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Nightingale Point
One ordinary day. One extraordinary event. Their lives changed forever.
On an ordinary Saturday morning in 1996, the residents of Nightingale Point wake up to their normal lives and worries.
Mary has a secret life that no one knows about, not even Malachi and Tristan, the brothers she vowed to look after.
Malachi had to grow up too quickly. Between looking after Tristan and nursing a broken heart, he feels older than his twenty-one years.
Tristan wishes Malachi would stop pining for Pamela. No wonder he's falling in with the wrong crowd, without Malachi to keep him straight.
Elvis is trying hard to remember to the instructions his care worker gave him, but sometimes he gets confused and forgets things.
Pamela wants to run back to Malachi but her overprotective father has locked her in and there's no way out.
It's a day like any other, until something extraordinary happens. When the sun sets, Nightingale Point is irrevocably changed and somehow, through the darkness, the residents must find a way back to lightness, and back to each other.
On an ordinary Saturday morning in 1996, the residents of Nightingale Point wake up to their normal lives and worries.
Mary has a secret life that no one knows about, not even Malachi and Tristan, the brothers she vowed to look after.
Malachi had to grow up too quickly. Between looking after Tristan and nursing a broken heart, he feels older than his twenty-one years.
Tristan wishes Malachi would stop pining for Pamela. No wonder he's falling in with the wrong crowd, without Malachi to keep him straight.
Elvis is trying hard to remember to the instructions his care worker gave him, but sometimes he gets confused and forgets things.
Pamela wants to run back to Malachi but her overprotective father has locked her in and there's no way out.
It's a day like any other, until something extraordinary happens. When the sun sets, Nightingale Point is irrevocably changed and somehow, through the darkness, the residents must find a way back to lightness, and back to each other.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published July 8, 2019
132 people are currently reading
4084 people want to read
About the author
Luan Goldie
14 books68 followersLuan Goldie is a Glasgow born novelist and short story writer from East London.
Her debut, Nightingale Point, was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction and the RSL Ondaatje Prize. She is also the author of Homecoming and These Streets.
Her first book for children, Skylar and the K-Pop Headteacher is a body swap adventure for middle grade readers, set within the world of K-pop fandom.
In 2018 she won the Costa Short Story Award and her short stories have appeared in Stylist, HELLO! Magazine and the Sunday Express.
A former teacher, Goldie has over a decade’s worth of experience teaching in the capital’s schools. She also tutors for Arvon, Spread the Word and First Story.
Her debut, Nightingale Point, was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction and the RSL Ondaatje Prize. She is also the author of Homecoming and These Streets.
Her first book for children, Skylar and the K-Pop Headteacher is a body swap adventure for middle grade readers, set within the world of K-pop fandom.
In 2018 she won the Costa Short Story Award and her short stories have appeared in Stylist, HELLO! Magazine and the Sunday Express.
A former teacher, Goldie has over a decade’s worth of experience teaching in the capital’s schools. She also tutors for Arvon, Spread the Word and First Story.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 348 reviews
July 12, 2019
Luan Goldie writes a remarkable piece of contemporary fiction for her memorable debut set on a London estate where the lifts don't work in 1996. She skilfully immerses the reader into the lives of a small and diverse group of characters prior to a horrifying nightmare of a tragedy hits them and the local community. Goldie has drawn on true real life catastrophes to explore the repercussions and challenges for individuals in the group, the difficulties in moving on, the intense sense of grief and loss, the social issues surrounding the problems of rehousing and more in the years that follow.
Mary is a nurse from the Phillippines, married to David, a husband who is often absent, she is a woman with a secret. 21 year old Malachi has had to shoulder heavy responsibilities on his young shoulders ever since his depressed mom committed suicide. He struggles as a university student, juggling their tight finances, and is responsible for his wayward and easily led astray younger brother, Tristan, with his dreams of being a rapper. Malachi finds his attention revolving around the loss of his 16 year old girlfriend, Pam, a fact that Tristan resents as he needs Malachi to keep him on the straight and narrow. Pam has been sent away by her abusive father, but she too has a secret. Elvis is living independently, courtesy of The Care in the Community Programme, with the help of his carer, Lina, who helps him cope.
Goldie's novel is an intensely moving read, so compulsive, thought provoking, and emotionally heartbreaking. Her characterisations felt so authentic that you feel that she has really done her research on the aftermath of this type of tragedy and the community responses. I was particularly struck by just how much of a revelation Elvis turned out to be, he certainly managed to worm his way into my heart. This is terrific storytelling, particularly considering it is a debut. Simply brilliant! Many thanks to HQ for an ARC.
Mary is a nurse from the Phillippines, married to David, a husband who is often absent, she is a woman with a secret. 21 year old Malachi has had to shoulder heavy responsibilities on his young shoulders ever since his depressed mom committed suicide. He struggles as a university student, juggling their tight finances, and is responsible for his wayward and easily led astray younger brother, Tristan, with his dreams of being a rapper. Malachi finds his attention revolving around the loss of his 16 year old girlfriend, Pam, a fact that Tristan resents as he needs Malachi to keep him on the straight and narrow. Pam has been sent away by her abusive father, but she too has a secret. Elvis is living independently, courtesy of The Care in the Community Programme, with the help of his carer, Lina, who helps him cope.
Goldie's novel is an intensely moving read, so compulsive, thought provoking, and emotionally heartbreaking. Her characterisations felt so authentic that you feel that she has really done her research on the aftermath of this type of tragedy and the community responses. I was particularly struck by just how much of a revelation Elvis turned out to be, he certainly managed to worm his way into my heart. This is terrific storytelling, particularly considering it is a debut. Simply brilliant! Many thanks to HQ for an ARC.
July 29, 2019
Book reviewed on www.whisperingstories.com
Saturday 4th May 1996, Morpeth Estate London. Home to three tower blocks including Nightingale Point. Within Nightingale Point lives twenty-one-year-old Malachi and his younger fifteen-year-old brother Tristan who live alone after their mum died and their Grandmother deemed them old enough to look after themselves.
There is nurse of over thirty-three years Mary who is waiting for her husband David to return from one of his long jaunts abroad searching for his stardom. Elvis, who has special needs. He loves his home but not so much his carer Lina who is pretty and has nice nails but he knows she doesn’t want to be caring for him and would rather be out with her friends.
We also have teenager Pamela whose dad is exceptionally strict. He doesn’t like her associating with the other residents so when he leaves the property he locks her in their flat so she can’t leave. She was a keen runner but her dad won’t even let her do that anymore.
The residents of Nightingale Point are going about their business as they do every day. Mary can feel the danger in the air but she tries to ignore the nagging worry in her stomach. She should have listened to it, but what could she have done anyway? A cargo plane is on a dangerous course and it is heading towards the tower block but will all the residents make it out alive? For those that do, will their lives ever be the same again?
Nightingale Point is an extraordinary book told in the third person and from various POV. It is also split into different periods. Before, After, Ten Days Later, One Month Later, Three Months Later, Six Months Later, and Five Years Later.
Author Luan Goldie was touched by the real-life events in 1992, Amsterdam when a cargo plane crashed into a tower block killing forty-seven people. It wasn’t only the crash that touched her but the aftermath for the people who survived who had nothing as everything they owned and their homes had been destroyed yet they had to fight for help. Over twenty years later she saw the same happen with Grenfell with the surviving residents having to fight to be treated with dignity, these events are what sparked her imagination for this book and you can tell how much passion and love has gone into this book.
I normally have a bad record with multiple POV books but this one was so well written it didn’t confuse me, the different characters voices came across perfectly and you could feel their every emotion. It’s hard to believe that this book has been written by a debut novelist, there isn’t a moment within the book I didn’t enjoy and the writing was flawless.
The carnage of the event and the chaos and then the calm that came afterward perfectly played out in my mind, like watching a movie. I felt sorry, hurt and anger for the residents and I just love it when a book makes me get emotionally involved. I would have to say this is one of the best books I have read this year and you definitely need to read it.
Saturday 4th May 1996, Morpeth Estate London. Home to three tower blocks including Nightingale Point. Within Nightingale Point lives twenty-one-year-old Malachi and his younger fifteen-year-old brother Tristan who live alone after their mum died and their Grandmother deemed them old enough to look after themselves.
There is nurse of over thirty-three years Mary who is waiting for her husband David to return from one of his long jaunts abroad searching for his stardom. Elvis, who has special needs. He loves his home but not so much his carer Lina who is pretty and has nice nails but he knows she doesn’t want to be caring for him and would rather be out with her friends.
We also have teenager Pamela whose dad is exceptionally strict. He doesn’t like her associating with the other residents so when he leaves the property he locks her in their flat so she can’t leave. She was a keen runner but her dad won’t even let her do that anymore.
The residents of Nightingale Point are going about their business as they do every day. Mary can feel the danger in the air but she tries to ignore the nagging worry in her stomach. She should have listened to it, but what could she have done anyway? A cargo plane is on a dangerous course and it is heading towards the tower block but will all the residents make it out alive? For those that do, will their lives ever be the same again?
Nightingale Point is an extraordinary book told in the third person and from various POV. It is also split into different periods. Before, After, Ten Days Later, One Month Later, Three Months Later, Six Months Later, and Five Years Later.
Author Luan Goldie was touched by the real-life events in 1992, Amsterdam when a cargo plane crashed into a tower block killing forty-seven people. It wasn’t only the crash that touched her but the aftermath for the people who survived who had nothing as everything they owned and their homes had been destroyed yet they had to fight for help. Over twenty years later she saw the same happen with Grenfell with the surviving residents having to fight to be treated with dignity, these events are what sparked her imagination for this book and you can tell how much passion and love has gone into this book.
I normally have a bad record with multiple POV books but this one was so well written it didn’t confuse me, the different characters voices came across perfectly and you could feel their every emotion. It’s hard to believe that this book has been written by a debut novelist, there isn’t a moment within the book I didn’t enjoy and the writing was flawless.
The carnage of the event and the chaos and then the calm that came afterward perfectly played out in my mind, like watching a movie. I felt sorry, hurt and anger for the residents and I just love it when a book makes me get emotionally involved. I would have to say this is one of the best books I have read this year and you definitely need to read it.
July 28, 2019
3.5 stars
Nightingale Point is a new book by award winning UK author Luan Goldie which pays tribute to the victims of tragedies like Grenfell Tower or Biljmer in Amsterdam when a plane crashed into a block of flats killing and injuring many residents. I find the premise of the book very timely amidst the recent devastating events in London and I'm pleased to see a book centering around the aftermath of a similar catastrophe, depicting the struggles of the survivors who lost their loved ones, their homes and all their possessions.
Nightingale Point is a fictional block of council flats in London with a great variety of local community that is tragically affected. We meet twenty-one year old Malachi who is trying everything he can to make ends meet and take care of his younger brother Tristan after their parents' death. Malachi starts secretly dating Pamela who lives a few floors up despite her father's disapproval. When the father learns about their relationship, he takes some extreme measures to break up the two. Another resident, Mary, moved to the UK from Philippines and is married to David who is always travelling because of his job and visiting his many girlfriends all over the world. The book has a diverse cast of characters that I liked, but I did wish for a deeper characterisation in some cases and for Malachi and Pamela's story to be more drawn out. Overall, a thought-provoking and compelling read.
Many thanks to HQ for my review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Nightingale Point is a new book by award winning UK author Luan Goldie which pays tribute to the victims of tragedies like Grenfell Tower or Biljmer in Amsterdam when a plane crashed into a block of flats killing and injuring many residents. I find the premise of the book very timely amidst the recent devastating events in London and I'm pleased to see a book centering around the aftermath of a similar catastrophe, depicting the struggles of the survivors who lost their loved ones, their homes and all their possessions.
Nightingale Point is a fictional block of council flats in London with a great variety of local community that is tragically affected. We meet twenty-one year old Malachi who is trying everything he can to make ends meet and take care of his younger brother Tristan after their parents' death. Malachi starts secretly dating Pamela who lives a few floors up despite her father's disapproval. When the father learns about their relationship, he takes some extreme measures to break up the two. Another resident, Mary, moved to the UK from Philippines and is married to David who is always travelling because of his job and visiting his many girlfriends all over the world. The book has a diverse cast of characters that I liked, but I did wish for a deeper characterisation in some cases and for Malachi and Pamela's story to be more drawn out. Overall, a thought-provoking and compelling read.
Many thanks to HQ for my review copy in exchange for an honest review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 17, 2020
“But it’s hard, isn’t it? There’s always so much to deal with. It never ends. Getting out of the building should have been the hardest thing we had to do. But sometimes it feels like that was only the start”
I wrote this down “Finished with huge loaded sigh” on my phone.
This is a devastating book, based on a devastating real event when a plane crashed into a residential building in the middle of the day. The author handled the relationships really well across the board. We got diversity in our cast and that helped open up more interesting storylines.
When the tragic incident happened, the tension and anxiety and fear were all there. But what I really liked was the aftermath of everything. It felt real and super non-romanticized way. But also hopeful.
“Post-traumatic stress disorder. A normal reaction to an abnormal event.”
I wrote this down “Finished with huge loaded sigh” on my phone.
This is a devastating book, based on a devastating real event when a plane crashed into a residential building in the middle of the day. The author handled the relationships really well across the board. We got diversity in our cast and that helped open up more interesting storylines.
When the tragic incident happened, the tension and anxiety and fear were all there. But what I really liked was the aftermath of everything. It felt real and super non-romanticized way. But also hopeful.
“Post-traumatic stress disorder. A normal reaction to an abnormal event.”
September 2, 2025
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One ordinary day. One extraordinary event. Their lives changed forever.
Nightingale Point is a book that shows the aftermath of a terrible disaster. A story about many people's lives, how this event changed them and their recovery and grief.
BEFORE
The book starts with giving us a brief description of people living in two neighboring buildings. We get to know their daily routines, their worries and hopes. We get a glimpse of their everyday lives and start to care for them.
We meet Mary, who has moved from the Philippines into the UK to persue her career as a nurse. Her husband is always away and her children are distant.
We meet the brothers Tristan and Malachi - they have a tragedy of their own, and Mary is like their mum. Tristan is the naughty 16-year-old and Malachi is the older, more responsible brother.
Then we meet Pamela, a 16-year-old who loves running and falls in love with Malachi. However, her racist dad forbids her to see Malachi and locks her inside the building,
We see Elvis as well, who has learning disabilities and lives with his carer. He gets bullied by Tristan one day when Tristan spits in his face.
AFTER
On 4th May 1996, a plane crashes into these two buildings at Nightingale Point and everything changes.
Every resident that lives on Nightingale Point has a before and after story. The ones that survived, but also the ones that didn't.
This is a story about how much one event can turn your life upside down, how it can change you and also how much little things mean in life, but we forget them so often.
I found it amusing that we had different chapters from different people's perspectives, and each character had its own different writing style and life to it. This was amazingly done by the author. I found the chapters with Elvis especially refreshing, as they were so heartwarming.
Based on real tragic events - the crash in Bijlmer, Amsterdam and also the fire in Grenfell Tower, the author did a wonderful job in showing the readers the true pain, trauma and the battle of moving forward when a tragedy happens.
Guys, if you haven't read this book, please pick it up. It will be a hit and it will change your life. Every time I look at this book, I will remember how much little things matter in life and will always call my dad and ask him how he's doing. Because it matters.
Thank you to the team at HQ for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
One ordinary day. One extraordinary event. Their lives changed forever.
Nightingale Point is a book that shows the aftermath of a terrible disaster. A story about many people's lives, how this event changed them and their recovery and grief.
BEFORE
The book starts with giving us a brief description of people living in two neighboring buildings. We get to know their daily routines, their worries and hopes. We get a glimpse of their everyday lives and start to care for them.
We meet Mary, who has moved from the Philippines into the UK to persue her career as a nurse. Her husband is always away and her children are distant.
We meet the brothers Tristan and Malachi - they have a tragedy of their own, and Mary is like their mum. Tristan is the naughty 16-year-old and Malachi is the older, more responsible brother.
Then we meet Pamela, a 16-year-old who loves running and falls in love with Malachi. However, her racist dad forbids her to see Malachi and locks her inside the building,
We see Elvis as well, who has learning disabilities and lives with his carer. He gets bullied by Tristan one day when Tristan spits in his face.
AFTER
On 4th May 1996, a plane crashes into these two buildings at Nightingale Point and everything changes.
Every resident that lives on Nightingale Point has a before and after story. The ones that survived, but also the ones that didn't.
This is a story about how much one event can turn your life upside down, how it can change you and also how much little things mean in life, but we forget them so often.
I found it amusing that we had different chapters from different people's perspectives, and each character had its own different writing style and life to it. This was amazingly done by the author. I found the chapters with Elvis especially refreshing, as they were so heartwarming.
Based on real tragic events - the crash in Bijlmer, Amsterdam and also the fire in Grenfell Tower, the author did a wonderful job in showing the readers the true pain, trauma and the battle of moving forward when a tragedy happens.
Guys, if you haven't read this book, please pick it up. It will be a hit and it will change your life. Every time I look at this book, I will remember how much little things matter in life and will always call my dad and ask him how he's doing. Because it matters.
Thank you to the team at HQ for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
April 2, 2020
Following six different perspectives around the events of a semi-fictional tragedy, I could not properly make sense of the why of this story – why did the author need this particular tragedy to tell the story? Why is the tone so glib when the events are so tragic? Is this supposed to be a story about a community or about a tragedy?
My thoughts on this are complicated: while I thought there were chapters and scenes that really worked, there were also vast stretches that I could not get interested in. Therefore, a list of things that worked for me and a list of things that didn’t:
What I liked:
- Mary’s perspective. I really appreciated Mary’s voice and her particular dilemma. I thought her character was interesting and flawed in a really believable way. I enjoyed the different parental relationships she had with both her biological children and with Tristan and Malachi.
- The wonderfully layered sibling relationship between Malachi and Tristan.
What I didn’t like:
- The structure was possibly the part of the book that I found least successful. It took pages upon pages to finally reach the point of the plane impact and afterward the book felt very different than before. The book gets better in the direct aftermath of the tragedy but by then I had already spent hours listening to character exposition. After that the book jumps ahead in a way that made it feel like much of the plot and the character development happened off-screen.
- Everything about the way in which Pamela’s story was handled. I found it both predictable and horrifying, which is my least favourite combination.
- Tristan’s perspective: while I thought his character was interesting, his voice never felt authentic to me – to be fair, I do not know that many 15-year-old boys, but still it felt stereotypical rather than authentic. And I really could not deal with his rap verses, especially during scenes when a lot of things were happening.
- I am not sure I liked the way in which Elvis’ sections were handled but I do admit that I cannot completely put my fingers on the why of that. I disliked the choice to have him refer to other characters by harsh descriptions (“the bad Black boy” for example), and by the clumsy way in which commentary on race and gender was integrated in his sections.
- The scope was too broad for me, dealing with everything imaginable (racism and sexism, abuse, ableism, tragedy and familial relationships, cheating and abandonment) while never really giving any of those things any room to properly breathe.
Overall, the worst part was that after each momentary glimpse of brilliance, the next scene would again be clumsy and ill-thought-out, making me sad for the book this could have been if it had been more focussed; its inclusion on the Women’s Prize longlist baffles me.
Content warning: depictions of racism, sexism, and ableism; abuse; abandonment; cheating; death of loved ones; bullying; PTSD; drug abuse
You can find this review and other thoughts on books on my blog.
My thoughts on this are complicated: while I thought there were chapters and scenes that really worked, there were also vast stretches that I could not get interested in. Therefore, a list of things that worked for me and a list of things that didn’t:
What I liked:
- Mary’s perspective. I really appreciated Mary’s voice and her particular dilemma. I thought her character was interesting and flawed in a really believable way. I enjoyed the different parental relationships she had with both her biological children and with Tristan and Malachi.
- The wonderfully layered sibling relationship between Malachi and Tristan.
What I didn’t like:
- The structure was possibly the part of the book that I found least successful. It took pages upon pages to finally reach the point of the plane impact and afterward the book felt very different than before. The book gets better in the direct aftermath of the tragedy but by then I had already spent hours listening to character exposition. After that the book jumps ahead in a way that made it feel like much of the plot and the character development happened off-screen.
- Everything about the way in which Pamela’s story was handled. I found it both predictable and horrifying, which is my least favourite combination.
- Tristan’s perspective: while I thought his character was interesting, his voice never felt authentic to me – to be fair, I do not know that many 15-year-old boys, but still it felt stereotypical rather than authentic. And I really could not deal with his rap verses, especially during scenes when a lot of things were happening.
- I am not sure I liked the way in which Elvis’ sections were handled but I do admit that I cannot completely put my fingers on the why of that. I disliked the choice to have him refer to other characters by harsh descriptions (“the bad Black boy” for example), and by the clumsy way in which commentary on race and gender was integrated in his sections.
- The scope was too broad for me, dealing with everything imaginable (racism and sexism, abuse, ableism, tragedy and familial relationships, cheating and abandonment) while never really giving any of those things any room to properly breathe.
Overall, the worst part was that after each momentary glimpse of brilliance, the next scene would again be clumsy and ill-thought-out, making me sad for the book this could have been if it had been more focussed; its inclusion on the Women’s Prize longlist baffles me.
Content warning: depictions of racism, sexism, and ableism; abuse; abandonment; cheating; death of loved ones; bullying; PTSD; drug abuse
You can find this review and other thoughts on books on my blog.
July 20, 2019
It's 1996. There's a neglected tower block of flats. The residents get along in relative harmony. There are a few exceptions to the rule. We get to know some of them before the tragedy strikes.
The book draws on real life events that happened in Amsterdam and London. I don't want to say to much about it as I would spoil it for other readers. I couldn't stop thinking about this story long after I put the book down. It's a story of hope and despair. We see the events that unfold through different people's eyes. I do recommend this debut novel.
I would like to thank NetGalley, HQ and the author Luan Goldie for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The book draws on real life events that happened in Amsterdam and London. I don't want to say to much about it as I would spoil it for other readers. I couldn't stop thinking about this story long after I put the book down. It's a story of hope and despair. We see the events that unfold through different people's eyes. I do recommend this debut novel.
I would like to thank NetGalley, HQ and the author Luan Goldie for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
March 9, 2020
Not terrible, but not one I'd really recommend to anyone - an average to forgettable story set in London in 1996 but based on the story of the 1992 Bijlmeer crash involving El Al Flight 1862. Definitely more of a book club vibe than literary fiction: the storyline is quite predictable, the characters a little one-note, the writing nothing to rave about. I'd classify it in the school of books like Three Hours which I expect many will enjoy but didn't live up to the hype for me due to the total lack of suspense relative to the plot and my failure to care about the fate of the characters.
I'd recommend reading Laura's excellent review for a more in depth analysis of the shortcomings of this, but suffice it to say that I'm suitably baffled as to how this made the Women's Prize longlist...
I'd recommend reading Laura's excellent review for a more in depth analysis of the shortcomings of this, but suffice it to say that I'm suitably baffled as to how this made the Women's Prize longlist...
March 9, 2020
Every year, the Women’s Prize for Fiction longlists something that I find bafflingly bad, and this year, I’m pretty confident that prize goes to Luan Goldie’s Nightingale Point. This novel, set in the mid-1990s and early 2000s, is told principally from six different first-person perspectives, with a seventh tossed in at the very end for no good reason. Its narrators are linked by the run-down London block of flats where they live, Nightingale Point, and by the traumatic tragedy that occurs one hot summer’s afternoon when a cargo plane plows into the block. Mary is a Filipino nurse who is burdened with guilt about an affair; she is surrogate mother to two black teenage boys, Malachi and Tristan. Malachi is studious, asthmatic and heartbroken, while his younger brother Tristan is more concerned with keeping up his street cred and keeping their little flat spotless. Elvis, a white man with learning disabilities, has recently moved to the block through a care-in-the-community placement; he loves having his own place but is the target of harassment. Finally, Pamela, perhaps the most vivid, is a white teenage girl kept captive in her own flat by her controlling father; she remembers the days when she was at least let out to run in the frosty park for an hour, and wishes she could reunite with Malachi, with whom she had a brief love affair.
At almost four hundred pages, Nightingale Point, which treads slowly through a long preamble and postamble to its central incident, feels like a much shorter story stretched out to fill the space of a novel. It also has some fairly basic craft problems, which I found surprising, given that Goldie is a past Costa Short Story award winner. On a sentence-by-sentence level, it’s uninspiring but competent, although there are some occasional clangers (‘The woven burgundy throw falls from the back of the sofa to reveal the holes and poverty beneath it.’) However, the prose clumps together in uncomfortable ways, partly because the transitions between past and present, and between introspection and action, are often awkwardly handled. Here’s Pamela on the roof of the block of flats:
Her running shoes swing by her sides as she pads across the greyness in her socks. She steps over the glossy ripped pages of a magazine; a girl in a peephole leather catsuit stares back at her. The door bounces against its splintered frame as Pamela enters the building. Her world starts to shrink.
On a macro level, this novel didn’t work for me either. It’s not a sharp evocation of a London council estate along the lines of Guy Gunaratne’s In Our Mad and Furious City, but seems more akin to plodding feelgood London community-based novels like Libby Page’s The Lido, despite the fact it’s not especially feelgood! It doesn’t have anything interesting to say about either solidarity or hierarchy in the wake of this disaster, and, for a novel that claims to mirror the Grenfell tragedy, it’s curiously apolitical. (While I obviously understand that Goldie wouldn’t have wanted to tackle Grenfell directly, I wondered why she chose to pluck a real-life incident from its original social context – this plane crash into a tower block actually took place in Amsterdam in 1992, and led to a government cover-up.) Because the novel chooses to eschew all these interesting power dynamics, it becomes a somewhat soapy and manipulative read, with an especially troubling through-line for one of its central characters. In short: what were the judges thinking?
At almost four hundred pages, Nightingale Point, which treads slowly through a long preamble and postamble to its central incident, feels like a much shorter story stretched out to fill the space of a novel. It also has some fairly basic craft problems, which I found surprising, given that Goldie is a past Costa Short Story award winner. On a sentence-by-sentence level, it’s uninspiring but competent, although there are some occasional clangers (‘The woven burgundy throw falls from the back of the sofa to reveal the holes and poverty beneath it.’) However, the prose clumps together in uncomfortable ways, partly because the transitions between past and present, and between introspection and action, are often awkwardly handled. Here’s Pamela on the roof of the block of flats:
Her running shoes swing by her sides as she pads across the greyness in her socks. She steps over the glossy ripped pages of a magazine; a girl in a peephole leather catsuit stares back at her. The door bounces against its splintered frame as Pamela enters the building. Her world starts to shrink.
On a macro level, this novel didn’t work for me either. It’s not a sharp evocation of a London council estate along the lines of Guy Gunaratne’s In Our Mad and Furious City, but seems more akin to plodding feelgood London community-based novels like Libby Page’s The Lido, despite the fact it’s not especially feelgood! It doesn’t have anything interesting to say about either solidarity or hierarchy in the wake of this disaster, and, for a novel that claims to mirror the Grenfell tragedy, it’s curiously apolitical. (While I obviously understand that Goldie wouldn’t have wanted to tackle Grenfell directly, I wondered why she chose to pluck a real-life incident from its original social context – this plane crash into a tower block actually took place in Amsterdam in 1992, and led to a government cover-up.) Because the novel chooses to eschew all these interesting power dynamics, it becomes a somewhat soapy and manipulative read, with an especially troubling through-line for one of its central characters. In short: what were the judges thinking?
Read
March 10, 2020DNF at 60%
July 28, 2019
My review on my website. www.bookread2day.wordpress.com
The author Luan Goldie has based Nightingale point on the devastating carnage of on the 4th October 1992 a cargo plane crashed into two high rise flats in Bijlmer, Amsterdam, killing up to forty seven people.
Also Nightingale point brings into another yet devastating event when the Grenfell Towers burned down in our own country, where most very sadly the people felt they were not being listened to.
Nightingale point is a fictional place, you really get to feel people's emotions after losing everything during an extremely bad and sad event that occurs. The aftermath in Nightingale Point leaves this place in such a bad way that their homes and place will never be the same again. The author has got every detail right of the carnage, of people's shouts and cries for help.
This book Nightingale Point will win readers hearts throughout the Goodreads community.
The author Luan Goldie has based Nightingale point on the devastating carnage of on the 4th October 1992 a cargo plane crashed into two high rise flats in Bijlmer, Amsterdam, killing up to forty seven people.
Also Nightingale point brings into another yet devastating event when the Grenfell Towers burned down in our own country, where most very sadly the people felt they were not being listened to.
Nightingale point is a fictional place, you really get to feel people's emotions after losing everything during an extremely bad and sad event that occurs. The aftermath in Nightingale Point leaves this place in such a bad way that their homes and place will never be the same again. The author has got every detail right of the carnage, of people's shouts and cries for help.
This book Nightingale Point will win readers hearts throughout the Goodreads community.
April 18, 2020
This is Luan Goldie’s first novel. She is “an emerging young writer of color”, who is a primary school teacher in England, and her novel is on the 2020 Women’s Prize for Fiction long list.
The novel tells the story of a working-class community on a housing estate in London. Nightingale Point, one of several buildings on this estate, experiences a major tragedy. Goldie has created a compelling cast of diverse characters including Mary, a nurse, originally from the Philippines; Malachi and Tristan, young men of color and neighbors to Mary, who keeps a motherly eye on the orphaned brothers; Elvis, a young man described as “having learning difficulties”, who has moved out of a group home to live independently, with the assistance of caretakers; and Pamela, a teenaged white girl, living with an insanely protective and racist father.
The story is set in May, 1996. While it is completely fictional, Goldie based the story on an incident in Amsterdam in 1992, and she began the book before the tragedy of the Grenfell fire in a housing estate in London. The force of this novel is not rooted in the accident, but on the impact of the incident on her characters. Their actions are not predictable, and those who rise to overcome the worst of it all, will surprise you. Most of the action is set in a space of six months, with a final section that is set five years later.
This is a book that provides insights into the dignity and struggles of working-class people. Goldie has created characters that you will care about, some of whom are resilient, and some who fall apart for a time.
Highly recommended. 4.5 stars.
The novel tells the story of a working-class community on a housing estate in London. Nightingale Point, one of several buildings on this estate, experiences a major tragedy. Goldie has created a compelling cast of diverse characters including Mary, a nurse, originally from the Philippines; Malachi and Tristan, young men of color and neighbors to Mary, who keeps a motherly eye on the orphaned brothers; Elvis, a young man described as “having learning difficulties”, who has moved out of a group home to live independently, with the assistance of caretakers; and Pamela, a teenaged white girl, living with an insanely protective and racist father.
The story is set in May, 1996. While it is completely fictional, Goldie based the story on an incident in Amsterdam in 1992, and she began the book before the tragedy of the Grenfell fire in a housing estate in London. The force of this novel is not rooted in the accident, but on the impact of the incident on her characters. Their actions are not predictable, and those who rise to overcome the worst of it all, will surprise you. Most of the action is set in a space of six months, with a final section that is set five years later.
This is a book that provides insights into the dignity and struggles of working-class people. Goldie has created characters that you will care about, some of whom are resilient, and some who fall apart for a time.
Highly recommended. 4.5 stars.
March 6, 2020
I read this book due to its longlisting for the 2020 Women’s Prize. It is the debut novel by a schoolteacher and previous winner of the Costa Prize short-story award.
The author has a Dutch husband and the book was inspired by the Bijlmerramp (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Al_F...), gaining extra resonance with the Grenfell Towers disaster.
The story is set on the eponymous East London high rise housing estate, starting in May 1996 and is told in the present tense (and after an introductory chapter to the estate) in alternating-narrator third party point of view chapters.
The alternating narrators are:
Mary – a Philippine nurse, married to a itinerant (and martially unfaithful) singer, she has herself quietly started an affair.
Malachi and Tristan, two orphaned brothers. Malachi is twenty one and studious, having had to grow up very young as their (now dead) mother was barely able to look after herself, let alone them and eventually committed suicide. With their Nan having returned to the Island he now is the sole adult in the household (albeit Mary keeps an eye on them both). Tristan is fifteen, dreaming of being a rap star and hanging out with the wrong kids, he despairs of Malachi’s straightness, and Malachi of his waywardness.
Pamela – a white, athletic sixteen year old girl, a class mate of Tristan. Pamela and Malachi who started a brief love affair with Malachi which was broken up by her over-protective father (already sensitive to her being prayed on by older men after an incident with a coach, he is also a racist). After a confrontation where Pamela threatened to leave home and the overwhelmed Malachi was not ready to take her in, she is sent away to her mother, although unbeknownst to Malachi she has returned, wanting to speak to him.
Elvis has just moved to the estate as part of the care-in-the-community initiative – he is obsessed with rules and routine, and frightened by confrontation – early on he gets bullied by Tristan after telling him off for smoking.
A large part of the book is on the fatal day in May 1996 – but future sections are set in the immediate aftermath and then Ten Days Later, One Month Later, Three Months Later, Six Months Later, Five Years later as the residents come to terms with the events of the day and their repercussions.
The present tense and multi-narrator structure I think capturing the characters individual pre-occupations and concerns that are suddenly overtaken by a communal catastrophe, but also contributing towards my feeling that this is a very straightforward and easy-reading book. At the same time it is competently written and full of empathy, and it explores interesting themes, in particular the aftermath of cataclysmic events and how time is not always a healer.
The author has a Dutch husband and the book was inspired by the Bijlmerramp (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Al_F...), gaining extra resonance with the Grenfell Towers disaster.
The story is set on the eponymous East London high rise housing estate, starting in May 1996 and is told in the present tense (and after an introductory chapter to the estate) in alternating-narrator third party point of view chapters.
The alternating narrators are:
Mary – a Philippine nurse, married to a itinerant (and martially unfaithful) singer, she has herself quietly started an affair.
Malachi and Tristan, two orphaned brothers. Malachi is twenty one and studious, having had to grow up very young as their (now dead) mother was barely able to look after herself, let alone them and eventually committed suicide. With their Nan having returned to the Island he now is the sole adult in the household (albeit Mary keeps an eye on them both). Tristan is fifteen, dreaming of being a rap star and hanging out with the wrong kids, he despairs of Malachi’s straightness, and Malachi of his waywardness.
Pamela – a white, athletic sixteen year old girl, a class mate of Tristan. Pamela and Malachi who started a brief love affair with Malachi which was broken up by her over-protective father (already sensitive to her being prayed on by older men after an incident with a coach, he is also a racist). After a confrontation where Pamela threatened to leave home and the overwhelmed Malachi was not ready to take her in, she is sent away to her mother, although unbeknownst to Malachi she has returned, wanting to speak to him.
Elvis has just moved to the estate as part of the care-in-the-community initiative – he is obsessed with rules and routine, and frightened by confrontation – early on he gets bullied by Tristan after telling him off for smoking.
A large part of the book is on the fatal day in May 1996 – but future sections are set in the immediate aftermath and then Ten Days Later, One Month Later, Three Months Later, Six Months Later, Five Years later as the residents come to terms with the events of the day and their repercussions.
The present tense and multi-narrator structure I think capturing the characters individual pre-occupations and concerns that are suddenly overtaken by a communal catastrophe, but also contributing towards my feeling that this is a very straightforward and easy-reading book. At the same time it is competently written and full of empathy, and it explores interesting themes, in particular the aftermath of cataclysmic events and how time is not always a healer.
April 13, 2020
Heartbreaking and uplifting. I simply loved the characters and am really missing them all already.
May 5, 2020
Interesting novel based on a real events but changed location. Enjoyed how the novel looked at relationships and the process of grief and loss after a tragic event.
October 16, 2019
You will know the old adage is 'Don't judge a book by it's cover..'
Although I never. It is definitely part of what drew me in wanting to read this book.
Once I read the blurb I was even more interested.
The story is from multiple POV's and this technique now quite common works with some stories better than others, on this it is definitely a plus.
It is about several residents living together in a multi-storey flat, who go about their own lives as normal until one day a tragedy strikes.
This affects these tenants in a number of different ways, with some even losing their lives.
Reading this book it covers before, during and after the accident, and how the residents get on with their lives.
With respect and heartfelt condolences to those who were unfortunately involved in Grenfell. I loved how the author made reference to this and another previous incident in another country, in another year. Those who suffered will not be forgotten.
Although I never. It is definitely part of what drew me in wanting to read this book.
Once I read the blurb I was even more interested.
The story is from multiple POV's and this technique now quite common works with some stories better than others, on this it is definitely a plus.
It is about several residents living together in a multi-storey flat, who go about their own lives as normal until one day a tragedy strikes.
This affects these tenants in a number of different ways, with some even losing their lives.
Reading this book it covers before, during and after the accident, and how the residents get on with their lives.
With respect and heartfelt condolences to those who were unfortunately involved in Grenfell. I loved how the author made reference to this and another previous incident in another country, in another year. Those who suffered will not be forgotten.
July 16, 2019
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
An engrossing, thought-provoking examination of what happens after catastrophe - how communities come together, and pull apart.
This was another of those books that I went into with absolutely no idea what to expect. The front cover certainly wasn't giving anything away! Sometimes, those are the most fun books of all - the ones you begin with no preconceptions, then end up heartily enjoying.
The Plot
Nightingale Point is a 'typical' block of flats - it has its residents, who for the most part, get along in relative harmony. However, frictions are established early on; between teenage Tristan and Elvis (a man with severe learning difficulties), and between Malachi (Tristan's older brother) and his girlfriend's father.
Then, out of the blue, calamity hits the block of flats. In a nightmarish twist of events, the residents must somehow not only survive the terrible event, but build another life in the aftermath. The question is - will they be the same person afterwards?
My Review
The author explicitly talks about being inspired by a similar event in the Netherlands - not to mention Grenfell in the UK (for non-UK readers, this was a hideous event where several people in a block of flats lost their lives, all because contractors had got away with putting the wrong cladding on the front).
I was reminded of Grenfell throughout this book, because it made me realise afresh how nightmarish that whole incident must have been for those involved. The author does a great job of putting the reader right in the heart of the action, in a sweeping, quite cinematic way. She also captures not only the negatives of such a horrendous event, but the positives too - and how sometimes, people are capable of taking calamity and generating personal strength and determination from it.
A really different, interesting read - definitely a welcome change from a lot of the 'cookie-cutter' identikit books out there at the moment.
An engrossing, thought-provoking examination of what happens after catastrophe - how communities come together, and pull apart.
This was another of those books that I went into with absolutely no idea what to expect. The front cover certainly wasn't giving anything away! Sometimes, those are the most fun books of all - the ones you begin with no preconceptions, then end up heartily enjoying.
The Plot
Nightingale Point is a 'typical' block of flats - it has its residents, who for the most part, get along in relative harmony. However, frictions are established early on; between teenage Tristan and Elvis (a man with severe learning difficulties), and between Malachi (Tristan's older brother) and his girlfriend's father.
Then, out of the blue, calamity hits the block of flats. In a nightmarish twist of events, the residents must somehow not only survive the terrible event, but build another life in the aftermath. The question is - will they be the same person afterwards?
My Review
The author explicitly talks about being inspired by a similar event in the Netherlands - not to mention Grenfell in the UK (for non-UK readers, this was a hideous event where several people in a block of flats lost their lives, all because contractors had got away with putting the wrong cladding on the front).
I was reminded of Grenfell throughout this book, because it made me realise afresh how nightmarish that whole incident must have been for those involved. The author does a great job of putting the reader right in the heart of the action, in a sweeping, quite cinematic way. She also captures not only the negatives of such a horrendous event, but the positives too - and how sometimes, people are capable of taking calamity and generating personal strength and determination from it.
A really different, interesting read - definitely a welcome change from a lot of the 'cookie-cutter' identikit books out there at the moment.
July 17, 2020
This was an incredible book, based on the true story of a plane that hit two public housing towers in Amsterdam, and a tribute to the Grenfell Tower residents in London.
The story began in 1996, and spanned five years. It focused on a number of residents in a public housing tower in England - known as Nightingale Point. It was a story of how their lives changed when a plane hit the tower block, including their recovery. The characters were diverse.
The character development and interactions were beautiful. I loved the friendship that developed between Tristan and Elvis - the empathy and humanity between them was beautiful.
Nightingale Point had a recurrence of the R word - a harmful disability slur. I would ordinarily give up with such ableist language. But a friend told me to stick with it. And wow - I’m glad I did. This is one of the only books I’ve read that addresses the issues of the R word. It’s done in such a great way. Not condescending. Contemplative. Apologetic. A statement was made on the harm the language did - in a 1996 context. Thank you Luan. Every writer who chooses to use ableist language needs to read this book. You can make a choice to use it, and make a choice to change your characters’ behaviour by writing about the way the R word is harmful.
This is such an important book for our time. Beautiful, empathetic, eye opening, compassionate, well researched.
I listened to the audiobook and loved hearing the different characters come to life the the actors who played them.
The story began in 1996, and spanned five years. It focused on a number of residents in a public housing tower in England - known as Nightingale Point. It was a story of how their lives changed when a plane hit the tower block, including their recovery. The characters were diverse.
The character development and interactions were beautiful. I loved the friendship that developed between Tristan and Elvis - the empathy and humanity between them was beautiful.
Nightingale Point had a recurrence of the R word - a harmful disability slur. I would ordinarily give up with such ableist language. But a friend told me to stick with it. And wow - I’m glad I did. This is one of the only books I’ve read that addresses the issues of the R word. It’s done in such a great way. Not condescending. Contemplative. Apologetic. A statement was made on the harm the language did - in a 1996 context. Thank you Luan. Every writer who chooses to use ableist language needs to read this book. You can make a choice to use it, and make a choice to change your characters’ behaviour by writing about the way the R word is harmful.
This is such an important book for our time. Beautiful, empathetic, eye opening, compassionate, well researched.
I listened to the audiobook and loved hearing the different characters come to life the the actors who played them.
August 18, 2019
A beautifully written and so so emotional story here from Luan Goldie- a genuinely insightful piece of storytelling that digs deep into your soul.
The residents of Nightingale Point are diverse and authentic, engaging and intriguing- the minutiae of their days, their relationships to each other and themselves, the very heart of community pops from the page – the author sets the scene with clever nuance, descriptive sense and no wasted words, embedding them into your consciousness- then throws an extraordinary and life changing event at them, exploring multiple layers of socially relevant themes in the aftermath.
I don’t think I’ve read such a truly human story in ages, an inciting event inspired by at least two very real modern tragedies which then allows you to see the harsh reality of recovery, from the perspective of the people not the rhetoric, not the headlines, not the political manoeuvring or the slanted viewpoint but the actual people.
Nightingale Point is an intelligent, gorgeous and heart wrenching novel, with characters you’ll never forget and a thought provoking undertow that will stay with you for a long time.
Highly Recommended.
The residents of Nightingale Point are diverse and authentic, engaging and intriguing- the minutiae of their days, their relationships to each other and themselves, the very heart of community pops from the page – the author sets the scene with clever nuance, descriptive sense and no wasted words, embedding them into your consciousness- then throws an extraordinary and life changing event at them, exploring multiple layers of socially relevant themes in the aftermath.
I don’t think I’ve read such a truly human story in ages, an inciting event inspired by at least two very real modern tragedies which then allows you to see the harsh reality of recovery, from the perspective of the people not the rhetoric, not the headlines, not the political manoeuvring or the slanted viewpoint but the actual people.
Nightingale Point is an intelligent, gorgeous and heart wrenching novel, with characters you’ll never forget and a thought provoking undertow that will stay with you for a long time.
Highly Recommended.
August 12, 2019
A thought provoking story of a disastrous event that occurs in a London tower block in 1996, drawing on real tragedies that happened in Amsterdam and London. Full of interesting characters, it deals with how people cope in the aftermath of such a devastating event, how we as humans feel compelled to analyse the before, the after and perhaps the most heart breaking of all, the what-ifs. Very sad yet uplifting too.
March 7, 2021
[3.5*]
Η Luan Goldie μάς μεταφέρει στο 1996 και το Nightingale Point, ένα συγκρότημα κτιρίων στο Λονδίνο. Εκεί γνωρίζουμε τον 21χρονο Malachi, έναν φοιτητή που προσπαθεί να τα βγάλει πέρα και να φροντίσει τον 15χρονο αδερφό του, Tristan, μετά τον θάνατο της μητέρας τους. Την 17χρονη Pamela και τη σχέση της με τον Malachi και τον αυστηρό και ρατσιστή (ωραίος συνδυασμός) πατέρα της. Την Mary, μια νοσοκόμα από τις Φιλιππίνες, η οποία είναι παντρεμένη με έναν άντρα που βλέπει σπάνια, λόγω των επαγγελματικών ταξιδιών τους, ο οποίος δεν είναι ακριβώς ο ορισμός του faithful man. Τον Elvis, ένα παιδί με μαθησιακές δυσκολίες.
Μέσα από POV αφηγήσεις, η Goldie μάς αφήνει να ρίξουμε ματιές στις ζωές των χαρακτήρων. Και να δούμε πώς αυτές αλλάζουν όταν ένα φορτηγό αεροπλάνο πέφτει στο συγκρότημα. (Μιλάμε για semi-fictional γεγονός, καθώς έμπνευση ήταν η πτώση αεροπλάνου σε κτιριακά συγκροτήματα στο Biljermeer του Άμστερνταμ το 1992). Στις 4 Μαΐου του 1996, άνθρωποι θα πληγωθούν (σωματικά και ψυχολογικά), θα χάσουν ανθρώπους και σπίτια. Τίποτα δεν θα είναι το ίδιο ξανά.
Πέρσι, το βιβλίο βρέθηκε στη μακρά λίστα για το βραβείο Women's Prize for Fiction. Και δικαίως. Οι χαρακτήρες έχουν γενικά ενδιαφέρον, η *πολυπρόσωπη* αφήγηση έχει καλό ρυθμό και καλύπτει μεγάλο χρονικό διάστημα (πριν το συμβάν έως και 5 χρόνια μετά). Βέβαια, έχει κάποια αδύναμα σημεία. Κάποιοι χαρακτήρες δεν έχουν αναπτυχθεί αρκετά, ενώ κάποιοι είναι, εχμ, κάπως στερεοτυπικοί.
Γενικά όμως μιλάμε για ένα καλοδουλεμένο ντεμπούτο που πιάνει διάφορα (και -ενίοτε- δύσκολα θέματα), όπως η έννοια της κοινότητας, η ψυχική υγεία, ο ρατσισμός, η απώλεια και το βάρος των αναμνήσεων. Από μένα είναι ΓΙΕΣ, έστω και με δύο αστερίσκους, ξεκάθαρα.
Η Luan Goldie μάς μεταφέρει στο 1996 και το Nightingale Point, ένα συγκρότημα κτιρίων στο Λονδίνο. Εκεί γνωρίζουμε τον 21χρονο Malachi, έναν φοιτητή που προσπαθεί να τα βγάλει πέρα και να φροντίσει τον 15χρονο αδερφό του, Tristan, μετά τον θάνατο της μητέρας τους. Την 17χρονη Pamela και τη σχέση της με τον Malachi και τον αυστηρό και ρατσιστή (ωραίος συνδυασμός) πατέρα της. Την Mary, μια νοσοκόμα από τις Φιλιππίνες, η οποία είναι παντρεμένη με έναν άντρα που βλέπει σπάνια, λόγω των επαγγελματικών ταξιδιών τους, ο οποίος δεν είναι ακριβώς ο ορισμός του faithful man. Τον Elvis, ένα παιδί με μαθησιακές δυσκολίες.
Μέσα από POV αφηγήσεις, η Goldie μάς αφήνει να ρίξουμε ματιές στις ζωές των χαρακτήρων. Και να δούμε πώς αυτές αλλάζουν όταν ένα φορτηγό αεροπλάνο πέφτει στο συγκρότημα. (Μιλάμε για semi-fictional γεγονός, καθώς έμπνευση ήταν η πτώση αεροπλάνου σε κτιριακά συγκροτήματα στο Biljermeer του Άμστερνταμ το 1992). Στις 4 Μαΐου του 1996, άνθρωποι θα πληγωθούν (σωματικά και ψυχολογικά), θα χάσουν ανθρώπους και σπίτια. Τίποτα δεν θα είναι το ίδιο ξανά.
Πέρσι, το βιβλίο βρέθηκε στη μακρά λίστα για το βραβείο Women's Prize for Fiction. Και δικαίως. Οι χαρακτήρες έχουν γενικά ενδιαφέρον, η *πολυπρόσωπη* αφήγηση έχει καλό ρυθμό και καλύπτει μεγάλο χρονικό διάστημα (πριν το συμβάν έως και 5 χρόνια μετά). Βέβαια, έχει κάποια αδύναμα σημεία. Κάποιοι χαρακτήρες δεν έχουν αναπτυχθεί αρκετά, ενώ κάποιοι είναι, εχμ, κάπως στερεοτυπικοί.
Γενικά όμως μιλάμε για ένα καλοδουλεμένο ντεμπούτο που πιάνει διάφορα (και -ενίοτε- δύσκολα θέματα), όπως η έννοια της κοινότητας, η ψυχική υγεία, ο ρατσισμός, η απώλεια και το βάρος των αναμνήσεων. Από μένα είναι ΓΙΕΣ, έστω και με δύο αστερίσκους, ξεκάθαρα.
January 13, 2021
More on Chill and read
"Nightingale Point" first drew my attention because it was longlisted in the Women's Prize for Fiction award in 2020. Then, as I read the storyline, I knew it was going to be a very interesting read. Therefore I went and bought it! And I don't regret that decision even for a moment! It is an amazing story that deserves all the attention it has gotten!
Nightingale Point is a building complex where one can find all sorts of people. Those that the story evolves around are people of different ages and backgrounds, that are somehow connected mostly before the accident or right when it happened. Because "Nightingale Point" is the story of a big accident that changes everyone's life, not only those that lived in the building. The building itself is a pretty old one, the kind that needs a care taker and the kind where the lifts don't work in 1996. So, if you are unlucky enough and have to climb all the way up to 10th floor and beyond, carrying a bag of groceries or a suitcase or something else that is heavy, you are not going to like it.
The book starts with Elvis, a young man, more of a special boy, that lives there all alone. He is under The Care in the Community Programme wings, as he some times fails to focus on the important things, so there is Lina that is at his apartment on daily basis, ensuring he get's something to eat and everything is fine. He tries to think of all the instructions his care worker gave him and most of the times he does!
Then we meet Mary, a Filipino nurse that lives in Nightingale Point for many years. She is married to David, the man she met back home, but he is often absent. Now that their twins have grown up to adults having their own families, Mary spends most of her time alone. She has a secret though, one she is not sure if she wants to share. But she also has two brothers to take care of. She promised it to their grandmother.
The brothers are 21 year old Malachi and his younger brother Tristan. Tristan is a boy that dreams of becoming a well known rapper, making rimes up all the time. He also has a soft spot for trouble and weed, which blurs his mind and makes things even worse. Malachi has always been the responsible one, not only with regards to his brother, but his depressed mother too. He was in charge of the pills, so he blames himself for his mother's suicide. He really wants to succeed and get his degree in architecture so he studies hard. The only thing that distract him from his studies, apart from the fact that he has to look after Tristan who always finds trouble, is Pamela, the girl he has a brief relationship that had to end.
Pamela is a 16 year old girl that spent some time with her abusive father, until he sent her away to her mother. This is a difficult situation she is in, but she loves Malachi and she doesn't like how they separated. Now that she is back, she needs a find a way to talk to him.
And just like that we get to know a bit about some of the Nightingale Point residents. Their life, their struggles, what makes them who they are today and what the expect or look for in their future. The become friends or acquaintances to us, so when the accident happens, we feel with them and for them. We go through the accident with them and Goldie's writing makes us feel as being part of it. I would almost smell the smoke and feel the heat. I could see the people siting in the pavement and the park full of debris. I could agonise with them, trying to find loved ones, worrying about the present and the future alike. Where will they live? Is there something left of their belongings? Have all the family photographs perished in the fire? Will everyone be able to survive and if not, how could the rest live with the loss?
Luan Goldie inspired by real life events create a tragedy and a masterpiece at the same time. The actual disaster happened in 1992, when a cargo plane in Amsterdam crashed into a tower block soon after take off, killing forty seven people. In her own words:
The survivors of the destroyed blocks lost everything: loved ones, homes, belongings and community.
Then came the aftermath. The media wanted to talk to them, the authorities questioned who the victims were, and challenged their right to be rehoused. They suffered health problems, both mental and physical. They had questions about the accident, the rescue operation, the advice they were receiving. They were angry.
When Grenfell Tower happened, despite it being a different decade and country, a similar narrative played out. Yet again, people felt they were not being listened to.
Please read it.
July 17, 2020
5 out of 5 stars
In no way am I surprised that this was up for an award as it’s written so powerfully that you really care about the people in it. Set in the 1990’s in a tower block we meet very different people and they are put together in close quarters that their lives are all interlinked. When a disaster happens it affects them all and we see them recovering. This really impacted me and made me cry which is a real talent.
In no way am I surprised that this was up for an award as it’s written so powerfully that you really care about the people in it. Set in the 1990’s in a tower block we meet very different people and they are put together in close quarters that their lives are all interlinked. When a disaster happens it affects them all and we see them recovering. This really impacted me and made me cry which is a real talent.
April 19, 2020
Synopsis
A plane crashes into a residential tower block (Nightingale Point is one of a cluster of blocks on a housing estate). The time frame is not explicitly spelled out, though reference to the IRA indicates 1980s/1990s. The consequences for the immediate community of such a calamitous, apocalyptic, event are explored from five different family perspectives. As you would imagine its a time of deep reflection, and of guilt.
In all the book covers a period which traces the rebuilding of lives from the moment of impact measured in days, and then months, to a round off- where they are now- five years later. The tie up ending struck me as totally superfluous and unnecessary.
Highlights
Tristan Roberts is the leading character in the book and the one whose transformation is most believable. He is only fifteen years old, but has a street wise air about him, and the ability to fit in with the cool kids while retaining his own individuality.
Elvis Watkins is sweetly drawn, and he brings an uncomplicated and loving presence to a story that is pretty stark for the most part. I was reminded of the excellent 2019 novel Patience by Toby Litt, whose protagonist Elliott demonstrates that innocent joy is present in the most vulnerable in society.
Lowlights
This is a character driven novel, and not all were equally convincing. Mary, a community nurse, brings compassion to the story, but this is intertwined with her on/off marriage to David (Tuazon). At no point did I ever buy into the supposed emotional turmoil that she expresses towards his death and the sanctity of the marriage vows.
“mother of two; grandmother of four, nurse of thirty three years. Wife to a fame chasing husband”
Mary’s grown up children, Julia and John had little depth to them and they also irritated me.
I yawned every time Malachi Roberts and Pamela Harrogate, naive teenagers, reflected on their YA romance.
Historical & Literary
It was impossible not to read Nightingale Point and not carry images in mind of the horrendous Grenfell Tower inferno in London in 2017. I did so, and this was crossed, because of the story line, with the equally unforgettable Twin Towers attack in New York in 2011. At the end of the book, Goldie in an author note cites Grenfell, and in particular the Bijlmer Amsterdam tragedy of 1992
Author background & Reviews
I read this after the book was long listed for the 2020 Women’s Prize for Literature. Goldie is a primary school teacher and Nightingale Point is her debut novel, much delayed due to the subject matter and the delayed timing of its release was specifically to avoid disrespect to the Grenfell families.
Recommend
Not especially. I’m not alone in comparing this book to the Booker long-listed, and debut, novel from Guy Gunaratne In Our Mad and Furious City (2018). Gunaratne’s picture of life on an inner city estate is the better read in my opinion.
A plane crashes into a residential tower block (Nightingale Point is one of a cluster of blocks on a housing estate). The time frame is not explicitly spelled out, though reference to the IRA indicates 1980s/1990s. The consequences for the immediate community of such a calamitous, apocalyptic, event are explored from five different family perspectives. As you would imagine its a time of deep reflection, and of guilt.
In all the book covers a period which traces the rebuilding of lives from the moment of impact measured in days, and then months, to a round off- where they are now- five years later. The tie up ending struck me as totally superfluous and unnecessary.
Highlights
Tristan Roberts is the leading character in the book and the one whose transformation is most believable. He is only fifteen years old, but has a street wise air about him, and the ability to fit in with the cool kids while retaining his own individuality.
Elvis Watkins is sweetly drawn, and he brings an uncomplicated and loving presence to a story that is pretty stark for the most part. I was reminded of the excellent 2019 novel Patience by Toby Litt, whose protagonist Elliott demonstrates that innocent joy is present in the most vulnerable in society.
Lowlights
This is a character driven novel, and not all were equally convincing. Mary, a community nurse, brings compassion to the story, but this is intertwined with her on/off marriage to David (Tuazon). At no point did I ever buy into the supposed emotional turmoil that she expresses towards his death and the sanctity of the marriage vows.
“mother of two; grandmother of four, nurse of thirty three years. Wife to a fame chasing husband”
Mary’s grown up children, Julia and John had little depth to them and they also irritated me.
I yawned every time Malachi Roberts and Pamela Harrogate, naive teenagers, reflected on their YA romance.
Historical & Literary
It was impossible not to read Nightingale Point and not carry images in mind of the horrendous Grenfell Tower inferno in London in 2017. I did so, and this was crossed, because of the story line, with the equally unforgettable Twin Towers attack in New York in 2011. At the end of the book, Goldie in an author note cites Grenfell, and in particular the Bijlmer Amsterdam tragedy of 1992
Author background & Reviews
I read this after the book was long listed for the 2020 Women’s Prize for Literature. Goldie is a primary school teacher and Nightingale Point is her debut novel, much delayed due to the subject matter and the delayed timing of its release was specifically to avoid disrespect to the Grenfell families.
Recommend
Not especially. I’m not alone in comparing this book to the Booker long-listed, and debut, novel from Guy Gunaratne In Our Mad and Furious City (2018). Gunaratne’s picture of life on an inner city estate is the better read in my opinion.
January 27, 2021
I really enjoyed this despite a harrowing story line. Very well written from multiple viewpoints & you really get under the skin of each character. It certainly made me think about what the poor residents of Grenfell Towers & the Amsterdam tower block air crash disaster went through. I did particularly enjoy the first third of the book & the minutiae of people’s lives.
April 13, 2020
Just loved it! Touches on so many issues and you can’t help but draw a parallel to Grenfell. Touches on so many issues around race, class, young carers, mental health and disability. A wonderful read. Thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope it makes it to the shortlist for the women’s prize for fiction. Can’t wait to read more of her work.
August 4, 2020
A disappointment.. workmanlike prose, hit and miss characterisation and very drawn-out.
After being longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2020 the reality of Nightingale Point was a huge disappointment and given the novel is centred around a tragedy with life-changing consequences it feels crass to say I found it prosaic and a slog to stick with. Inspired by a cargo plane crashing into a high-rise block of flats in Amsterdam in 1992 and inadvertently referencing the Grenfell Tower fire of 2017, Goldie’s novel is set in a South East London tower block in 1996 amidst a diverse working class community. The novel follows the perspectives of five characters in alternating chapters, all residents of Nightingale Point, a fourteen floor high-rise containing fifty-six flats.
Mary is a Filipino nurse who came to Britain as a trainee at the age of nineteen and despite having being married for over thirty years to her mainly absent husband she has a secret life that her family know nothing of and is plagued with guilt about breaking her vows. Twenty-one-year-old Malachi Roberts is juggling a university degree with keeping an eye on his errant fifteen-year-old brother, Tristan, and simultaneously pining for sixteen-year-old schoolgirl, Pamela Harrogate. Meanwhile Pamela’s overprotective and aggressive father, Jay, has resorted to locking her in the flat on the eleventh floor and Tristan and Mary are both encouraging Malachi to move on. The newest resident of just six weeks at Nightingale Point is care in the community patient and vulnerable Elvis who is pleased as punch to be living independently for the first time with the support of his carer.
When the catastrophe occurs at about twenty percent into the novel it is shown from multiple perspectives before following the characters of Malachi, Tristan, Mary and Elvis in the aftermath. As Tristan struggles with the realities of his physical health problems for Malachi and Mary it is survivor’s guilt (rational or otherwise), processing their grief and moving on from that harrowing day that is the issue. Checking in on their progress at ten days, one, three and six months before a final five year memorial I found the characters lacking in authentic heart-felt emotions and their stories fairly repetitive. I questioned the authenticity of the responses of both Malachi and Tristan and the entire novel felt a little superficial and trite with Luan Goldie’s characters never fleshed out in enough depth to believe in.
For me this was an unsatisfying read and didn’t do anything particularly well apart from belatedly shining a light on the mental health effects of being part of such a tragedy and just how damaging they can be. Beside a few mentions of post traumatic stress however there is disappointingly little depth to their internal conflicts. A major issue for me is that although the death of sixteen-year-old Pamela Harrogate is central to the story and unites both her father, Jay, and former boyfriend, Malachi, but the reader learns so little about her and there is no discussion of her own father’s part in her death. Along with the workmanlike prose and the sluggish pace the story also failed to mention how the local council were handling such an unprecedented tragedy and instead opted to score points by simply moaning about inadequate rehousing.
After being longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2020 the reality of Nightingale Point was a huge disappointment and given the novel is centred around a tragedy with life-changing consequences it feels crass to say I found it prosaic and a slog to stick with. Inspired by a cargo plane crashing into a high-rise block of flats in Amsterdam in 1992 and inadvertently referencing the Grenfell Tower fire of 2017, Goldie’s novel is set in a South East London tower block in 1996 amidst a diverse working class community. The novel follows the perspectives of five characters in alternating chapters, all residents of Nightingale Point, a fourteen floor high-rise containing fifty-six flats.
Mary is a Filipino nurse who came to Britain as a trainee at the age of nineteen and despite having being married for over thirty years to her mainly absent husband she has a secret life that her family know nothing of and is plagued with guilt about breaking her vows. Twenty-one-year-old Malachi Roberts is juggling a university degree with keeping an eye on his errant fifteen-year-old brother, Tristan, and simultaneously pining for sixteen-year-old schoolgirl, Pamela Harrogate. Meanwhile Pamela’s overprotective and aggressive father, Jay, has resorted to locking her in the flat on the eleventh floor and Tristan and Mary are both encouraging Malachi to move on. The newest resident of just six weeks at Nightingale Point is care in the community patient and vulnerable Elvis who is pleased as punch to be living independently for the first time with the support of his carer.
When the catastrophe occurs at about twenty percent into the novel it is shown from multiple perspectives before following the characters of Malachi, Tristan, Mary and Elvis in the aftermath. As Tristan struggles with the realities of his physical health problems for Malachi and Mary it is survivor’s guilt (rational or otherwise), processing their grief and moving on from that harrowing day that is the issue. Checking in on their progress at ten days, one, three and six months before a final five year memorial I found the characters lacking in authentic heart-felt emotions and their stories fairly repetitive. I questioned the authenticity of the responses of both Malachi and Tristan and the entire novel felt a little superficial and trite with Luan Goldie’s characters never fleshed out in enough depth to believe in.
For me this was an unsatisfying read and didn’t do anything particularly well apart from belatedly shining a light on the mental health effects of being part of such a tragedy and just how damaging they can be. Beside a few mentions of post traumatic stress however there is disappointingly little depth to their internal conflicts. A major issue for me is that although the death of sixteen-year-old Pamela Harrogate is central to the story and unites both her father, Jay, and former boyfriend, Malachi, but the reader learns so little about her and there is no discussion of her own father’s part in her death. Along with the workmanlike prose and the sluggish pace the story also failed to mention how the local council were handling such an unprecedented tragedy and instead opted to score points by simply moaning about inadequate rehousing.
March 28, 2020
This was fine but how it made the Women's Prize longlist I will never understand.
September 1, 2024
Phenomenal. A book that makes you really care about its characters. As I was out today I was thinking about them and eager to get back to them. Looking forward to more from this author.
February 9, 2021
Wow wow wow wow wow!! I loved this so much that I devoured it in 24 hours. If I wasn't reading this, I was thinking about when I could pick it up next. An incredible emotive plot combined with wonderful characters has proved a winner. This could have gone down the "Three Hours" route (another book I loved) on solely focusing on the day of the plane crash hitting Nightingale Point, and while I still think I would have been completely hooked I am so glad we got to see the aftermath and the longer term impact on the residents. We have been given a range of characters to love and feel for and the fact you see the aftermath just pulls you to them even more.
At the end of the narrative, the author explains that this is based on the real events of the plane crash in Bijlmer, Amsterdam in 1992. So as well as a tribute to the victims and survivors of Grenfell Towers, this is also a homage to the struggles of the victims of Bijlmer. Reading this after finishing the narrative really hit home, as Goldie really brings to life their experiences in the humanizing detail you don't really get from news reports. Goldie's writing style is insanely gripping and emotive - I can't wait to read more from her. I whole heartedly recommend this as an emotive gripping narrative.
At the end of the narrative, the author explains that this is based on the real events of the plane crash in Bijlmer, Amsterdam in 1992. So as well as a tribute to the victims and survivors of Grenfell Towers, this is also a homage to the struggles of the victims of Bijlmer. Reading this after finishing the narrative really hit home, as Goldie really brings to life their experiences in the humanizing detail you don't really get from news reports. Goldie's writing style is insanely gripping and emotive - I can't wait to read more from her. I whole heartedly recommend this as an emotive gripping narrative.
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