Synopsis "Night Watch"

From one of our most accomplished novelists, a mesmerizing story about a mother and daughter seeking refuge in the chaotic aftermath of the Civil War--and a brilliant portrait of family endurance against all odds In 1874, in the wake of the War, erasure, trauma, and namelessness haunt civilians and veterans, renegades and wanderers, freedmen and runaways. Twelve-year-old ConaLee, the adult in her family for as long as she can remember, finds herself on a buckboard journey with her mother, Eliza, who hasn't spoken in more than a year. They arrive at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia, delivered to the hospital's entrance by a war veteran who has forced himself into their world. There, far from family, a beloved neighbor, and the mountain home they knew, they try to reclaim their lives. The omnipresent vagaries of war and race rise to the surface as we learn their story: their flight to the highest mountain ridges of western Virginia; the disappearance of ConaLee's father, who left for the War and never returned. Meanwhile, in the asylum, they begin to find a new path. ConaLee pretends to be her mother's maid; Eliza responds slowly to treatment. They get swept up in the life of the facility--the mysterious man they call the Night Watch; the orphan child called Weed; the fearsome woman who runs the kitchen; the remarkable doctor at the head of the institution. Epic, enthralling, and meticulously crafted, Night Watch is a stunning chronicle of surviving war and its aftermath.

Jayne Anne Phillips

(Author)

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Jayne Anne Phillips (West Virginia, USA, 1952) is an acclaimed writer and professor. She has held teaching positions at prestigious institutions such as Harvard University and Boston University, and has published anthologies, novels, short stories, and essays.

Her literary work includes “Black Tickets” (1979), a collection of stories that established her as a distinctive voice in American literature. “Machine Dreams” (1984), and “Lark and Termite” (2009), nominated for the National Book Award. Her most recent novel, “Night Watch” (2023), won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2024.

Phillips has been awarded the Pushcart Prize and the Fels Prize from the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses for her book “Sweethearts”, and in 2024 she won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Her work has been translated into more than ten languages, consolidating her international recognition.

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