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An Ostensibly Admirable Attempt that Does Little Successfully but Disappoint...
“There are a wide assortment of books [fictitiously] purported to be 'The Secret History' (D. Tartt); 'The Night Climbers' is just one in a series. Before I waste any of your time: It fails. Tremendously. Probably the biggest issue is that Stouton is clearly (or, if not himself, his PR and publishers) trying to ensnare the more erudite and intellectual of contemporary literature readers. By the very nature of who would likely be attracted to the book, Stouton's writing caters more to a quick beach-read type of audience. Not inherently wrong, flawed, or bad; rather, the writing (and the likely intended audience) don't mesh well whatsoever.
An amazon user wrote this on 2009-04-12.
I had purchased this with the (clearly incorrect) hopes that the novel would be cultured, academic, and thoughtful. Suffice to say, it accomplished none of the holy trinity.
In a vacuum, Ivo Stouton's book is wholly unremarkable: the writing is mediocre (speaking loudly of having taken some creative writing seminars, but lacking any sort of intellectual framework) and peppered with pithy commentary that tries all-too-hard to emit an aura of aloof brilliance. There are a few off-the-cuff cultural references, but mostly I found it to be a bunch of psuedo-intellectual babble, written more as a projection of Stouton's own fantasies than to any sort of literary aspiration.
The book follows a confluence of events surrounding four undergraduate students at Tudor College, Cambridge. James, an entering freshman, tries desperately to emit a sense of self-assured mystery (which backfires: he finds himself alone after a few weeks), with the hopes of gleaning the attention of an intriguing group of four students: Michael, Francis, Jessica, and Lisa. This group of four engages in the eponymous activity - climbing the drainpipes, scaffolding, grotesques, and other elements of the Cambridge architecture (see: "The Night Climbers of Cambridge," a 1953 monographic non-fiction imprint of the same behavior). By chance, James encounters Michael - and then is slowly integrated into the social circle. Francis is fabulously wealthy, and supports all of them in an extravagant lifestyle of cocaine, alcohol, and decadent excursions. Michael soon falls by the wayside (and is unceremoniously eliminated from the story (a la Bunny, from 'The Secret History,' though painfully less interesting), having interfered in an altercation between Francis and his father.
The crux of the story occurs when, per the aforementioned altercation, Francis is no longer the recipient to his father's vast fortunes. The remaining four hatch a scheme, originally proposed by Francis (with whom the other three in the social circle are smitten), to acquire a non-negligibly large sum of money. As expected, this monetary acquisition is far from legal, and creates a maelstrom of unfolding events within the group that reverberate into their adult lives. Ho hum.
My main criticisms? ...Let's start.
The plot itself is boring and unpredictable. There has been a large cropping-up of books preoccupied with art, forgery, esoterica, &c in the past decade. Had Stouton written this fifteen years ago, it may have seemed fresh and interesting; it seems like a tired, worn story by 2009. Engagement with the plot was difficult; things don't pick up until some 130 pp into the story. It seems that Stouton's trying to breed curiosity and interest in the reader, but it comes off as unfocused meandering.
The characters are flimsy, and one-dimensional. None of the internal behaviors of the individuals are explored, in any sense, through the progression of the story: feeling any empathy towards Francis, James, Lisa, or Jessica is virtually impossible. Everything is narrated by James: first person narration, as any reader knows, is the most difficult form by which to convey suspense or mystery. Tartt's resounding success with 'The Secret History' is her incredible capacity to drift tantalizing suspense and curiosity while still writing from first-person.
At any rate, James does little particular exploration of his philosophies and thoughts. The story is told unenthusiastically and boringly; his internal monologues are stilted and come across as forced. Though the narration switches sporadically between present-day and Cambridge-day, the temporal shifts don't account for how predicably linear the story itself remains.
In all areas, I found this novel to be a disappointment. It's length was the real reason I bore through to the end: I read it over two days, and found it only the most precursory form of entertainment. An academic thriller, this book is not. It doesn't not come well-recommended, regardless of its inescapable comparison to The Secret History: slow progression, boring plot, flat characters, and unimpressive writing. ” -
Them changes
“This is written in the first person, by the young first year student/early 30s lawyer. The college years are a flashback, and we find him today practicing commercial law, living alone, living for his career. The notion is, the 12-13 years since his first year at Oxford are a direct result of that first year.
An amazon user wrote this on 2008-10-15.
The editor's review characterized one of the main characters, Michael, as a jock. That's just outright wrong. He did play sports, but the most important thing about him is that he is new rich, and that his self-esteem is completely about being of a better class than those around him. His sports exploits hardly enter the story. He sounds detestable, but Stourton does a good job, and I found myself accepting him for what he is, and surprised that he could be such a decent person, when the chips are down.
The center of the story is Francis, who is rich, handsome, black, and completely charismatic, in his effect on the other characters. The tone of the novel turns with his fortunes. Other than the story, the way Stourton writes the personal interactions among the main characters was a strong point, for me. I wouldn't characterize this as great literature, largely because I doubt I'd recognize great literature without someone to instruct me, but much of what he has to say about people rang true. The 5 main characters come across very distinctly, very 3-dimensional.
Plot spoiler coming - no details, but... Read at your own risk.
Well,that pretty much tells you there's a twist. Francis' fortunes turn sharply down, and it looked to me like this novel was going to be a miserable tragedy, with a hopeful beginning and a complete downer of an ending. Mostly, I'm very not into tragedies, and was prepared to be sorry I'd spent my time with this novel. Things got very interesting when I didn't expect them to, and I can't say I'm sorry I read this. So, if you're like me, and the way you feel mirrors the tone of the story and the writing, hang in there. It's not a waste of time.” -
A first rung in a literary ladder
“For a book about night climbers, the actual night climbing is limited to a couple of chapters. Still, this coming-of-age novel has a few twists, and the milieu -- the super-rich and hangers-on at Cambridge -- is fascinating. I enjoyed it as a light read about a self-destructive man and his friends, as narrated by one of the friends. The narrator is suitably gullible but sympathetic, as he seems to berate himself constantly for his youthful mistakes. The plot gets tied up a little too neatly -- Stourton should try a little ambiguity in his next effort.”
An amazon user wrote this on 2008-06-04. -
Sumptuous prose in a winning debut novel
“This book was on a shelf at Barnes & Noble labeled "Recommended by Staff" when it caught my eye. I was intrigued by the flap summary and purchased it. At the time, I was working on 5 other books and so this one sat for a while on my future reading pile until 3 nights ago.
An amazon user wrote this on 2008-05-24.
I was immediately drawn in to the inner world of the narrator, who remained my favorite character throughout the book. His overwhelming desire to "get in with the right crowd" amused me greatly, since I was the kind of person who loved being in the library during college and he looked with derision on those individuals!
What I liked most about this debut novel was the level of literacy that imbued the whole book, as well as the fantastic metaphors constantly used in his descriptions. I enjoyed reading about the lavish lifestyle the main characters designed and fought to maintain, and found it ironic that in order to avoid actually DOING any college level work they had to employ a high level of intellect to their cheating schemes!
The pacing and length of the novel felt just right, and I would always finish a chapter wanting to move immediately on to the next one. I finished the book quickly, reading eagerly after work for the last several nights.
While I didn't actually LIKE Francis, Jessica, Lisa, or other peripheral people much, I very much enjoyed the book. I look forward to reading his next novel!” -
1 of 2 members found this review helpful.
BORING AND SLOW
“COULDN'T WAIT TO FINISH THIS BOOK. BREEZED THROUGH IT JUST TO GET TO THE ENDING. ”
An amazon user wrote this on 2008-04-16.
