilia to this point in her life.
While I could understand her flightiness and her compulsive nature, I’m not sure I could really understand the way so many people became fixated on her. It’s like the Winston Churchill quote:
It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, but perhaps there is a key.
The possibility that there is a key is what may be driving these people to continue a fruitless quest that comes at such an incredibly high cost to so many people.
The ending is so emotional and melancholy, and while I wasn't happy with some developments, at all, the conclusion hints at forgiveness, and also grants Lilia a wish that could, after all this time, give her enough ammunition to finally find overdue peace of mind and grant her the ability to finally stop her nomadic life and enjoy a bit of normalcy.
This book is gripping, the pacing is quite slow. For me this only added to the suspense, forcing me to acquire virtuous patience, which did indeed reap rewards. The writing is just amazing, very impressive, which now has me curious to see what other books this author has written. I’ll definitely read more of her work!
4 stars
April 10, 2010
Two stars doesn't seem like very many for a book that an notoriously slow reader (moi) spent basically just one Saturday reading and maybe I would give it three but I'm still a little annoyed by the ending. I have to agree that the structure and pacing of this mysterious non-mystery book is impressive and clearly a breezy and interesting read. However, it also contains one of my least favorite stock characters -- stock character is too harsh -- in fiction. Oh Lilia of the short dark hair who is sooo intriguing and interesting and different and beautiful and no matter where she goes without even trying or even speaking men and women just fall all over themselves to be with her and isn't her life so tragic. I don't like this free spirit character. I don't like her when I encounter her in real life and don't like her in movies and I don't like her in the book and it makes me not really like or care about the people that are in love with her and since those two characters comprise most of the cast of the story, it's hard for me to say I like this book. Maybe if there were something that seemed more real and less dramatic about Lilia, something that wasn't just the lingering "I don't know how to say" oh my god isn't that so romantic and heartbreaking then I could like the people and therefore their stories a little bit more.
July 14, 2018
Update: $1.99 Kindle Special!!!!
This is the first book I read by Emily St. John Mandel ...( it was her first book)
I fell madly in love with her instantly- and knew I wanted to continue reading her books. I have : read them all!
She was an independent author until
“Station Eleven”... the book which gave her a more wide spread name —
I still hold a special spot in my heart for this book - I noticed something about her writing so fresh - so clean - And the story is great!
I got to meet Emily after Station Eleven came out. Such a lovely person!!!!
¥...old review from 2011:
I’m in *aw* of this new young author. She's intriguing to me. Her book was beautifully written (SO CLEAN ---not filled extra junk). At times, I read her sentences 'over & over', (almost a poetic style)--- JUST lovely choice of words!
"Her voice was somnambulant" ....."her voice was a current through fitful dreams" ----[well, I'll tell ya....I had my own 'nightmare'---involving rushing waters-- after thinking about this section of the book]....NO KIDDING--- Then restless sleep ---(woke thinking about this book).
Unusual-different story. Interesting Characters.
....'Chilling' Story.... one that I will linger with me for some time.
I'm glad I read this book. I'm glad to have had my first intro. with Emily St. John Mandel ---(cheers for her!!!)
I really enjoyed this book--(intense in parts)--
Also: charming small romance in the beginning ---(I was completely absorbed in their 'bonding-style')
....I wanted to replay the 'pomegranate' scene over and over. (great visuals).
Hm....gave me some sexy-fun ideas! lol
This is the first book I read by Emily St. John Mandel ...( it was her first book)
I fell madly in love with her instantly- and knew I wanted to continue reading her books. I have : read them all!
She was an independent author until
“Station Eleven”... the book which gave her a more wide spread name —
I still hold a special spot in my heart for this book - I noticed something about her writing so fresh - so clean - And the story is great!
I got to meet Emily after Station Eleven came out. Such a lovely person!!!!
¥...old review from 2011:
I’m in *aw* of this new young author. She's intriguing to me. Her book was beautifully written (SO CLEAN ---not filled extra junk). At times, I read her sentences 'over & over', (almost a poetic style)--- JUST lovely choice of words!
"Her voice was somnambulant" ....."her voice was a current through fitful dreams" ----[well, I'll tell ya....I had my own 'nightmare'---involving rushing waters-- after thinking about this section of the book]....NO KIDDING--- Then restless sleep ---(woke thinking about this book).
Unusual-different story. Interesting Characters.
....'Chilling' Story.... one that I will linger with me for some time.
I'm glad I read this book. I'm glad to have had my first intro. with Emily St. John Mandel ---(cheers for her!!!)
I really enjoyed this book--(intense in parts)--
Also: charming small romance in the beginning ---(I was completely absorbed in their 'bonding-style')
....I wanted to replay the 'pomegranate' scene over and over. (great visuals).
Hm....gave me some sexy-fun ideas! lol
November 24, 2020
Virtually nothing that happens in this novel is plausible. Emily St John Mandel likes taking things to extremes. A father abducts his little girl and spends the next twelve or so years driving her from one motel to another back and forth across America. He talks to her about string theory, the moons of Saturn and other highbrow stuff that the little girl, we're told, finds compelling. It's another trademark of this author that she doesn't do normal people. There's something pretentious about all the characters in this book and I couldn't help feeling it was like an adolescent insecurity to load all her characters so heavily with the exotic. Another character, the private investigator, is the son of a circus lion tamer. He possesses otherworldly powers of ESP. Her female characters are much more engaging than her male characters who, in this novel at least, are one dimensionally obsessive. The marvel though is that, despite how often the pretentious claptrap of her characters irritated me, it's an oddly compelling book. I never really believed what I was being told and yet the clever way the book's structured and the quality of the descriptive writing made it an enjoyable read.
July 23, 2022
"'Try to imagine what it’s like,' she said. 'I don’t know how to stay.'"
A young girl is abducted and spends the next nine years on the run with her father. They travel the United States, stopping for a few days here, a week there, never very long in one place.
A detective with a broken marriage becomes obsessed with finding this young girl, losing his own daughter in the process.
A young man awakens to find his girlfriend has disappeared. He sets out on a journey to find her.
A young woman is on a journey of her own to find herself. She doesn't know how to stop, how to stay in one place, how to find a home.
Another young woman, abandoned by her parents, is searching for this other who unknowingly and inadvertently took her father away.
-----------------------------------------
I loved this book every bit as much as the other Emily St. John Mandel books I've read (this is the fourth). I want to crawl inside them, find a home among her words. I love how she writes and the way she tells a story.
Her writing leaves me with an ache I'm at a loss to describe. Not a bad ache, maybe it's better described as a longing. I don't know. Four books and I still can't pinpoint what, exactly, it is.
She's brilliant, that I know.
So, yeh, I loved this book. Some readers disliked the ending - but I thought it was perfect.
"If no one else remembers your story, how are you to prove that it was real?"
A young girl is abducted and spends the next nine years on the run with her father. They travel the United States, stopping for a few days here, a week there, never very long in one place.
A detective with a broken marriage becomes obsessed with finding this young girl, losing his own daughter in the process.
A young man awakens to find his girlfriend has disappeared. He sets out on a journey to find her.
A young woman is on a journey of her own to find herself. She doesn't know how to stop, how to stay in one place, how to find a home.
Another young woman, abandoned by her parents, is searching for this other who unknowingly and inadvertently took her father away.
-----------------------------------------
I loved this book every bit as much as the other Emily St. John Mandel books I've read (this is the fourth). I want to crawl inside them, find a home among her words. I love how she writes and the way she tells a story.
Her writing leaves me with an ache I'm at a loss to describe. Not a bad ache, maybe it's better described as a longing. I don't know. Four books and I still can't pinpoint what, exactly, it is.
She's brilliant, that I know.
So, yeh, I loved this book. Some readers disliked the ending - but I thought it was perfect.
"If no one else remembers your story, how are you to prove that it was real?"
November 8, 2018
The desire to travel is explored in this novel through extreme and intriguing ways. Kidnapped by her step-father as a little girl, Lilia grows up living the life of a fugitive. Even as an adult, she can't quite settle down. She lives in one place, develops relationships, and then leaves abruptly for someplace new. Characters impacted by her runaway lifestyle make up the supporting cast, all with their own unique issues.
I can't say I didn't like the book. There's mystery aswirl on every page and the writing is gorgeous. I never felt bored or put off by the simple premise. And yet, in the end, I'm left with a "so what?" opinion on it all. Character motivation is the hook that drives the plot forward--why are they all so crazy??--but we never receive satisfying explanations.
There are many clues to suggest motivation, but they are so subtle and sometimes contradictory that I feel no real answers are available to the reader. Not even enough hints to inspire a substantial discussion about it. Especially Christopher. What's his deal?? He is by far the craziest character and is given the least explanation.
Overall, it's good but not great. Were it a longer novel I'd be more upset by the unsatisfying conclusion, but as a breathless short read it works okay.
I can't say I didn't like the book. There's mystery aswirl on every page and the writing is gorgeous. I never felt bored or put off by the simple premise. And yet, in the end, I'm left with a "so what?" opinion on it all. Character motivation is the hook that drives the plot forward--why are they all so crazy??--but we never receive satisfying explanations.
There are many clues to suggest motivation, but they are so subtle and sometimes contradictory that I feel no real answers are available to the reader. Not even enough hints to inspire a substantial discussion about it. Especially Christopher. What's his deal?? He is by far the craziest character and is given the least explanation.
Overall, it's good but not great. Were it a longer novel I'd be more upset by the unsatisfying conclusion, but as a breathless short read it works okay.
April 3, 2020
Both the most American of road trips (dusty, dry, sun-faded, interstate to interstate and motel to motel) and the coldest, darkest, most noirish depiction of Montreal imaginable. The characters were hard to get to know, but that's noir for you. I suspect this book's haunting imagery, and its tragedies both extraordinary and everyday, will stay with me for a long, long time.
October 27, 2022
Unmoored. This is a word and an idea that is ubiquitous in author Emily St. John Mandel’s cannon. A nautical term, it may also apply to a person or situation that has become loose from its mooring, a ship underway, detached from a dock or anchor, or a person, free from earlier restraints, but adrift, with a reckless tone.
Mandel’s debut novel, first published in 2009, has a subdued aura of Kafkaesque absurdity that was brilliant. The novel is crafted as fans of Mandel have become accustomed, in her warm, quixotic style, with multiple characters and perspectives but also with sundry timelines all weaving together until tied together expertly at the end.
We are all travelers. Much literature revolves around this idea, as life as a journey, wanderers sharing some time together as each of us move forward on our own individual and separate passages. Here Mandel uses this allusion to illustrate ideas about connections between people, some better than others, some strengthening our grasp on reality and adding value to the quality of our lives, others creating a harmful energy to be fought or escaped. Much of what Mandel describes here is an extended variation on the fight or flight metaphor. Fight or flight, and pursuit and hunted, are themes here that Mandel uses to create a dramatic tension that keeps us turning pages.
Mandel peppers this excellent narrative with Biblical, mythical, literary and Shakespearean references and themes of isolation and abandonment, familiar to her readers in her later books, begins here in earnest. The future successes of Station Eleven and The Sea of Tranquility has roots in this quietly thoughtful story.
Obsession and irrationality, doing things that we cannot control, even when the things are harmful or that make no sense. Mandel’s main protagonist was abducted early in her life and has reached maturity on the road. She then finds no escape from this flight and finds that she cannot stop fleeing, she leaves a metaphorical message in a bottle that she chooses to “remain vanishing”.
Communications, ineffective and broken. A character is a scholar, a failed student really, who studies dead languages and theorizes that all languages will one day cease to exist, being spoken no more, being understood no longer by anyone on earth. This made me think of Jared Diamond’s 2011 book Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed and how we breakdown into entropy and chaos and how messages sent may not always be received and how love and fellowship may be destined for a dead end.
As in other books by Mandel, we find unspoken parallels between dissimilar characters, relationships whose likenesses are apparent to the reader in the form of theatrical irony but whose obvious verisimilitudes are lost on those who most need to recognize them. We see families disconnected, parents and daughters lost to one another for reasons that are not apparent or understood.
Hard to believe this was written by a thirty-year-old first time author. As much as I enjoyed her later books, this one may be my favorite from her and I’m off to find another of her wonderful books to read.
Mandel’s debut novel, first published in 2009, has a subdued aura of Kafkaesque absurdity that was brilliant. The novel is crafted as fans of Mandel have become accustomed, in her warm, quixotic style, with multiple characters and perspectives but also with sundry timelines all weaving together until tied together expertly at the end.
We are all travelers. Much literature revolves around this idea, as life as a journey, wanderers sharing some time together as each of us move forward on our own individual and separate passages. Here Mandel uses this allusion to illustrate ideas about connections between people, some better than others, some strengthening our grasp on reality and adding value to the quality of our lives, others creating a harmful energy to be fought or escaped. Much of what Mandel describes here is an extended variation on the fight or flight metaphor. Fight or flight, and pursuit and hunted, are themes here that Mandel uses to create a dramatic tension that keeps us turning pages.
Mandel peppers this excellent narrative with Biblical, mythical, literary and Shakespearean references and themes of isolation and abandonment, familiar to her readers in her later books, begins here in earnest. The future successes of Station Eleven and The Sea of Tranquility has roots in this quietly thoughtful story.
Obsession and irrationality, doing things that we cannot control, even when the things are harmful or that make no sense. Mandel’s main protagonist was abducted early in her life and has reached maturity on the road. She then finds no escape from this flight and finds that she cannot stop fleeing, she leaves a metaphorical message in a bottle that she chooses to “remain vanishing”.
Communications, ineffective and broken. A character is a scholar, a failed student really, who studies dead languages and theorizes that all languages will one day cease to exist, being spoken no more, being understood no longer by anyone on earth. This made me think of Jared Diamond’s 2011 book Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed and how we breakdown into entropy and chaos and how messages sent may not always be received and how love and fellowship may be destined for a dead end.
As in other books by Mandel, we find unspoken parallels between dissimilar characters, relationships whose likenesses are apparent to the reader in the form of theatrical irony but whose obvious verisimilitudes are lost on those who most need to recognize them. We see families disconnected, parents and daughters lost to one another for reasons that are not apparent or understood.
Hard to believe this was written by a thirty-year-old first time author. As much as I enjoyed her later books, this one may be my favorite from her and I’m off to find another of her wonderful books to read.
March 27, 2023
I absolutely love Emily St. John Mandel’s written word and imagination. This is my fourth book by her and may be my favorite. I love how her stories unfold, her character development, and how the lives of those characters intersect along the way.
There is a mystery at the heart of Last Night in Montreal. Where is Lilia and what happened to her before her abduction? The book explores how these events of Lilia’s life impacts the other characters in the book. It sheds light on how families fall apart and the aftermath.
I love the details and the side stories, especially the inclusion of tight rope walking and a circus family. I also like the juxtaposition of artists talking about art versus making their art come alive. The juxtaposition of observing/capturing life as an artist versus immersing oneself in life.
Eli lives in New York and is a linguist studying dead languages. I found this fascinating and intriguing. Eli and Lilia live together, and she has shared most of her past with him. She has never settled down, is always moving/vanishing, and when she disappears, Eli goes in search of her in Montreal.
I love the setting of Montreal and how language is a real issue there. I found this quote particularly interesting. “You’d like it, Eli. It’s a city with a probably doomed language. The Québécois are speaking French with an accent so ancient and frankly bizarre that French people from France can’t understand it. It’s like a fortress and a rising tide of English. It’ll be like research for you.”
St. John explores several other themes, including the idea of loving/living with someone and never truly knowing them, traveling and the reasons why (circus, to escape, to find someone/self, a genetic calling), and vanishing (people and languages) and the impact of knowing a truth searched for.
A perfect title. One of the best final chapters I’ve read. I cannot give this author or this book enough praise. Lilia had several lists in the story. I plan on adding Last Night in Montreal to my list of a select few books that I would reread.
There is a mystery at the heart of Last Night in Montreal. Where is Lilia and what happened to her before her abduction? The book explores how these events of Lilia’s life impacts the other characters in the book. It sheds light on how families fall apart and the aftermath.
I love the details and the side stories, especially the inclusion of tight rope walking and a circus family. I also like the juxtaposition of artists talking about art versus making their art come alive. The juxtaposition of observing/capturing life as an artist versus immersing oneself in life.
Eli lives in New York and is a linguist studying dead languages. I found this fascinating and intriguing. Eli and Lilia live together, and she has shared most of her past with him. She has never settled down, is always moving/vanishing, and when she disappears, Eli goes in search of her in Montreal.
I love the setting of Montreal and how language is a real issue there. I found this quote particularly interesting. “You’d like it, Eli. It’s a city with a probably doomed language. The Québécois are speaking French with an accent so ancient and frankly bizarre that French people from France can’t understand it. It’s like a fortress and a rising tide of English. It’ll be like research for you.”
St. John explores several other themes, including the idea of loving/living with someone and never truly knowing them, traveling and the reasons why (circus, to escape, to find someone/self, a genetic calling), and vanishing (people and languages) and the impact of knowing a truth searched for.
A perfect title. One of the best final chapters I’ve read. I cannot give this author or this book enough praise. Lilia had several lists in the story. I plan on adding Last Night in Montreal to my list of a select few books that I would reread.
September 2, 2022
Fan of this author's books. Enjoyed this one but sad there is 1 less of hers I have left to read.
August 28, 2022
There is more than one way to be a femme fatale. This is a beautifully atmospheric book, a deconstructed noir, that can be fun to read. Briefly, the story follows Lilia, a 20-something who grew up on the run with a non-custodial parent who kidnapped her. They were both always mere steps ahead of Christopher, an investigator hired by Lilia's mother to find the child and who left behind his own wife and child to pursue Lilia and her father. As Lilia becomes an adult she has no idea how to just stay, so she bounces from place to place breaking hearts and taking names. When one of those moony left-behind lovers. Eli, follows her "just to make sure she is okay" (Okay, stalker!) the story heats up. The issue for me was that people did all sorts of surprising things, and I had no idea why they were doing any of it. Eventually we sort of learn why Lilia's father made his choices, but Christopher's motivations are a complete mystery, Eli's motivations and choices are absent or ring false. Lilia's backstory and life choices are a little too on the nose. And speaking of on the nose, Michaela (Christopher's daughter) and her background and endpoint are like a very special episode of Law & Order.
I loved Emily St. John Mandel's last three books, and I was looking forward to tackling her backlist. This is always dangerous. There are a number of writers whose books I have loved, but when I visited earlier works I could barely find the writer I knew in them. This makes sense. We all develop in our professional lives (or at least those who are good at their professions) and writers are no different. Still I am a little let down when early books disappoint me even though I am also always impressed and thankful that those favorite authors came to be such great writers. That is where we are here. I wavered on whether to give this a 3 or a 4-star. There is some beautiful writing here, we can absolutely see glimpses of the writing prowess we now see in ESJM's work, but that failure to tell me what was driving the characters was too big a hole for me to overlook, so 3.5 rounded down for GR.
I loved Emily St. John Mandel's last three books, and I was looking forward to tackling her backlist. This is always dangerous. There are a number of writers whose books I have loved, but when I visited earlier works I could barely find the writer I knew in them. This makes sense. We all develop in our professional lives (or at least those who are good at their professions) and writers are no different. Still I am a little let down when early books disappoint me even though I am also always impressed and thankful that those favorite authors came to be such great writers. That is where we are here. I wavered on whether to give this a 3 or a 4-star. There is some beautiful writing here, we can absolutely see glimpses of the writing prowess we now see in ESJM's work, but that failure to tell me what was driving the characters was too big a hole for me to overlook, so 3.5 rounded down for GR.
February 25, 2020
In anticipation of her upcoming new release, I went back and read her debut novel. The writing is fantastic, but the structure and characters in this book left me cold. I often had trouble understanding some of the characters’ motivations, and the thinking of all the characters seemed not quite mature.
June 12, 2022
3 Stars
April 24, 2020
I keep trying to see what everyone sees in the work of Emily St. John Mandel but I keep hitting my head against an aesthetic blockage that I find hard to pinpoint.
In Station Eleven I took against the traveling Shakespearian troupe and in this one it was the random insertion of a family of circus-folk. I think that very generally both these books wander towards something whimsy-adjacent. There is a fancifulness here; the pomegranates, the manic pixie dream girls, fedora wearing detectives, and a sort of artistic vision that I think more suits a graphic novel telling.
On the plus side Montreal gets a good portrayal here, and I did enjoy the road-trip aspects. Overall Last Night in Montreal seems to be suffering from some kind of an identity crisis, resting somewhere in a netherworld between a noir-ish mystery, family road trip novel and a Cirque du Soleil foundation story.
Still I look forward to reading The Glass Hotel with an open mind ;)
In Station Eleven I took against the traveling Shakespearian troupe and in this one it was the random insertion of a family of circus-folk. I think that very generally both these books wander towards something whimsy-adjacent. There is a fancifulness here; the pomegranates, the manic pixie dream girls, fedora wearing detectives, and a sort of artistic vision that I think more suits a graphic novel telling.
On the plus side Montreal gets a good portrayal here, and I did enjoy the road-trip aspects. Overall Last Night in Montreal seems to be suffering from some kind of an identity crisis, resting somewhere in a netherworld between a noir-ish mystery, family road trip novel and a Cirque du Soleil foundation story.
Still I look forward to reading The Glass Hotel with an open mind ;)
March 11, 2021
“No one stays forever.” “...she’d been disappearing for so long that she didn’t know how to stay.”
Liliia’s father came and took her away (abducted) from her mother when she was 7. Because of being on the run for so long, Lilia does not know how to stay in one place. She has to keep moving. What is also interesting is that she remembers nothing about the time before her father came.
She meets Eli in New York, who is studying disappearing languages. The theme of disappearing is a big one throughout the book. When Lilia disappears from New York, Eli decides to follow.
The story goes back and forth to the present in Montreal and to the past when Lilia and her father are on the road. We also meet the private investigator and his family. He has developed an obsession with finding Lilia, All these people come together for a last night in Montreal.
There is something very mesmerizing about the writing and the story. There is a dream like quality to the writing that made me feel like I was floating along with the story. This is the first book written by Emily St John Mandel- strong writing, strong messages. I have also read Station 11 by the author which I absolutely loved.
There were a couple of quibbles I had though. The only one I will mention is her portrayal of Montreal. She portrays Montreal as a cold and hostile city. That irked me. I grew up there and it is such a beautiful city. The story is taking place in winter- of course it is cold. Mention of French Canadians being rude if you spoke English was also brought up.That can happen, of course, but it is not as prevalent as it was made out. Have to defend my birth province:)
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I raced through it as I needed to know the mystery at it heart.
Liliia’s father came and took her away (abducted) from her mother when she was 7. Because of being on the run for so long, Lilia does not know how to stay in one place. She has to keep moving. What is also interesting is that she remembers nothing about the time before her father came.
She meets Eli in New York, who is studying disappearing languages. The theme of disappearing is a big one throughout the book. When Lilia disappears from New York, Eli decides to follow.
The story goes back and forth to the present in Montreal and to the past when Lilia and her father are on the road. We also meet the private investigator and his family. He has developed an obsession with finding Lilia, All these people come together for a last night in Montreal.
There is something very mesmerizing about the writing and the story. There is a dream like quality to the writing that made me feel like I was floating along with the story. This is the first book written by Emily St John Mandel- strong writing, strong messages. I have also read Station 11 by the author which I absolutely loved.
There were a couple of quibbles I had though. The only one I will mention is her portrayal of Montreal. She portrays Montreal as a cold and hostile city. That irked me. I grew up there and it is such a beautiful city. The story is taking place in winter- of course it is cold. Mention of French Canadians being rude if you spoke English was also brought up.That can happen, of course, but it is not as prevalent as it was made out. Have to defend my birth province:)
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I raced through it as I needed to know the mystery at it heart.
March 21, 2020
I actually thought this was going to be an excellent read right up to the halfway point, but then things kept deteriorating, becoming progressively more overwrought and overwritten. Because this was a book group selection, I paid closer attention to structure and style than I might otherwise have, and so will discuss a few of the things that prevented me from liking it more.
The following sentence is representative of the writing throughout:
"Clara poured coffee beans into an ancient cast-iron grinder mounted to the wall, measuring by eye, and then turned the iron handle until the smell of ground coffee filled the room."
A lovely image. Plenty of carefully selected wording. Nothing necessarily incorrect about it at all. But even a slightly distracted reader will not need reminders that the handle is iron, the beans are being ground, or the smell is coffee. This kind of overembellishment happens frequently, turning what could have been a powerful novella into a prolonged tale of woe told by a drunk stranger you can't seem to shake.
There are unintentionally comical turns of phrase along the way - the result of awkward word placement - which bring unexpected levity:
"His thesis deadline passed like a signpost through a slow car window..."
This led me to ponder if it is even worth repairing a car window if it was already slow before the signpost went through it? "His thesis deadline passed like a signpost beyond the window of a slow-moving car" was obviously what the author was aiming for, but it's not what she gave us.
Several lyrical turns of phrase simply do not hold up to scrutiny. For example, St. John Mandel twice asserts that the Polaroid photo of a 12-year-old Lilia was captured in a diner "somewhere in the middle of the continent", more specifically "in a Southern state". This is an odd, US-centric assertion coming from a Canadian writer who should know that Winnepeg or Fargo are pretty much the center of North America, and nowhere near the Arizona-Mexico border.
In addition there are scattered errors that should never have made it to print: "...and lights changed from green to red to yellow to green again..." Not in Brooklyn they didn't.
So I'm willing to admit that St. John Mandel has the talent and desire to pen a really good novel, if she can just trust her instincts and not overthink things. I liked "Station Eleven" better, and hope that "The Glass Hotel" reveals that she has hit her stride at last.
The following sentence is representative of the writing throughout:
"Clara poured coffee beans into an ancient cast-iron grinder mounted to the wall, measuring by eye, and then turned the iron handle until the smell of ground coffee filled the room."
A lovely image. Plenty of carefully selected wording. Nothing necessarily incorrect about it at all. But even a slightly distracted reader will not need reminders that the handle is iron, the beans are being ground, or the smell is coffee. This kind of overembellishment happens frequently, turning what could have been a powerful novella into a prolonged tale of woe told by a drunk stranger you can't seem to shake.
There are unintentionally comical turns of phrase along the way - the result of awkward word placement - which bring unexpected levity:
"His thesis deadline passed like a signpost through a slow car window..."
This led me to ponder if it is even worth repairing a car window if it was already slow before the signpost went through it? "His thesis deadline passed like a signpost beyond the window of a slow-moving car" was obviously what the author was aiming for, but it's not what she gave us.
Several lyrical turns of phrase simply do not hold up to scrutiny. For example, St. John Mandel twice asserts that the Polaroid photo of a 12-year-old Lilia was captured in a diner "somewhere in the middle of the continent", more specifically "in a Southern state". This is an odd, US-centric assertion coming from a Canadian writer who should know that Winnepeg or Fargo are pretty much the center of North America, and nowhere near the Arizona-Mexico border.
In addition there are scattered errors that should never have made it to print: "...and lights changed from green to red to yellow to green again..." Not in Brooklyn they didn't.
So I'm willing to admit that St. John Mandel has the talent and desire to pen a really good novel, if she can just trust her instincts and not overthink things. I liked "Station Eleven" better, and hope that "The Glass Hotel" reveals that she has hit her stride at last.
July 11, 2023
For some reason, over the last few years I’ve mostly ignored the older novels in my e-Library—even those by my favourite authors. Thankfully, my Goodreads friend Albert read this book recently, his review piqued my interest, and I decided I had to read it for myself. And I'm very glad I did! Last Night in Montreal is a phenomenal novel, and it’s Emily St. John Mandel’s
debut
(2009)!😲
There’s no point describing the story here—you can read the synopsis anywhere—so I’ll simply say I found this book absolutely riveting from the first page to the last. I mean, who wouldn’t?? It’s no secret this is the story of a child abducted at the age of 7. But then she’s followed pretty much 24-7 until she’s 21 years of age! The chase is definitely exciting, but what’s really interesting is the life that Lilia leads—first as a child, then as a teen, and later on, as a woman. It’s remarkable! As I read, this book had my absolute rapt attention. And that truly did continue until the very last page. When I finished, I actually felt exhausted—probably from holding my breath for so long!😌
In the end, I was thankful many loose ends were tied up but there was one niggling question that remained with me, and hurt my heart. I’d be willing to bet that many readers—perhaps even most of us—had that same kind of wistful feeling. I can’t say what that is but, if you read the book, you’ll know.😉
My highest possible recommendation.
5 “Love-can-be-elusive” stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
There’s no point describing the story here—you can read the synopsis anywhere—so I’ll simply say I found this book absolutely riveting from the first page to the last. I mean, who wouldn’t?? It’s no secret this is the story of a child abducted at the age of 7. But then she’s followed pretty much 24-7 until she’s 21 years of age! The chase is definitely exciting, but what’s really interesting is the life that Lilia leads—first as a child, then as a teen, and later on, as a woman. It’s remarkable! As I read, this book had my absolute rapt attention. And that truly did continue until the very last page. When I finished, I actually felt exhausted—probably from holding my breath for so long!😌
In the end, I was thankful many loose ends were tied up but there was one niggling question that remained with me, and hurt my heart. I’d be willing to bet that many readers—perhaps even most of us—had that same kind of wistful feeling. I can’t say what that is but, if you read the book, you’ll know.😉
My highest possible recommendation.
5 “Love-can-be-elusive” stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
March 10, 2009
The best debut novel I've read in years. Mandel writes with confidence and creates compelling characters around dark secrets and half-forgotten memories. This is the kind of book that stays with you long after it's over.
January 1, 2021
Lilia, Eli and Michaela are lost, elusive, odd characters that I gladly followed through the mysterious landscape St. John Mandel has woven. She is a wizard of a writer!
March 8, 2020
For me, this book reads like an extended short story in the sense that it is very interesting, but at the end, not every i is dotted, not every t is crossed. As a reader who likes short stories, I often enjoy some ambivalence . . .but for many, the ending just won't be satisfactory.
The crux of the book is a young girl, Lilia, is kidnapped by her own father, John, who stays on the move with her. Lilia's path crosses with three other main characters, Christopher, Michaela, and Eli. Unfortunately, to elaborate on their roles would remove much of the suspense of the book . . .a lot of Mandel's prowess is storytelling, and how she unveils the details in a way that leaves readers wanting more.
All in all, I really enjoyed the writing. It's hard to believe it's a debut. But the motivations of the characters seem fuzzy and incompletely formed, and for that reason, I can't dole out that fifth star, and I think other readers may be completely dissatisfied. Short story lovers should pick this one up. If you don't like short stories, I doubt this one is for you.
The crux of the book is a young girl, Lilia, is kidnapped by her own father, John, who stays on the move with her. Lilia's path crosses with three other main characters, Christopher, Michaela, and Eli. Unfortunately, to elaborate on their roles would remove much of the suspense of the book . . .a lot of Mandel's prowess is storytelling, and how she unveils the details in a way that leaves readers wanting more.
All in all, I really enjoyed the writing. It's hard to believe it's a debut. But the motivations of the characters seem fuzzy and incompletely formed, and for that reason, I can't dole out that fifth star, and I think other readers may be completely dissatisfied. Short story lovers should pick this one up. If you don't like short stories, I doubt this one is for you.
December 19, 2019
There is so much going on in this book. It begins with a mysterious feeling that doesn’t let up until the end. You just know there’s not a character in this story who will emerge unscathed. Mandel reaches down deep into the emotional realms where I kept hoping the inexplicable would become understandable. Much of the writing affected me on a gut level. There are those people who seem to live their lives skating on the surface of the world. Then there are some who become fully immersed in all the chaos and fate life presents them. In either case no one remains stuck for too long as the choices they make keep them and the story on the move.
June 20, 2022
C’mon, do you really want me to believe that Last Night in Montreal was Emily St. John Mandel’s debut novel? I’ve read all of Mandel’s novels, and I just finished rereading Last Night in Montreal. Although it’s her first published novel, Mandel nonetheless wrote it with her characteristic fluid, breezy, dispassionate style, a style that here masks the underlying horrors of her story. Last Night. . . centers almost unimaginable child neglect and abandonment in by a father and mother in one family and child abuse by a mother in another family, rounded out by criminal abduction by another father. The two daughters of the two families — the abused Lilia and the abandoned Michaela — are linked by the creepy obsessive pursuit of the fleeing Lilia and her father by Michaela’s father and, later, by the obsessive pursuit of the adult Lilia by her one-time boyfriend. Both Lilia and Michaela, although superficially so different from each other, share not only uprootedness but also unrootedness: familial, relationship, and geographic for Lilia, and familial, relationship, and linguistic for Michaela.
Mandel provides repeated character shadows of flight, travel, abandonment, obsession, patriarchal protection throughout Last Night. . .: Lilia and Michaela; Lilia’s and Michaela’s fathers; and Eli and Michaela’s father. The actions and personalities of these five characters defy easy understanding: for me, part of the appeal of Last Night. . . is that its characters are not fully knowable and not even particularly likable.
Mandel has a marvelous imagination for creating unusual, surprising characters. I first read Last Night. . . in 2015 during a brief Mandel reading binge, and I’ve remembered and pondered it since then. Some readers, more careful than I, might fault it for some occasional plot twists that might seem less than credible; some readers, looking for more than a memorably entertaining novel, might fault it for a lack of profundity. But Mandel is a remarkably deft story-teller, and Last Night in Montreal is a memorable, thought-provoking, and beautifully told story.
4.5 stars
Mandel provides repeated character shadows of flight, travel, abandonment, obsession, patriarchal protection throughout Last Night. . .: Lilia and Michaela; Lilia’s and Michaela’s fathers; and Eli and Michaela’s father. The actions and personalities of these five characters defy easy understanding: for me, part of the appeal of Last Night. . . is that its characters are not fully knowable and not even particularly likable.
Mandel has a marvelous imagination for creating unusual, surprising characters. I first read Last Night. . . in 2015 during a brief Mandel reading binge, and I’ve remembered and pondered it since then. Some readers, more careful than I, might fault it for some occasional plot twists that might seem less than credible; some readers, looking for more than a memorably entertaining novel, might fault it for a lack of profundity. But Mandel is a remarkably deft story-teller, and Last Night in Montreal is a memorable, thought-provoking, and beautifully told story.
4.5 stars
May 24, 2024
Last Night in Montreal was Emily St. John Mandel’s debut novel. And to my surprise, I enjoyed it even more than some of her other books.
It's not very sci-fi/dystopia focused (unlike Sea of Tranquility and Station Eleven). However, it still has Emily's signature writing style that seems to flow seamlessly from one page to the next. I don't want to say much else and ruin the book, however, I will mention that I plan to read this again soon.
It's that good!
5 stars.
It's not very sci-fi/dystopia focused (unlike Sea of Tranquility and Station Eleven). However, it still has Emily's signature writing style that seems to flow seamlessly from one page to the next. I don't want to say much else and ruin the book, however, I will mention that I plan to read this again soon.
It's that good!
5 stars.
July 24, 2011
I thought this was a terrific book.
Let's start with the premise, a young man in New York wakes up with the woman he loves, and whom he thinks he knows quite well. Then, in a way that is normal and routine, she announces she's going to pick up a few items at the corner store. However, she does not return. No note, no phone call, nothing. Soon he discovers that she's traveled to Montreal, but there's no evidence she plans to come back, or even that she plans to stay in Montreal.
Why?
I guarantee, every explanation you've conjured to answer that question is off the mark. But to call this story simply "a mystery" is to sell it short. It's a beautifully written exploration of the fact that people often do hurtful and destructive things for reasons that are purely personal, but quite valid. And usually those affected are left with a twisted mess of hurt, confusion and even anger.
There's a simple truth, people we care about can hurt us. However, it's unwise to assume, no matter how deeply we're effected, that what they did had anything at all to do with us.
I really loved this story and Ms. St. John Mandel is a very gifted writer.
Let's start with the premise, a young man in New York wakes up with the woman he loves, and whom he thinks he knows quite well. Then, in a way that is normal and routine, she announces she's going to pick up a few items at the corner store. However, she does not return. No note, no phone call, nothing. Soon he discovers that she's traveled to Montreal, but there's no evidence she plans to come back, or even that she plans to stay in Montreal.
Why?
I guarantee, every explanation you've conjured to answer that question is off the mark. But to call this story simply "a mystery" is to sell it short. It's a beautifully written exploration of the fact that people often do hurtful and destructive things for reasons that are purely personal, but quite valid. And usually those affected are left with a twisted mess of hurt, confusion and even anger.
There's a simple truth, people we care about can hurt us. However, it's unwise to assume, no matter how deeply we're effected, that what they did had anything at all to do with us.
I really loved this story and Ms. St. John Mandel is a very gifted writer.
April 5, 2023
Popular Canadian author Emily St. John Mandel's debut novel Last Night in Montreal is a beguiling and curious read, drawing together distinct but overlapping narrative threads while exploring concepts of love, loss and hope.
The story opens in New York City, where multilingual photographer Lilia is preparing to leave her life behind, unbenknownst to her partner-boyfriend, linguistics post-grad Eli. Lilia is a restless spirit, and as a result of her nomadic childhood with her father, has found it impossible to ever put down permanent roots anywhere. Others romanticise her life, while for Lilia it's become a a vicious cycle that she can't break out of, the drive to escape from the routine and seek new adventures insurmountable.
Last Night in Montreal is a fascinating character study of multiple people assessing their lives and choices against the backdrop of a long-unsolved mystery. Emily St. John Mandel explores many interconnected themes, including the search for authenticity, a sense of what truly drives each of us as individuals, the neverending quest for rationalisation for what has gone wrong in our lives, the desire to seek redemption for the far-reaching consequences of our past decisions and behaviour, and the existential angst commonly experienced amongst those transitioning from the idealistic and self-focussed world of higher education into the realities of working life.
It's a compelling book, an undeniably masterful debut by Emily St. John Mandel, and a reading experience that I've found my mind drifting back to frequently in the couple of weeks since I turned the last page.
The story opens in New York City, where multilingual photographer Lilia is preparing to leave her life behind, unbenknownst to her partner-boyfriend, linguistics post-grad Eli. Lilia is a restless spirit, and as a result of her nomadic childhood with her father, has found it impossible to ever put down permanent roots anywhere. Others romanticise her life, while for Lilia it's become a a vicious cycle that she can't break out of, the drive to escape from the routine and seek new adventures insurmountable.
"It isn't courage, Erica, it's exactly the opposite. There's nothing good about it. It's exactly like running away from everything that matters, and I wish I could make you understand that. ... I've never moved to anywhere in my life. When I show up in a city ... I'm not arriving anywhere, I'm only leaving somewhere else." (p.78)One thread of the narrative follows Eli, who receives a strangely worded postcard from a stranger, Michaela, a month after Lilia's departure, providing a vital lead as to her whereabouts. He takes leave from his mundane job at an art gallery and applies his meagre savings to pursuing Lilia across the border into her native Québec, Canada, hoping to find his enigmatic girlfriend and tell her how much he needs her in his life. He makes contact with beguiling exotic dancer Michaela, developing a platonic relationship with her over the course of several meetings at cafés and 24-hour diners in the small hours. Despite repeated assurances that she knows where Lilia is and will eventually reveal that information to him, Michaela refuses to do so until Eli trades his knowledge of a shocking incident from Lilia's past.
"His only part in the story: to observe and remember the chain of events. Not all of us will be cast in the greatest dramas. Someone has to remember them. ... Or perhaps it's just this: memory is too unreliable to entrust a story to the hero alone. Someone else has to have observed the chain of events to lend credibility; if no one else remembers your story, how are you to prove that it was real?" (p.175)Meanwhile, two intertwined narrative threads take us back in time. The first depicts Lilia Albert's abduction from her mother's home south of Montréal at age seven, and the intervening years spent traveling back and forth across the United States with her father, avoiding the scrutiny of authorities and gaining an informal education along the way. The second follows Montréal police officer - turned private detective Christopher Graydon, as he agrees to review the case of the missing Lilia, slowly becoming so obsessed that his work and family life fragment irretrievably.
Last Night in Montreal is a fascinating character study of multiple people assessing their lives and choices against the backdrop of a long-unsolved mystery. Emily St. John Mandel explores many interconnected themes, including the search for authenticity, a sense of what truly drives each of us as individuals, the neverending quest for rationalisation for what has gone wrong in our lives, the desire to seek redemption for the far-reaching consequences of our past decisions and behaviour, and the existential angst commonly experienced amongst those transitioning from the idealistic and self-focussed world of higher education into the realities of working life.
"You know what bothered me about it? Everyone was supposedly committed to the pursuit of truth and beauty, or at least one of those things, but no one was actually doing anything about it, and it seemed all wrong to me. The inertia, I mean. The inertia made everything seem fraudulent. There we were, talking about art, but no one was doing anything except Lilia. ... no one was doing anything important except her. She worked as a dishwasher, she lived cheaply, she took beautiful pictures and translated things. She never made any money off it, it was just something she did. The point is, she never talked about it. She never seemed like she was posing. She never theorized or deconstructed. She just practised her art, practised it instead of analysing it to death, and it rendered the rest of us fraudulent. There aren't many people in the world..." (p.146)A major current through the novel is the drive Lilia has to keep on the move, a drive that is so much more powerful and insidious than mere wanderlust or "itchy feet" that occur in the context of an otherwise functional life. There are clear signs that there's more to her abduction than might first appear, and she's conscious that she's unable to remember details of her childhood prior to her father scooping her into his arms on that snowy winter night. She's only aware of a nebulous shadowy presence that compells her to keep running - but why?
"How deep in our genes is the longing for flight embedded? We always were a species of nomads. Eli found it easy to imagine an instinct passed down generation to generation, a permanently thrown breaker on a genetic switchboard: fight or flight, and a switch jammed permanently in the flight position, the limitless longing for travel pulled down by hooked genes." (p.160-1)Last Night in Montreal is in many respects an unsettling read. While we gradually develop an investment in each of the characters, they're complex and not entirely likeable individuals. There are highs in the story of Lilia's life on the road with her father, but much of the present day narrative is fairly bleak, including the shocking but poignant ending. Emily St. John Mandel's rendering of the brutal Montréal climate is fitting for the mood of a story that possibly raises more questions than it answers about the human condition.
It's a compelling book, an undeniably masterful debut by Emily St. John Mandel, and a reading experience that I've found my mind drifting back to frequently in the couple of weeks since I turned the last page.
November 28, 2016
I came to this book after loving Station Eleven. It is completely different in subject and setting, but there's a similarity in storytelling style that is wonderful. There are only obsessed characters here, each struggling for something......to escape, to love, to discover secrets from their past, or to find or protect a vulnerable girl. It sounds melodramatic, but Mandel writes a gentle, literary tale....not a page-turner.
May 31, 2020
Exceptional writing, almost poetic.. Not quite a mystery- more a character study with elements of suspense. It’s broken up into a few different parts, and each 1 focused on different aspects (people & timeframes) of the story. I listened to the audiobook & both the story & the narrator were enthralling. An impressive introduction to an author I’ve heard such positive things about.. Certainly not all sunshine & rainbows but still a nice change from the nitty gritty I’m used to.❤️
March 22, 2020
Last Night in Montreal is a menacing, tense, slow burn of a novel, in just the way I like. It was a slow read for me, not because I didn't enjoy it (I did, immensely) but because Mandel's writing, as always, demands her reader to engage, and take notice. I am sure that many of the criticisms I've read of this novel are justified. Yes, there are some twists of plot less credible than others, there are some untidy turns of phrase. I was prepared to forgive these, because for this reader, Mandel's first novel really captured the essence of what it is to feel lost and listless, unrooted and unknown, to not know one's self and perpetually failing to find one's self but not for want of trying. As always, in my reading of this novel, I am a beneficiary of a high threshold for plotless narratives. This is not a story about what happens, but about who we become when our interior identity becomes unmoored, and is challenged by our relationships with others. This was a meditative, thoughtful read, which reminded me exactly why I love Mandel's writing.
June 5, 2010
This novel is why I became a bookseller and why after 23 years I remain one. To come across a gem like this makes slogging through many many other books we read, ones that may be goodish,or ordinary or even bad, all worthwhile. Her voice captivated me from the start and the way the story unfolds kept me reading it compulsively.
I have started to read aloud to the dogs in the mornings (don't judge - I am not crazy but reading aloud makes me slow down and listen to the language) and started them one morning on this Last Night in Montreal.The language and style pulled me into the book and before long I forgot the dogs and had to gulp it down.
It is a remarkable look at two young women who had completely different childhoods yet ended up being detached from the world around them and who each held the final clue, the final piece of motivation for the other to connect with life in one case, and to end life in the other. A sense of loss, of yearning and of obsession informs the book but doesn't overpower it. I really loved the characters of Lilia and Eli and eventually Michaela and how bound together they are in such an alienating world. The story just came alive and the endless runnings away of LIlia and her father, the New York City of Eli and Lilia ,and finally the Montreal of Eli and Michaela were as strong as any of the other characters.
I really loved this book. I think that Emily St. John Mandel will haunt me like Michael Chabon. Long after reading, the story, the characters will stay with me.
I have started to read aloud to the dogs in the mornings (don't judge - I am not crazy but reading aloud makes me slow down and listen to the language) and started them one morning on this Last Night in Montreal.The language and style pulled me into the book and before long I forgot the dogs and had to gulp it down.
It is a remarkable look at two young women who had completely different childhoods yet ended up being detached from the world around them and who each held the final clue, the final piece of motivation for the other to connect with life in one case, and to end life in the other. A sense of loss, of yearning and of obsession informs the book but doesn't overpower it. I really loved the characters of Lilia and Eli and eventually Michaela and how bound together they are in such an alienating world. The story just came alive and the endless runnings away of LIlia and her father, the New York City of Eli and Lilia ,and finally the Montreal of Eli and Michaela were as strong as any of the other characters.
I really loved this book. I think that Emily St. John Mandel will haunt me like Michael Chabon. Long after reading, the story, the characters will stay with me.
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