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Late One Night
On a night no one will ever forget, Della Black and three of her seven children are killed in a horrific fire in their trailer. As the surviving children are caught in the middle of a custody battle between their well-intentioned neighbor and their father and his pregnant mistress, new truths about what really happened the night of the fire come to light. When the fire marshal determines the cause – arson – rumors quickly circulate as the townspeople search for answers. Ronnie Black is the kind of man who can leave his wife and children for a younger woman, but is he capable of something more sinister?
Ronnie and his girlfriend, Brandi Tate, maintain his innocence – he’s a loving, caring father who wants to do everything he can to protect his family. But as the gossip continues, Ronnie feels his children (and, eventually, Brandi) pulling away from him. Soon enough, he finds himself at a crossroads – should he allow gossipmongers to seal his fate, or should he fight to prove that he’s not the monster people paint him to be?
In Late One Night , Lee Martin examines the devastating effect of rumors and the resilience of one family in the face of the ultimate tragedy.
Ronnie and his girlfriend, Brandi Tate, maintain his innocence – he’s a loving, caring father who wants to do everything he can to protect his family. But as the gossip continues, Ronnie feels his children (and, eventually, Brandi) pulling away from him. Soon enough, he finds himself at a crossroads – should he allow gossipmongers to seal his fate, or should he fight to prove that he’s not the monster people paint him to be?
In Late One Night , Lee Martin examines the devastating effect of rumors and the resilience of one family in the face of the ultimate tragedy.
313 pages, Hardcover
First published May 10, 2016
About the author
Lee Martin
12 books146 followersLee Martin is the author of the novels, The Bright Forever, a finalist for the 2006 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction; River of Heaven; Quakertown; Break the Skin; Yours, Jean; The Glassmaker's Wife; and the soon-to-be-released, The Evening Shades. He has also published four memoirs, From Our House, Turning Bones, Such a Life, and Gone the Hard Road. His first book was the short story collection, The Least You Need To Know, and he recently published another, The Mutual UFO Netwlrk. He is the co-editor of Passing the Word: Writers on Their Mentors. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in such places as Harper's, Ms., Creative Nonfiction, The Georgia Review, The Kenyon Review, Fourth Genre, River Teeth, The Southern Review, Prairie Schooner, and Glimmer Train. He is the winner of the Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Ohio Arts Council. He teaches in the MFA Program at The Ohio State University, where he was the winner of the 2006 Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
October 8, 2019
Very sad and devastating story.
December 21, 2017
I've been a Lee Martin fan ever since I read his novel, "The Bright Forever," which was one of the most compelling reads I have encountered. "Late One Night" may be even better. I couldn't put it down, and when I did, the characters lived inside my head until I could revisit them on the page once again.
Della Black and three of her seven children die in a fire, their trailer consumed in flames set by an arsonist. Could the culprit be her estranged and unstable husband, Ronnie Black? Everyone in their small, southern Illinois seems to think so; after all, Ronnie's had his share of scrapes with the law before, and his temper has achieved legendary status. The fact that he left his wife and took up with another woman, one who is now pregnant with his child, hasn't helped his popularity. And the reader knows from early on in the story that Ronnie was out at Della's trailer the night of the fire. Another person knows, too -- Captain Rowe, the developmentally challenged son of one of Della's neighbors. He's the only person in town who seems to be a Ronnie Black fan, other than Brandi, Ronnie's girlfriend. Della's parents, other neighbors, and the citizenry in general have Ronnie convicted in their minds within minutes of the announcement of the fire investigator's report on the cause of the conflagration. They always knew he would come to no good, that once sullen child who went from foster home to foster home, had trouble holding down a job, had trouble giving his wife and kids any kind of life they deserved. He was trouble, pure and simple.
But, with his trademark subtlety and with spare, almost lyric prose, Lee Martin shows us that nothing and no one is anything close to "pure and simple." Everyone in this book has a shadow self, a part of himself or herself better hidden from view, even from his/her own view. Missy's jealous that Della and Ronnie had 7 children when she couldn't carry even one to term. Shooter Rowe's disappointed that his son has a disability, and he's uncertain about how to parent the young man alone after his wife's death. Brandi's need for someone to love gives rise to her blind spot for Ronnie's violent nature. And Della's oldest daughter can't rid herself of guilt over what she sees as failing her mother and siblings that horrible night when she awoke to flames. Everyone is a complicated soul, complicit in the darkness that follows the fire, but doing his or her best to live a good life, to do the right thing, even if what is thought to be the right thing isn't right at all. Is redemption possible for anyone here? Or forgiveness?
Strong but gentle character development made me ache for the characters in the the book, even for Ronnie, damaged but struggling to be good, and for everyone else trying to keep dreams alive. Nuanced, lovely prose makes this book a pleasure to read, despite the overarching sadness that pervades the story. I think this is one of Martin's two finest novels, and I highly recommend it. There's a lot here to think about. And book clubs should find plenty to discuss should they add it to their reading lists. I'll be recommending it to my group, for sure.
Della Black and three of her seven children die in a fire, their trailer consumed in flames set by an arsonist. Could the culprit be her estranged and unstable husband, Ronnie Black? Everyone in their small, southern Illinois seems to think so; after all, Ronnie's had his share of scrapes with the law before, and his temper has achieved legendary status. The fact that he left his wife and took up with another woman, one who is now pregnant with his child, hasn't helped his popularity. And the reader knows from early on in the story that Ronnie was out at Della's trailer the night of the fire. Another person knows, too -- Captain Rowe, the developmentally challenged son of one of Della's neighbors. He's the only person in town who seems to be a Ronnie Black fan, other than Brandi, Ronnie's girlfriend. Della's parents, other neighbors, and the citizenry in general have Ronnie convicted in their minds within minutes of the announcement of the fire investigator's report on the cause of the conflagration. They always knew he would come to no good, that once sullen child who went from foster home to foster home, had trouble holding down a job, had trouble giving his wife and kids any kind of life they deserved. He was trouble, pure and simple.
But, with his trademark subtlety and with spare, almost lyric prose, Lee Martin shows us that nothing and no one is anything close to "pure and simple." Everyone in this book has a shadow self, a part of himself or herself better hidden from view, even from his/her own view. Missy's jealous that Della and Ronnie had 7 children when she couldn't carry even one to term. Shooter Rowe's disappointed that his son has a disability, and he's uncertain about how to parent the young man alone after his wife's death. Brandi's need for someone to love gives rise to her blind spot for Ronnie's violent nature. And Della's oldest daughter can't rid herself of guilt over what she sees as failing her mother and siblings that horrible night when she awoke to flames. Everyone is a complicated soul, complicit in the darkness that follows the fire, but doing his or her best to live a good life, to do the right thing, even if what is thought to be the right thing isn't right at all. Is redemption possible for anyone here? Or forgiveness?
Strong but gentle character development made me ache for the characters in the the book, even for Ronnie, damaged but struggling to be good, and for everyone else trying to keep dreams alive. Nuanced, lovely prose makes this book a pleasure to read, despite the overarching sadness that pervades the story. I think this is one of Martin's two finest novels, and I highly recommend it. There's a lot here to think about. And book clubs should find plenty to discuss should they add it to their reading lists. I'll be recommending it to my group, for sure.
September 12, 2016
Did not finish. I read over one third of the book which is past my usual 30 page, then toss across the room, rule. I thought the premise of the book sounded promising, but did not find any of the characters interesting and did not like the narrative style. I really should have been leery of a hardback novel that uses the first 13 pages detailing praise for the author.
December 29, 2016
2.5
Fuck that ending.
Fuck that ending.
May 3, 2018
**Received a copy from Dzanc Books. All opinions are my own**
Late one night in Goldengate a woman named Della and her 7 children's trailer is on fire. Out of 8 of the people in trailer, only 3 of her children survive. Fingers point to the father, Ronnie, who recently left the family for his new pregnant girlfriend Brandi Tate as the main suspect. The surviving children's lives change forever and now the main question is: who started the fire and why?
Throughout the entire story I kept wanting to know who really did it. Not only was there a tragedy that happened, but it also unfolded each family's dynamic in the small town of Goldengate. It's not really set up as a mystery book as I had originally thought it would, but nonetheless still a great read!
Late one night in Goldengate a woman named Della and her 7 children's trailer is on fire. Out of 8 of the people in trailer, only 3 of her children survive. Fingers point to the father, Ronnie, who recently left the family for his new pregnant girlfriend Brandi Tate as the main suspect. The surviving children's lives change forever and now the main question is: who started the fire and why?
Throughout the entire story I kept wanting to know who really did it. Not only was there a tragedy that happened, but it also unfolded each family's dynamic in the small town of Goldengate. It's not really set up as a mystery book as I had originally thought it would, but nonetheless still a great read!
May 14, 2016
In Late One Night Lee Martin takes us back to his beloved Midwest where land is sectioned off in one-mile squares and filled with people whose day to day lives seem to run as straight and right angled as the gravel roads that connect them. A book that takes us down one of those roads to the town of Golden Gate where, along a blacktop outside town, the double wide trailer where Della Black and her seven children sleep, catches fire in the night. In the aftermath mother and three children perish. An estranged husband becomes suspect, and rumors and gossip spread among neighbors and friends who are desperate to figure out what happened late one night.
The pleasure in reading this book is not just to be found in who did it (although this question will certainly have you turning pages) but in what we learn about the characters and indeed ourselves as we follow their movements across the page. Martin takes us to places we might not be brave enough to visit on our own. Asks that we face the demons, touch the sore spots. Allow ourselves to feel how at any moment, a life can divide into before and after. A mother and children lay down to sleep in a trailer. A man begins his life anew. And then.
It is in this space between before and after that Lee gives us the opportunity to come face to face with the shifting nature of truth, the many dimensions of human character. To walk the line between goodness and brutality that this author renders so beautifully in each of his memoirs and short stories and novels. And now again in his latest, Late One Night.
The pleasure in reading this book is not just to be found in who did it (although this question will certainly have you turning pages) but in what we learn about the characters and indeed ourselves as we follow their movements across the page. Martin takes us to places we might not be brave enough to visit on our own. Asks that we face the demons, touch the sore spots. Allow ourselves to feel how at any moment, a life can divide into before and after. A mother and children lay down to sleep in a trailer. A man begins his life anew. And then.
It is in this space between before and after that Lee gives us the opportunity to come face to face with the shifting nature of truth, the many dimensions of human character. To walk the line between goodness and brutality that this author renders so beautifully in each of his memoirs and short stories and novels. And now again in his latest, Late One Night.
December 15, 2020
WTF? What a disappointing read!
I really enjoyed The Bright Forever and wanted to read more books by Lee Martin. At first Late One Night had a similar feel, but once the author laid out the mystery, it seemed clear what had happened. Over the course of about 300 pages, this obvious explanation was continuously reinforced. I wondered if it might be a red herring. But it wasn’t. I kept thinking, What is the point of this??
The point, I guess, was for the author to share a lesson about forgiveness and empathy. However, if the premise of the book is that a woman and three of her children are burned alive, a lot of the empathy depends on the characters and the explanation for the fire. None of the people in Late One Night are likable.
The coincidences are ludicrous. The explanation for the fire is apparent but totally convoluted when every detail comes out. And, the truly unbelievable part, a man is suspected of intentionally killing his wife, 6-year-old daughter, 3-year-old daughter, and infant son, yet this is treated relatively casually. People are somewhat troubled by the thought of this same man having custody of his four remaining children, but no one is that troubled. Not the grandparents, not the neighbors, not the woman at Child Protective Services. No one is going out of their mind with grief. No one is terrified for the kids.
The story is well written from the standpoint that it’s a literary mystery, so I kept hoping it would improve, have a twist, have something to offer. As I neared the end, I thought I would give it two stars (barring some amazing ending), but then the author started laying on this syrupy Lifetime movie morality: “Everyone’s life came down to this. The chance to do something good. . .To do it with no thought of what advantage or reward might come to you. To do it because everyone was sometimes stupid, deceitful, selfish, weak.” Just two pages later another character has a similar epiphany: “Here’s a chance to do something good, and if you do this one good thing, maybe then you can do another and then another, and before long you’ll have your life back on track.” Another character, two pages after that: “A great happiness spread through him. . .it all meant that something was helping him to do the thing he’d come to do. It all meant that what he intended was right.”
When what happened is revealed, the supposedly tough questions raised and the conclusion made me drop my rating in disgust. That was just too much. Completely unrealistic and totally unacceptable. Zero stars.
Everyone’s behavior is unrealistic.
In the last few pages, everyone is enlightened and content with the appalling conclusion.
I really enjoyed The Bright Forever and wanted to read more books by Lee Martin. At first Late One Night had a similar feel, but once the author laid out the mystery, it seemed clear what had happened. Over the course of about 300 pages, this obvious explanation was continuously reinforced. I wondered if it might be a red herring. But it wasn’t. I kept thinking, What is the point of this??
The point, I guess, was for the author to share a lesson about forgiveness and empathy. However, if the premise of the book is that a woman and three of her children are burned alive, a lot of the empathy depends on the characters and the explanation for the fire. None of the people in Late One Night are likable.
The coincidences are ludicrous. The explanation for the fire is apparent but totally convoluted when every detail comes out. And, the truly unbelievable part, a man is suspected of intentionally killing his wife, 6-year-old daughter, 3-year-old daughter, and infant son, yet this is treated relatively casually. People are somewhat troubled by the thought of this same man having custody of his four remaining children, but no one is that troubled. Not the grandparents, not the neighbors, not the woman at Child Protective Services. No one is going out of their mind with grief. No one is terrified for the kids.
The story is well written from the standpoint that it’s a literary mystery, so I kept hoping it would improve, have a twist, have something to offer. As I neared the end, I thought I would give it two stars (barring some amazing ending), but then the author started laying on this syrupy Lifetime movie morality: “Everyone’s life came down to this. The chance to do something good. . .To do it with no thought of what advantage or reward might come to you. To do it because everyone was sometimes stupid, deceitful, selfish, weak.” Just two pages later another character has a similar epiphany: “Here’s a chance to do something good, and if you do this one good thing, maybe then you can do another and then another, and before long you’ll have your life back on track.” Another character, two pages after that: “A great happiness spread through him. . .it all meant that something was helping him to do the thing he’d come to do. It all meant that what he intended was right.”
When what happened is revealed, the supposedly tough questions raised and the conclusion made me drop my rating in disgust. That was just too much. Completely unrealistic and totally unacceptable. Zero stars.
Everyone’s behavior is unrealistic.
In the last few pages, everyone is enlightened and content with the appalling conclusion.
June 24, 2016
This was about a tragedy and how a small community deals with it -- some kindly, some not so much. A fire takes the lives of a mother and 3 of her 7 children. Her estranged husband is suspected, but there are others who fall under suspicion as well. Some neighbors step up to try to care for the 4 children who made it out of the fire -- as does their father. Unfortunately, he is one of those people who spend their entire lives making bad decisions and using poor judgment. Abject poverty plays into the story as well as lack of education, narrow mindedness, and poor health. The children are torn several different ways: toward their father, toward the neighbor who loves and wants them, toward their grandparents, and they have to make decisions that children should never be forced to make. This book will make you forever thankful for what you have.
April 22, 2020
Things I liked a lot and things I didn’t. Liked...the characters, all small town working folk just trying to get by. Liked...the slow burning mystery of how the central event in the book, the fire, happened and the slow reveal of who was responsible. Things I didn’t like....the fact that the death of four people, including 3 children did not have people literally reeling, but just accepted including by the other family members. Didn’t like....the almost melodramatic ending with a moral all tied up in a bow. Didn’t like....the father who acted badly over and over in the book suddenly changed....so not believable. I really like Lee Martin but this was t his best.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 6, 2016
So mad!
This book started out good but I am sorry, Ronnie and Brandi are disgusting people. He is a big loser. If this was a true story, I am sure the ending would be much different.
This book started out good but I am sorry, Ronnie and Brandi are disgusting people. He is a big loser. If this was a true story, I am sure the ending would be much different.
July 26, 2016
A great novel from Martin. Lots of empathy for the small-town characters. No one a complete hero, no one a complete villain. Excellent
April 14, 2017
Enjoyed the first half but figured out part of the ending way too early. Did not like the ending. Neer found a character that I really liked.
January 17, 2017
Lee Martin’s LATE ONE NIGHT is one of those books that stays with you long after you read the final page. In it, Ronnie Black’s estranged wife, Della, and three of his seven children are killed when their trailer catches fire on a cold Illinois night. The inhabitants of Della and Ronnie’s hometown of Goldengate have already been talking about the pair for the past several months since Ronnie left Della with their seven kids and moved in with a younger woman—plus he wasn’t a person who inspired many to defend him even before that.
LATE ONE NIGHT is a wonderful study of a small town. Martin’s characters and dialogue bring Goldengate, Illinois to life, and every reader will find someone they know in its pages. I loved the way each person was made more real in some small way to help me further immerse myself in the story, and by the end of the book I felt as much a member of the town as anyone I had read about. Shifting points of view ensured that I always had any needed backstory, and it was done in a way that didn’t leave me scrambling to remember whose brain I was sharing.
Lee Martin has a special gift when it comes to writing literary fiction that combines suspense and the darker side of people with the comforting rhythm you can find in a small town. LATE ONE NIGHT is a terrific example of that as Martin captures the wistfulness and yearning for what could have been, the hopes that come with a fresh start, and the suffering caused by a tragedy. It's one of those rare books that I'll read again, and I definitely recommend to others.
LATE ONE NIGHT is a wonderful study of a small town. Martin’s characters and dialogue bring Goldengate, Illinois to life, and every reader will find someone they know in its pages. I loved the way each person was made more real in some small way to help me further immerse myself in the story, and by the end of the book I felt as much a member of the town as anyone I had read about. Shifting points of view ensured that I always had any needed backstory, and it was done in a way that didn’t leave me scrambling to remember whose brain I was sharing.
Lee Martin has a special gift when it comes to writing literary fiction that combines suspense and the darker side of people with the comforting rhythm you can find in a small town. LATE ONE NIGHT is a terrific example of that as Martin captures the wistfulness and yearning for what could have been, the hopes that come with a fresh start, and the suffering caused by a tragedy. It's one of those rare books that I'll read again, and I definitely recommend to others.
June 11, 2018
I have a lot of opinions about this book. As someone who lives in a small, rural town, I'd say that Martin did a good job of capturing the feel and dynamics of life there. I also think he successfully trod the line between expressing the horror of the fatal fire and writing needless gory voyeurism, and I liked that he brought up the question of how to bring justice to situations where culpability is not black and white.
On the other hand, the ending felt unnecessarily rushed, even though Martin had been telegraphing the name of who lit the flame from early in the book. That question of uncertain blame was too quickly dropped--I think a discussion of that could have made a truly compelling conclusion to the story. I also think Martin made a pet of Brandi: although she clearly shared some of the responsibility for the deaths of Della and her children, .
I'd still recommend it, but I don't think it'll be high on my reread list.
On the other hand, the ending felt unnecessarily rushed, even though Martin had been telegraphing the name of who lit the flame from early in the book. That question of uncertain blame was too quickly dropped--I think a discussion of that could have made a truly compelling conclusion to the story. I also think Martin made a pet of Brandi: although she clearly shared some of the responsibility for the deaths of Della and her children, .
I'd still recommend it, but I don't think it'll be high on my reread list.
August 18, 2022
Lee Martin is one of my favorite writers, a gentle, compassionate storyteller who explores the depth of human condition with all its flaws and frailties. Even as he's depicting a flawed, despicable character, such as Ronnie Black, in this book, Martin exposes the tender underbelly of this individual and how all our fears, frailties, and mistakes connect us as human. "Late One Night" is a heart-pounding novel about a trailer that burns in the night killing a mother and three of her children. Fortunately four children manage to escape. It's clear from the start that the fire was set, and It's easy to blame Ronnie Black, who's left his wife and children in the trailer to live with his pregnant girlfriend. He's known about town as a bit of a rounder, a hooligan, a misfit. So the finger-pointing begins with him. But Martin, in his sly, subtle way, enables us to see Ronnie as a round character, who may very well be flawed, but has love and compassion. Could he have done this? Or maybe someone else had reason to set the trailer on fire. It's a mystery that leads the reader down twisty paths and shows the folly of quick assumptions.
July 31, 2026
Was somewhat interesting, but I would not categorize it as a thriller, as the LC in-publication has it. I was put off by the colloquial narration, all the maudlin musings regarding the characters’ thoughts, concerns, and memories. The attempt was to create character depth, but it became much filler.
I wanted to see more action, events within; instead we were given character interactions. One person visits another’s door and has words, repeatedly throughout.
Admittedly, not my type of novel.
I wanted to see more action, events within; instead we were given character interactions. One person visits another’s door and has words, repeatedly throughout.
Admittedly, not my type of novel.
November 6, 2017
This novel could take place anywhere, in any town. Lee portrays well what motivates a character, a person, and how those things can get us in trouble. Well written, clear, concise, brilliant in it's simplicity.
April 8, 2018
The characters come alive, and I didn’t want to put it down. I had high expectations because I loved “The Bright Forever” by Martin, and this book was every bit as good. Even the characters that I didn’t want to like, I had sympathy for. Entertaining, but also deep.
October 2, 2017
Excellent read in one of my favorite writing styles. Outstanding author.
September 16, 2021
The story line was interesting, but I felt that the characterization was weak and sketchy.
April 10, 2022
Great book!
March 3, 2017
This was a riveting story, telling of a tragedy that seems to be "the perfect storm". There are a lot of "if onlys" and pieces that only fit together near the end of the book. A worthwhile read.
August 3, 2016
This was excellent. I don't know where Lee Martin grew up but he definitely knows the people I grew up with the rural Midwest. An exceptional tale exploring how rumors develop within a community, how reputations spin out of control, how minds are often made up regardless of facts. But the real meat of this novel, for me, are the people. I was able to picture a real-life doppelgänger for every person in the book based on the people in my hometown. It got to be so that I would sometimes fall asleep and wake up thinking this story had actually occurred in Gratiot County when I was a kid. No one--for the most part--is always good, nor evil. Everyone is motivated by their perceived circumstance, no matter how real or how imagined. It's rare to come across a novel that weaves this notion so effortlessly. Likewise, a character such as Captain requires a deft hand and direct knowledge of how someone like that operates in and out of a family, a town, a school. Martin never fails to deliver Captain without the utmost respect, care, and realism.
Anyone who grew up or lives in the rural Midwest will enjoy this read. A very elegant structure that pulls you in to the net of small town gossip before you even realize you've been trapped. Excellent!
Anyone who grew up or lives in the rural Midwest will enjoy this read. A very elegant structure that pulls you in to the net of small town gossip before you even realize you've been trapped. Excellent!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 12, 2017
When a fire kills Della Black and three of her children, and the fire is of suspicious origin, husband Ronnie Black becomes the subject of the investigation. With a divorce in the works, and a new and pregnant girl friend, gossip abounds. But Ronnie is struggling to gain custody of his four surviving children and to overcome his feckless reputation. A dark story with a well developed cast of characters who have motives of their own for assuming Ronnie's guilt.
This is the second novel I have read which deals with the aftermath of a deadly fire, while not pleasant happy ending stories, excellent writing makes these tales hard to put down.
This is the second novel I have read which deals with the aftermath of a deadly fire, while not pleasant happy ending stories, excellent writing makes these tales hard to put down.
August 10, 2016
Lee Martin crafts a fabulous story that combines elements of deceit, family secrets, and small town rumor mills driving a close-knitted society.
Martin’s incorporation of key details makes his novel spot-on. His main characters are particularly multifaceted and they display their raw emotions. He uses some repetition to drive his main focus home.
Martin mentions Black Suede, a scent created by Avon giving the reader a real sense of the time and an individual scent to relate to when thinking about one of his characters. Then again, all the senses are engaged throughout the book.
This is my favorite passage in the novel:
“He liked to imagine that the fireworks were the wings of angels, painting the sky red and blue and silver and gold as they streaked down to Earth to see to this or that. His mother had something she liked to say to him when she told him goodnight. It came from a poem she learned in school when she was a girl:
Silently, one by one, in the infinite meadows of heaven,
Blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels (277).”
At the end, mentioning Anne Frank and quoting her is also brilliant touch!
“I still believe people are really good at heart (309).” –this is what I believe the theme is inside this novel. Finding the positive and good in people are often reflected on as the story comes to the end.
Martin drives home the point of leaving the past behind and moving on in this book. He kept me turning the pages with the building suspense and his intriguing clues to what really happened.
This is definitely, a hard novel to put down without finishing.
Martin’s incorporation of key details makes his novel spot-on. His main characters are particularly multifaceted and they display their raw emotions. He uses some repetition to drive his main focus home.
Martin mentions Black Suede, a scent created by Avon giving the reader a real sense of the time and an individual scent to relate to when thinking about one of his characters. Then again, all the senses are engaged throughout the book.
This is my favorite passage in the novel:
“He liked to imagine that the fireworks were the wings of angels, painting the sky red and blue and silver and gold as they streaked down to Earth to see to this or that. His mother had something she liked to say to him when she told him goodnight. It came from a poem she learned in school when she was a girl:
Silently, one by one, in the infinite meadows of heaven,
Blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels (277).”
At the end, mentioning Anne Frank and quoting her is also brilliant touch!
“I still believe people are really good at heart (309).” –this is what I believe the theme is inside this novel. Finding the positive and good in people are often reflected on as the story comes to the end.
Martin drives home the point of leaving the past behind and moving on in this book. He kept me turning the pages with the building suspense and his intriguing clues to what really happened.
This is definitely, a hard novel to put down without finishing.
April 14, 2016
They live on the margins—of small towns, of acceptability of legality. Most are loners; all have pasts that haunt them and the people whom they know. Their actions typically confound us, yet irresistibly attract us. These people are the characters in a Lee Martin novel, and no other writer depicts such characters more effectively.
In Late One Night, Martin’s most recent novel, all of the action radiates from a tragic house fire that kills Della Black and three of her seven children. Her husband, Ronnie, an unemployed and impulsive young man who has recently abandoned his wife and children, becomes the focus of an arson investigation. At the same time, the Blacks’ neighbors, widower Shooter Rowe and his cognitively impaired son Captain and Missy and Pat Wade, the godparents of the Black children, struggle with guilt over their inability to save the Blacks. Everyone in the small Illinois town of Goldengate has suspicions, even Brandi Tate, the woman for whom Ronnie has left his wife and children.
Each of the characters inevitably behaves badly, but Martin’s special craft is to prevent harsh judgment of them by his readers, compelling them to take a close look at themselves before reaching any conclusions. Always accompanying any overt disgust at the actions of his creations is an underlying sympathy, a sense of “there-but-for-the-grace-of-God-go-I. “ By the end of the story, readers usually find themselves, like Coleridge’s ancient mariner, “older, but wiser.”
In Late One Night, Martin’s most recent novel, all of the action radiates from a tragic house fire that kills Della Black and three of her seven children. Her husband, Ronnie, an unemployed and impulsive young man who has recently abandoned his wife and children, becomes the focus of an arson investigation. At the same time, the Blacks’ neighbors, widower Shooter Rowe and his cognitively impaired son Captain and Missy and Pat Wade, the godparents of the Black children, struggle with guilt over their inability to save the Blacks. Everyone in the small Illinois town of Goldengate has suspicions, even Brandi Tate, the woman for whom Ronnie has left his wife and children.
Each of the characters inevitably behaves badly, but Martin’s special craft is to prevent harsh judgment of them by his readers, compelling them to take a close look at themselves before reaching any conclusions. Always accompanying any overt disgust at the actions of his creations is an underlying sympathy, a sense of “there-but-for-the-grace-of-God-go-I. “ By the end of the story, readers usually find themselves, like Coleridge’s ancient mariner, “older, but wiser.”
September 25, 2016
Lee Martin is one of the most beautiful writers of our time, and in LATE ONE NIGHT, he gives us another lovely and profound story about people down on their luck in Middle America. In addition to the writing, Martin's other strength is longing, and these characters long so profoundly that this reader can't help but empathize with every last one of them, even characters with whom I sometimes wish I didn't empathize. The book starts out strong with a dramatic event that readers won't likely forget and concludes with just as much drama. The last hundred or so pages are incredibly tense, making the book hard to put down. A must-read for anyone who likes literary thrillers.
June 19, 2016
This is a very good story of a mother and several of her children dying in a trailer fire. Now the question fall as to who done it? And with the fire occuring in a small town/rural setting even rumors can ignite like gasoline and damn even the most innocent. Or are they? For those looking for a touching story of the surviving children, the estranged father that is living with his now pregnant girlfriend and all the others affected by this tragic fire this is one hell of a good book.
August 5, 2016
When 2 of your major protagonists are selfish, narcissistic, weak and lacking any real semblance of humility or common courtesy, it is hard to give a 'Rah' for the story. The most (potentially) likable and interesting character is killed off in the beginning of the book. The writing isn't bad, but the story is poorly thought out and their are no (live) likable characters. Sorry, but I cannot go above 1 star.
August 2, 2016
Who burnt down a trailer that killed a mom and three of her kids? Was it her estranged husband, her neighbor, someone else in the community or a stranger? Lots of possibilities that kept me guessing until the end. This was my first book by Lee Martin. I will definitely go back and read his others.
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