Reading through the Night

by Jane Tompkins

Jane Tompkins, a renowned literature professor and award-winning author, thought she knew what reading was until, struck by a debilitating illness, she finds herself reading day and night because it is all she can do. A lifelong lover of books, she realizes for the first time that if you pay close attention to your reactions as you read, literature can become a path of self-discovery. Tompkins’s inner journey begins when she becomes captivated unexpectedly by an account of friendship between two writers to whom she’d given little thought, Paul Theroux and V. S. Naipaul. Theroux’s memoir launches her on a path of introspection that stretches back to the first weeks of her life in a Bronx hospital, and forward to her relationship with her mother and the structure of her present marriage. Her reading experience, intensified by the feelings of powerlessness and loss of self that come with chronic illness, expands to include writers such as Henning Mankell and Ann Patchett, Alain de Botton, Elena Ferrante, and Anthony Trollope. As she makes her way through their books, she recognizes herself in them, stumbling across patterns of feeling and behavior that have ruled her without her knowing it―envy, a desire for fame, fear of confronting the people she loves, a longing for communion. The reader, along with Tompkins, comes to the realization that literature can be not only a source of information and entertainment, not only a balm and a refuge, but also a key to unlocking long-forgotten memories that lead to a new understanding of one’s life.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Books About Books, Literary Criticism

248 pages, Hardcover

First published September 25, 2018

About the author

Jane Tompkins (born 1940) is an American literary scholar who has worked on canon formation, feminist literary criticism, and reader response criticism.[1] She has helped develop the idea of cultural work in literary studies.[2] She earned her PhD at Yale in 1966 and subsequently taught at Temple University, Duke University, and the University of Illinois at Chicago.[3]

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Confession time! Even after a full night of sleep, I feel so meh about this book! I DO love what the author is trying to sell as she advocates the need for reading in our daily adult lives. Jane Tompkins talks about books I have never heard of and uses them to explore her own life journey and her connections to reading. Most specifically, Sir Vidia's Shadow about Paul Theroux's friendship with V.S. Naipaul is where she lays her musings about reading.

It's just... I felt that it was....boring! By the 40% mark, I was asking "Jane, is there not another book you would like to discuss?" Of course, this would be an honest reaction because Tompkins is talking about a book that moved her and she wants to discover why. I do believe it's hard to make a connection with another reader if you've never read the book they're talking about.


All in all, a great premise but it wasn't my cup of tea.

Goodreads review 28/05/19
Publication Date. 12 /06/19

 Thanks to NetGalley and Darcie Rowan PR for a digital galley in exchange for an honest review.

[YL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jane Tompkins is actually making a case for reading as a serious practice for life, as serious as writing or experience, the more common ingredients deemed necessary for a fulfilling life, especially in writers Paris review interviews. I’ve skimmed through Naipaul and Thoreaux at various points in my life but I’ve never found either as interesting or fascinating as she makes them out to be throughout her readings and re-readings.

She also makes a convincing case about reading against your own feelings, identifications, etc. not in the high-minded and obnoxious way of the new critics (the text, the text is the thing) but recognizing that reading itself is an experience often layered over many days and emotional states. Theatre critics will talk of the mood of the theatre affecting their experience of the play/film, why wouldn’t the same go for books?

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tompkins, a professor/writer suffers from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, giving her lots of time to read and reflect. She has an interesting take on reading for self-discovery, but too much of the book focused on V.S. Naipal and Paul Theroux, who after reading about them, made me realize they both seem so hateful that I never wish to read their books.

[Alvaro Zinos-Amaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compelling, well-written self-analysis as prompted by a thoughtful reading and re-reading of the lives of others. Memoir, critique, and sensitive reflection on a lifelong debilitating illness consummately blended.

[McKenzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

I loved Reading through the Night, at least in regards to what it was advocating. However, the execution was a little off. I wasn’t enthralled by the words or the experiences very much. The main point that Tompkins is trying to get across is the importance of reading in our daily lives and how it can help us get through anything. I know this is true for myself because reading has helped me keep sane. But I felt I had gotten everything I needed from this book within the first third. This is also specific to me. For many others this may be the first time they’ve considered how powerful reading can be for them or they would like a little nudge in that direction. For those of us who already know the power of reading this book could still be useful, but it is less likely.

Tompkins states early on that books aren’t written to be analyzed and taken apart. Yet that is exactly what she does throughout the book and it is literally part of her profession. She’s a professor and literary scholar. I agree with her on both counts actually. I think some books are meant to be analyzed and annotated and some are not, at least not the same kind of analyzation. She spends the entirety of the book analyzing other books, which is odd given her earlier statement, but also what I expected.

I would have enjoyed it more if I had read any of the books she was discussing. The book read like a literary lecture and I hadn’t done the homework. For that reason when Tompkins describes specific books I find myself drifting. Perhaps if you have read Sir Vidia’s Shadow this book will appeal a bit more to you as a tool for deeper thought.

The highlight of the book, for lack of a better word, was...

for the full review please visit https://www.literarydragonreviews.web...

[Heather Fineisen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading Through the Night is more of a literary criticism of V.S. Naipaul and Paul Theroux and less a memoir of illness. Tompkins includes chapters on Henning Mankell's creation of Kurt Wallender and Ann Patchett, both of them favorites. Her chapter on her illness was also interesting although I would have liked to see more self reflection in the first part of the book as when she parallels her marriage with that of Naipaul's.

Copy provided by the Publisher and NetGalley

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jane Tompkins was a respected professor of literature and award-winning author until she developed a debilitating chronic illness that sapped her energy, leaving her unable to travel, work, or even– on her bad days– write. With little choice but to stay in bed, Tompkins turned to books for comfort. But rather than providing an escape from the changes her illness imposed on her life, Tompkins discovered that a closer examination of what she read could provide profound insights into her own life as it was, and how much it had changed.

Tompkins’s path to self-discovery began with Sir Vidia’s Shadow, Paul Theroux’s memoir about his friendship with Nobel-prize winning author V.S. Naipaul. Though Tompkins is discomfited by Naipaul’s casual disregard for the people around him, she is nevertheless fascinated by the authors’ friendship, how it builds, and ultimately collapses around them. Tompkins couldn’t put the book down and often returned to it before venturing into the authors’ other works. In them, she found disheartening stories about unhappy people, but from these stories and her examination of her responses to them, Tompkins began to realize things about herself– the truth about her own envious feelings, how she learned to ride a motorcycle in part because she was anxious about her upcoming (and ultimately doomed) marriage, or the many ways her current husband expressed his love with her realizing it.

Though she often brings up anecdotes about reading books by other authors such as Robert Pirsig or Anthony Trollope, Tompkins’s main focus is on Naipaul and Theroux and she makes a deep dive into their selected works. The experience is often uncomfortable, but she sticks with it, as the reader must also do if they are unfamiliar with Naipaul or Theroux. Sticking with the discomfort, Tompkins insists, is a way to discover new things about yourself and, ultimately, to heal.

“If someone asked me why I write, that would be my answer, too, the desire to be known. This is a spiritual need, a longing as deep as any that we have. To be known is to have one’s existence validated, to be affirmed in our very being, simply by being seen.”

Most reading memoirs tend to be lighter affairs, providing amusing anecdotes about an author’s adventures in reading and the unexpected happenings of a bookish life. Few of them provide the deeper investigation of the self that Tompkins undertakes. By staying with her discomfort- whether it was a disturbing scene in a book or a realization regarding her own faults- she shows patient readers that discomfort is not a terrible thing and that it can help us more than we think it can, but only if we allow ourselves to really process what we’re taking in.

In an age when “I felt a little uncomfortable” is reason enough to stop reading a book, stop watching a movie, or drop out of a college class, we rarely hear someone encouraging us to sit with that discomfort and examine its roots. This is a shame, because if Tompkins’s own insights are anything to go by, a deeper examination of ourselves may help us to become better people.

“If you stick with the process, the ghost will rise from the test and deliver its message. And should you discover something you’d rather not know, all the better. Such knowledge is precious and leads to healing. It took me two years to find out whay I was so enthralled by Sir Vidia’s Shadow, and I’m glad I did: two years is not long. Books that captivate without stirring up any unwanted thoughts or emotions are wonderful; books that shine a light into dark places are like gold.

If a book is a conversation taking place across distance and time, it is worth remembering what a real conversation is. It is not two people talking at each other, just waiting for each other to pause long enough to toss their own opinions into the air. A good conversation occurs when both parties are actively listening to each other and building upon what is being said. In Reading Through the Night, Tompkins shows us that books are the best kinds of conversations and that the person we learn the most about just might be ourselves.

[Madalina Negrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to say that Reading Through the Night by Jane Tompkins is my kind of book, but only up to a certain point. I enjoyed the academic perspective, the depth of her analysis, I don't think I liked the extended quotations from Theroux's or Naipaul's works that much.
But reading is an engaging activity, especially for the author, and if something niggles you, you should pursue it and try to find an explanation. For Jane Tompkins, that something was the long friendship between the two authors and its brusque ending. She tries to understand the persons behind their books and psychoanalyze them: what experiences in their lives made them who they are, influenced their view of the world, their relationships with others. Of course, these experiences might resonate with the reader's own experiences, one might find out more about oneself, if they are introspective enough.
Apart from the long descriptions of the two authors' books - which are normal for a literary criticism book, you might say - I really liked how easily the sentences flow, how skillfully Jane Tompkins's thoughts are put into words. I can imagine, given her illness, how painstakingly slow the process of writing was, but her lively, original style and her honesty really won me over. Yes, we all should read books like a professor.

[Faouzia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoy reading books about books and their impact. This book seemed to be one i might enjoy.
The author who suffers from a chronic illness that prohibits her from doing much, finds in reading a sort of solace. The book starts really well, pointing out how we identify with stories, the way some books makes us discover unknown parts of ourselves.
BUT,
the book turned, at least from my point of view, into something like a very long review or series of reviews with spoilers of the books the author read during her illness and which made impact on her. This talk about the selected book was mixed with parallels from her life, why and how she came to associate with these books in particular and so on. Theoretically, this should have attracted me more to the book, engaging me more. But it was quite the opposite for me, i felt excluded from the whole thing. I couldn't relate to her, i have never heard of the books and authors she was talking about and she kind of took the choice from me to discover them, had i wanted to. She was talking about them from beginning to end which kind of spoils the story as there was nothing left to discover, and she included long passages from the books, sometimes the same one were repeated.

I wanted to like this book, i really did. But it didn't touch me at all, and honestly halfway through it, i started to skim through the pages. I just wanted to see what kind of end it will have which was the reason i didn't abandon it, although i was tempted to do many times.
Let's just say that this book was unfortunately not for me and maybe it would have been more interesting if i shared some of her experiences or knew some of the books she talked about.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and author for this free copy in exchange of an honest review.

[Nathaniel Darkish · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some things I really liked about this book-- I love the premise, and really like to see the self-reflection that reading triggers and especially enjoyed when she dug into how a piece affected her, especially ones that she only brings up briefly, like the poems of Dickinson.

I had a harder time with the writing and authors she decided to really dive into for the majority of the book-- I had a hard time caring about those, which made her plot summaries and discussion of the writers' lives, as well as the resultant self-reflection, kind of boring.

[FXKatt · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Reading Through the Night” is a pleasant break from social media. It’s a readable, understated, intelligible, familiar, intuitively introspective, and conversational (writer as reader) book. It looks for points of identification with writers, mostly unlikely ones, whose works mysteriously align themselves with one’s particular life/needs and which unexpectedly verify one’s own thoughts and experiences. That this can happen with dimly appreciated--and popular, writers, is all the more provoking. But it’s important to say that Tompkins’ discussion of her internal relationship with her novelists comes from a broadly liberal position, easily acceptable to most readers, but a bit of a letdown, to put it mildly, to others.

Although “Reading” does serve to recall what “personal” means, it’s decidedly not “intimate,” in the sense of instilling trust. I say this because Tompkin’s voice can ring false. That is, I accept and can be absorbed by it, but can also be exasperated by it. How, pray tell, can she finally arrive at her most incisive, convincing, and bold criticism of her two chiefly discussed writers, Paul Theroux and Naipaul, and a few pages later reverse her own well-evidenced commentary? For Tompkins, this might be called self-exploration, but to me, it’s full mode frustration. Why? Because my certitude about these critical takes far exceed hers, so I have no patience for her overly generous and un-indicated back-tracking.

Yes, “Reading” seems more than slightly New Age. For me, it’s not mainly in Tompkins’ identification with Theroux, Naipaul, and others, but in this non-judgmental attitude as if moral and/or political judgment have given way to the psychological and therapeutic. In fact, I think her good writing creates a kind of hypnotic flow that covers the de-politicizing process. The bigger picture of social facts, history, ancient political patterns cave before the unique subjective consciousness, or the purely personal.

So, why is it that Tompkins can’t let her strongest critiques stand? First, she cites past memories of having acted similarly. However, the reader has to mightily strain to read any connection of her own past acts to the explicit sexist acts of Theroux and Naipaul. (Can there even be an equivalent for a woman?) In fact, her examples seem pretty irrelevant--or absurd. But if this said “evidence” is somewhat insufficient, she then cites the said authors’ life suffering credentials and their love of nature as perhaps a more convincing appeal to absolution. And if that doesn‘t register strongly enough, she then casts blame on their mothers for their dear son’s misogynous practices.

But, believe it or not, it doesn’t even end there; because for those still not aboard, she’s got their number: “...the Bluebird version (monsters vs martyrs) is easier and more satisfying to adopt, in that it puts one in the moral high ground, and is freer of complications and ambiguities.” So she prefers to wallow in ambiguities in order to protect the “monsters” while playing little heed to the “martyrs” (as in the innumerous young African women who Theroux casually slept with) while her non-complicit readers get pinned as puritanical moralist for holding out against sexual/sexist exploits of cocky male writers--or for recognizing external criteria.

[Louise · Rating 2 out of 5]

***ARC provided by Netgalley Darcie Rowan PR and University of Virgina Press in exchange for an honest review***

DNF 50%

2.5*

I knew what I was getting into when I requested this book so this is not the reason I couldn't finish it. As I am affected with a neurological illness myself, I was very interested in reading Tompkins's experience with reading and how it has affected and effected her since she has a chronic illness as well. I wanted to see if I would relate to her in that way but I wasn't able to at all.

Not only is she writing about books and authors I have never heard of before and have no interet in reading but she spends a lot of time explaining in lots of details the events of those other books and how she could see glimpses of the authors' lives through each of the books they have written. Tompkins' book feels more like a review, with lots of spoilers, of her own readings and almost a thesis on those authors than her actual love of reading and her experiences and reactions and impressions.

I totally understand wanting to discuss her reading in details, explaining how she felt compelled to look further into the authors lives and everything but what has reading books given you in your more negative points of your illness? This is what I was looking forward to with this book. The escape reading is giving you.

I wanted to feel included, to relate like I have mentioned earlier. I was really excited when I saw this book would be available because it's not every day you read an author with an illness talking about what a certain hobby is doing for you but instead I felt excluded and I could not relate to her at all. granted, a book or certain books haven't affected me as much as those have impacted her but books leave an impression on you no matter what. I would have loved to finish it and give it a better rating but, alas, it's not happening.

[Michelle Kidwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Through the Night
by Jane Tompkins



Darcie Rowan PR

University of Virgina Press

Biographies & Memoirs , Nonfiction (Adult)

Pub Date 12 Jun 2019


I am reviewing a copy of Reading Through the Night through University of Virginia Press and Netgalley:



In Reading Through the Night, Tompkins shared with her readers how she underwent a very personal journey of transformation when she discovered a new way of reading. It is a journey that begins when she becomes unexpectedly captivated by an account of friendships between two writers who she had Paul Theroux's and V.S Naipaul. Theroux’s memoir shows us her path of introspection that goes as far back as her first weeks of life in a hospital in a Bronx, and then to her relationship with her Mother and finally the structure of her current marriage.


As she started to deal with a Chronic Illness her reading habits intensified by the feelings of powerlessness and loss of self that comes when one is facing a Chronic Illness. Her reading expands to such authors as Henning Mankiller, Ann Patchett, Alain de Botton, Elena Ferrante, and Anthony Trollope. Making her way through the books by these authors she begins to recognize herself in them. She reads of feeling and patterns that in many ways described her.



In this book we realize that reading is more than s form of information and entertainment that in fact a book can help unlock memories!


Reading Through the Night is one of those books that you are left thinking about long after you finish the final sentence. I find it worthy of five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

[Linsey Stevens]

A selection from iphelia.com's Editor's Bookshelf review: Reading Through the Night is so much more than the biography or memoir of a highly-educated woman reading her way through a debilitating illness. It is medicine for intellectual bypass, or what Erick French refers to as intellectualization in Iphelia: Awakening the Gift of Feeling.

Tompkins invites readers to accompany her on perhaps the most intimate journey: the one where she sees herself not just in spite of, but because of reading, an activity she’s relied on for many different reasons.

Reading Through the Night will not appeal to a general audience, but it will delight and create space for those who’ve dedicated their lives to educating themselves, only to be left looking for something beyond what the ivory tower can provide. If you relished comparative lit classes, but understand the characters’ feelings better than your own, this book is for you.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jane Tompkins gives readers so very much to think about through her memoir Reading Through The Night. I am so in awe of her strength and honesty revealed as she takes us through her journey. I have never lived with a chronic illness, and found her insights and discoveries quite fascinating. I had not thought of drawing parallels between my real life and my reading choices. I do know that sometimes the right book simply appears at the right time for me, or that I get different things out of books when I read at different ages. At times a difficult read but always a thought provoking one, I think Reading Through The Night would be a great book discussion selection.
I received my copy through NetGalley under no obligation.

[Rachel B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tompkins has chronic illness (ME) and subsequently, can't do much but read. She writes here about her interaction with a handful of books, most by Naipaul and Theroux. I really enjoyed the first third or so, but became tired of hearing about these two writers - neither of them seemed like people I would ever want to know in real life - and I wanted Tompkins to start talking about the other writers that were mentioned in the ad-copy!

I did appreciate the author's self-reflection and her thoughts on chronic illness, since I have Lyme disease and could relate to the fatigue and limitations. I could also relate to envy and pride, a few themes in the book. There are some nuggets here, to be sure. Plus, I walked away with several book recommendations!

[Annette Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A thoughtful book about how reading can lead to self discovery.
Jane Tompkins, author, literature professor and avid reader begins to see the parallels between what she is reading and how she is feeling, when she finds that a debilitating illness leaves her unable to do anything more arduous than read. As she begins to meditate on her reading choices and the feelings they evoke she sees parallels in her failed marriages and even in her relationship with her mother.
A very personal book that will have me thinking more seriously about my own reading choices , I really appreciated its intimacy.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

[Lizbeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advanced digital copy of this book from the author, Netgalley.com and University of Virgina Press. Thanks to all for the opportunity to read and review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Part memoir, part reading list, Ms. Tompkins takes the reader along on her journey of survival. Struggling with the effects and symptoms of a chronic illness, she finds that she can still read and still enjoy reading. A inspirational story of the beauty of books.

5 out of 5 stars. Excellent book.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up because the author is a literary critic and has Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. The majority of the text is about the relationship between Theroux and Vidai. She is very interested in these two men; I never did fully understand what that interest was. Eventually she got to why and how she reads books to save her from the anguish of having CFS. She explains that it took her a while to accept that sometimes the only thing she can do is read. Now reading is what keeps her going. I connected with that, but that was about it. Was disappointed.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a great self reflection by the author on reading habits and chronic illness.

I enjoyed reading this very much, even though, there were many things that I simply were not able to relate to. i.e. chronic illness and Paul Thoreaux.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Darcie Rowan PR, University of Virgina Press for this advanced readers copy. Release date for this book is set for June 2019.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Occasional night-time reading for me, maintaining my interest just enough to finish it. A rambling account by a literary critic in failing health and poor spirits, struggling with V. S. Naipaul and Paul Theroux (the characters of the men themselves and their works). I might have better spent my time reading any of these authors directly--or the others that Jane Tompkins enjoys with fewer reservations, like Trollope and Henning Mankell.

[Ethan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was excellent and I enjoyed it greatly. The idea of finding oneself through literature has always come naturally to me, and this book put my feelings into words quite perfectly. Furthermore, the subjective way of interpreting literature was very relevant to my current studies. Great first foray into a book on literary theory.

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t say enough good things about this book, I really enjoyed it. I have been in a reading funk and didn’t hold out much hope of reading this all the way through. I started it at bed time and finally forced myself to put it down with 4 chapters left. I have purchased a copy for my Mom and Sister!

[Cristie Underwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a thoughtful, well-written book about a woman suffering from debilitating illness. She spends her hours reading books of all kinds and makes a strong case about the importance of reading and stepping outside our comfort zones when it comes to choosing what to read.

[Rachel Yuska · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love books about books. The author is giving insights about famous literary works and how she gave in depth analysis of literary works.

[Shallowreader VaVeros · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful and deeply moving book.

[Heather Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Through the Night is a memoir about chronic illness and reading. This is a interesting memoir because people do not realize how chronic illness can affect all types of things in your life.