No Night is Too Long

by Barbara Vine, Ruth Rendell

Months after killing his lover off the rugged Alaskan coast, Tim Cornish believes he has gotten away with the crime, until a series of ominous letters informs him that someone knows what he has done. Reprint.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, LGBT, Suspense

352 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 26, 1994

About the author

Pseudonym of Ruth Rendell.

Rendell created a third strand of writing with the publication of A Dark Adapted Eye under her pseudonym Barbara Vine in 1986. Books such as King Solomon's Carpet, A Fatal Inversion and Anna's Book (original UK title Asta's Book) inhabit the same territory as her psychological crime novels while they further develop themes of family misunderstandings and the side effects of secrets kept and crimes done. Rendell is famous for her elegant prose and sharp insights into the human mind, as well as her ability to create cogent plots and characters. Rendell has also injected the social changes of the last 40 years into her work, bringing awareness to such issues as domestic violence and the change in the status of women.

Reviews

[Sushi (寿司) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Totalmente 4 (thriller psicologici orribili) a 1 (thriller psicologici decenti). Avevo già avuto una delusione con questa autrice ma questo libro è stata una scelta casuale di mia zia alla Festa dell'Unità di Bologna. Lei ovviamente era ignara che a me questa autrice non piacesse. (Comunque ho scoperto che ne ho un altro nei gialli mondadori 2013-2014).

○ Noioso a dir poco. Ogni tanto si riprende ma restiamo sul quel piano.
● Prolisso e infinito. I capitoli sono lunghissimi. Che non sarebbe neanche un problema se mi piacesse ma non mi piace. Tira troppo per le lunghe. Oltre 400 pagine (ed. Gialli Mondadori non scheda) sono troppe.
○ Tim è insopportabile. Rinnegamento di essere gay/bi dopo aver sedotto LUI Ivo per la prima volta. Se avessi genitori omofobi, e questo fosse un gay book e non un thriller, ti capirei ma non posso. Piantare Ivo perchè ti secca come parla, ciò che dice e come lo dice mi sembra in se banale. Lui ha sedotto Ivo ripeto. Se non era il tuo tipo perchè l'hai fatto? E poi i tradimenti a destra e manca. Per non parlare della cosa delle crocere che ... mi verrebbe da strangolare Tim solo per questi.
● Ivo è molto meglio. Non eccelso ma ci vuole poco ad essere meglio di Tim
○ Non mi sarei mai aspettata però che Isabel fosse la sorella di Ivo.

Sarà perchè leggo troppi M/M che non posso apprezzarlo? Di sicuro non apprezzo l'autrice. Due fallimenti su due libri letti.

[Gerhard · Rating 2 out of 5]

One star lopped off automatically for that ending, which belongs in a torrid MM romance rather than in a fairly nuanced psychological thriller about obsessive love and its consequences.

Vine plays coquettishly with stereotypes about gay characters in fiction, from their unbridled lust to their latent murderous tendencies, but always remains in control of the material, no matter how melodramatic or purple the prose.

Until the last page, of course. And careful as she is in tying up all of the loose ends, there is at least one glaring omission in this carefully constructed house of pink cards.

[Eleanor · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have abandoned this halfway through. I just couldn't get myself to care enough about the characters or what happens to them. I know a lot of people really like Barbara Vine, but after trying a couple of her books, she isn't for me.

[Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read about two dozen books by Rendell/Vine and this is my favorite. Can't recommend it enough for a thoroughly engrossing and satisfying read.

[Margie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I eventually skipped ahead to confirm my assumption of the major plot twist. The main character was tremendously petulant and self-absorbed, and as it was written in the first person, it was impossible to get out of his whiny head. I stuck with the book longer than I should have, because I respect Rendell/Vine's writing, but found it interminable. I can't recommend it.

I almost forgot - one of the minor characters is a professor of geology at UC Berkeley!

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ruth Rendell simply is the best mystery writer alive. Her books tend more toward psychological studies than toward suspense, with subtle, devious clues throughout. Even the best sleuth will ask themselves, "How did I miss that?" And, she's an outstanding writer. Every now and then I say to myself, "I've earned another Ruth Rendell." Not just for mystery lovers.

[K.Z. Snow · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a horrible, crushing disappointment this book turned out to be! I absolutely HATE the ending. Hate it, hate it, hate it. The conclusion felt like a betrayal and ruined the entire reading experience for me.

Actually, the nauseating and wholly unbelievable insta-love that took place earlier on almost did the ruining, but I was willing to give Vine's fertile imagination a chance to redeem itself. Then, shortly before the end, the revelation of the letter-writer's and the murderer's identities nearly made me pitch the book across the room. (Both of these characters were minor and virtually irrelevant to the main plot, and they seemed like nothing more than convenient, eleventh-hour scapegoats.)

By far the worst blow to my expectations, however, was that conclusion, that formulaic HEA, that sugar cube with a bow on top for the two most deceitful and generally despicable characters in the story. Vine's portrayal of a gay relationship as destructive and a hetero relationship as redemptive -- a cure-all for the poor, confused, hitherto shallow and self-absorbed narrator -- was appalling and reprehensible.

I'd expected more from Barbara Vine than this. The quality of her prose is all that kept the novel from a one-star rating.

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

aka Ruth Rendell. Writes the best psychological mysteries in my opinion

[Alex Ankarr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Bitter and sexy and ominous, with a bleak passionate chiaroscuro atmosphere, and an extremely flawed, troubled narrator. Just how I like it.

[Federica ~ Excusetheink · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5⭐ ma il protagonista è qualcosa di irritante oltre a non sapere nemmeno lui se è gay o bi.
Recensisco presto

[Antonis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Συνταρακτικό, σύνθετο και περισσότερο βαθύ από όσο φαίνεται αρχικά. Τις τελευταίες 150 σελίδες περίπου τις διάβασα μονορούφι.

[Em Chainey (Bookowski) · Rating 4 out of 5]

First I need to say that I watched the movie (didn't read the book). With Lee Williams and Marc Warren, it was well acting movie. The scenes were so natural and impressive. It is a good movie, intriguing.
About the story: OMG! What have you done Tim? You ruined your life.

ATTENTION PLEASE, THERE COMES SPOILERS, TOO MUCH INDEED!!!!







Tim is a bisexual very handsome young man. In college, he has lots of girlfriends. One day he sees a lecturer, paleonthologist, Ivo Steadman (gay man). They just look at each other and there is the attraction. Tim sees him everywhere, one day he decides to meet him. They start a passionate relationship. When Ivo needs to go for a ship cruise about his work, he takes Tim with him to Alaska. In the days which Ivo is on ship and Tim is waiting for him alone and bored in the hotel, he sees an attractive woman (she is married, but unhappy because of her husband's cheatings). He decides to have a little fun. But with everyday spending time with her, he fell in love with Isabel Winwood. When Ivo comes they get in the ship and he doesn't let him to touch him. Ivo is upset and when Tim explains the situation he becomes very angry. When they stopped a little island, they argue and Tim mistakenly hit Ivo, he hit his head to a big rock and there he is with blood and stood still. Tim finds a way to let people think that Ivo is seasick. But he left him there...
Then he remembers he left the address card of Isabel in Ivo's jacket. He goes to Vancouver. He searches for Isabel but he finds an drug addict man called Thierry. They spend some time together. Tim comes back to England, his hometown, one year pasts with everyday hallucinations. And one day comes Ivo. When he explains that Isabel is her sister and she was there because Ivo wanted her to look after Tim, Tim is shocked. And of course, he talked before Isabel about they're cheating him as: "You knew what I felt for him!"

Ivo forgives Tim and when he wanted to go (Tim asked for staying in his home) to the hotel, Tim gives his coat to Ivo (secretly put all the money he saved for he took from him when thinking he is dead) because it is raining like cats and dogs. When Ivo walks down the road to hotel and looks back to Tim's house, he got killed by Thierry with a knife. And there he is.. Innocent and with passionately love, Ivo Steadman is dead. And there is Tim with all the guilt he feel, he ruined his life...


I loved the movie. Think I'd loved the book. So here my 4 STARS! :))

[Rodolfo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I, like many before me, first heard of the haunting Barbara Vine (aka Ruth Rendell) novel No Night is Too Long via the BBC adaptation. The plot twist at the end of the film indeed takes it to a whole new level, as does the references (and musical quotes) to Strauss's opera Der Rosenkavalier. But I had no idea of the mind-blowing impression the book would have on me!

Isn't it great when we find these beautiful and intricate meanings in what we expected to be the most mundane of paperbacks?

Read the rest of my review here: (full of spoilers!)
Sex and Fiction in "No Night is Too Long"

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vintage Barbara Vine!
I was gripped from page One by the haunting atmosphere of this story of an abusive relationship. There are several unexpected twists to the mystery - the best thing is not to read the blurb to start with, which I think spoils the mystery a bit.
The story is great and the writing is beautiful, making this novel one of Barbara Vine's best. Highly recommended!

[Don Bradshaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this story after a friend raved about it. Tim was a mess as far as obsessive relationships went. Ivo had his own insecurities to worry about but Tim just completely flipped him around. The ending was awful as many reviewers have stated. I did enjoy the psychological twists and turns but I'm not sure about jumping into another of Ms. Vine's books.

[Evridiki Amanatidou · Rating 5 out of 5]

having read it four times, I find it one of her most compelling, a dive into the depths of the human mind and soul.

[Bianca · Rating 4 out of 5]

No Night is Too Long reads like a darker, more sinister and explicit version of Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited, and that is one of the many reasons I found myself so enamored by this novel. It’s not a perfect read, though it’s definitely close, and that’s much more than I initially expected. This book’s appearance and summary felt dated and underwhelming, but everything about Barbara Vine’s story is the exact opposite.

Tim, the main character, is unlikeable; he’s cruel and unfaithful, but he receives his comeuppance for all his deceit, and he suffers tremendously. Not until the very end of the novel did I find the ability to forgive him, though my dislike for Isabel, his mistress, never faded. Regardless of the history that led to the affair, she was still able to recognize the weight of her deception, and I did not feel sorry for her throughout the course of the novel. Not once. She’s a superficial character with superficial dilemmas while Tim often deceived others based on a psychological narcissism that is recognized and repeatedly discussed in his narrations.

Meanwhile, Ivo, who was viewed in Tim’s eyes as the villain, quickly became my favorite character, and he’s certainly the victim in more ways than one. Yes, Tim suffers, but he is never outwardly punished by those he hurt, and I feel Ivo is the one who endured the most pain. The two people Ivo loved the most consciously betrayed him, and his fate left me heartbroken.

Just like Brideshead Revisited, the ending is less than stellar. It’s not a conclusion I wanted or hoped for, but the only difference is that while I find Brideshead Revisited to possess a realistic, beautifully tragic finish, No Night is Too Long seems to meet an unconvincing demise. Still, Vine’s novel is gripping and poised, and I do see myself rereading it in the future. I only wished it ended on a different note.

[Marlene · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a bit different with twists and turns. Sort of like a soap opera. But it was written in first person. Mainly by the main character, Tim Cornish. He is writing his story; telling his own story. Consequently, some paragraphs are in the past, some are in the present, and some are in the present talking about the past. Most of Tim's story about himself is very introspective. Because of that, it dragged on and on, in my opinion. I almost stopped reading the book several times. The last two chapters were also first person but different characters. Susan's chapter was pretty much a letter she was writing repeating most of the stuff the reader already knew. The last chapter, James, was Tim's lawyer sort of explaining everything that had happened.
The only reason it got a 2 from me was because I hit a couple of spots that were interesting and moved along a bit faster than most of the book.

[Aurica Estelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this one and especially its quite unusual arc of suspense! It wasn’t the typical thriller I expected because it was more of a psychological 'love'story with mystery&thriller elements. Bittersweet and gripping; with fabulous plot twists in the end( that are kinda satisfying)

[Karen McMullin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The discovery of a Barbara Vine novel that I haven't read is BIG NEWS in my world! Found this one at a book sale, and it's my favourite yet (big words, considering the number of amazing works from Vine) As per other books by this author, there's an ongoing element of menace and foreboding that drives you to find out the answer. Who did what, and to whom? You know it's coming. Set between the UK and various remote islands, it was the perfect summer read.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tremendous achievement of characterization, plotting, and psychological suspense. An utterly stunning novel that I'm sure Patricia Highsmith and Graham Greene are reading and rereading wherever they are.

[Jack Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read a couple of Ruth Rendell’s mysteries, but this Barbara Vine, she’s a different beast altogether. The better mindset to be coming in from is not from Kingsmarkham: it’s from the dark, cragged road winding from Patricia Highsmith World. You know, that place populated by unhinged, violent, impossible-to-understand characters who sit uncomfortably outside of the boundaries of the suspense genre.

Do you know Slow Cinema — that arthouse genre with minutes-long tracking shots of people looking out windows or of cows grazing in a muddy field in black and white? This is a Slow Thriller. The characters feel like they wander around in the periphery of a main story that never really erupts. They probe deeply into their emotions and backstories more than they build suspense. A murder happens (kind of…), yet the fallout is emotional, not criminal.

Your tolerance for character-based, literary tension is what will demarcate this from an endurance test to a pretty well-written, fulfillingly dramatic piece of fiction. Another factor, as well, is the skeleton in its closet — and that’s a capital-C Closet, because it’s in fashion for people to call this novel homophobic (at worst) or misguided and out of touch in terms of its depictions of queerness (at… better, I guess).

I don’t think it’s legitimately a homophobic novel, no, but it certainly does have a brooding, misanthropic view of queerness that can be hard to endure over the course of the slowly-paced story. Most of this comes from the characters themselves, who are mostly self-centred, spiteful, and who infuse the atmosphere of the book with an ever-present distrust and dishonesty.

Neither HIV or AIDs is actually a part of the plot (as in: nobody has it), but the characters all constantly seem to be talking about or thinking about it as it was the crux of the action — as if to be saying, in an almost metafictional way, that to be a queer-themed suspense novel written in the 90s, AIDS must be a conscious threat in the story; maybe even a metaphor for the human-caused violence that actually does occur.

Does the author actually know of the harmful equivalency she establishes with elements like this?

More importantly: do the characters know? Do they know, also, that bisexuality exists and is a viable option for self-identification that doesn’t (necessarily) need to result in emotional betrayal and murder?

Maybe not. Maybe they’re simply a product of their environment and their sheltered upbringing. Maybe that’s the point.

Or maybe they do — in fact, of course they do. But that’s beside the point of what the story is trying to say; how it studies who these characters are at their core, the cruel but profoundly human decisions they make, and the effects of these decisions that are wounded upon others.

Writing about difficult, self-centred characters who happen to be queer always has the threat of the readership believing that the novel itself is suggesting that queerness is difficult and self-centred. But I don’t necessarily believe that of this one; I have to give it more credit than that. It’s a difficult book to enjoy, there’s no doubt about that. But that also is what made it a worthwhile read.

[David]

Read twice. When I tried to edit the second reading out of the 'new' list, it removed all references

I had the same feeling that I often have with Ruth Rendell novels, that it takes me a while to get into it. By the time we reach the end, however, we've had several narrators and all kinds of unexpected revelations about how various people have been manipulated. I found it hard to like the main narrator, and, until we got into the voices of other speakers, tended to think of him primarily as a manipulator, not really a pleasant character. He still has the same flaws afterwards, but we see him in the last quarter of the book being as much manipulated as anybody else. In many ways, each victimizer is also a kind of victim in this narrative. And there is--at least taken optimistically--an encouraging resolution to the long and twisted story.

[N]

(DNF @ 25%) I often see the opinion on Goodreads "I don't like first person narratives" and, frankly, that rankles with me, a person who writes mainly in first person. But, anyway, I think I figured out what they really mean, which is this: "I don't like first person narratives that are all internal monologue and summary narrative, with hardly any scenes or dialogue." Now I agree that this kind of fiction makes for tedious reading. It's also exactly what No Night Is Too Long is like.

Ponderous, ponderous, ponderous.

I did enjoy the funhouse-mirror depiction of creative writing MA programs in this 80s-set novel, where everyone is a waifish 20something. As compared to creative writing MAs now, where everyone is a middle-aged woman desperate to get away from her job and/or her kids.

[Thor Twinkle · Rating 4 out of 5]

What if Patricia Highsmith wrote a 90s yaoi-style story starring Tom Ripley?
This book sort of answers this question.

It's a really fast read, and the author does an excellent job of keeping the reader's attention. It's not exactly a thriller/mystery full of mind blowing plot twist, it's more about suspense and the protagonist's psyche.
It's very melodramatic and you can tell the story was written by a woman in the 90s. Still, it's a fun ride... Except for the ending. It felt unintentionally homophobic lol

[Vika · Rating 4 out of 5]

despite most of the plot not taking place at a university this book gave me dark academia vibes. it has the "wants to become an author" to bisexuality to murder pipeline typical for the genre. tim cornish is like if tom ripley, instead of being talented, was just constantly horny and falling in love at first sight with mysterious strangers. or if richard papen, instead of studying the classics and engaging in other freudian rituals of sublimation, dedicated his college years to more straightforward exploration of his sexuality. all of them ended up killing someone though so it appears there's no other way but down the dark academia pipeline lol

i enjoyed the melodrama but wasn't satisfied with the ending. too many important roles in the mystery resolution were outsourced to the characters first introduced in the last act and the epistolary structure started collapsing in on itself. i think the author should've gone with a neater, if more predictable, conclusion.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

A lot more in depth than the made for tv movie, for obvious reasons, but do I lowkey prefer the film? Well, yes
Although I did enjoy this read and was never bored

Also that ending was not it, I much prefer the film's which is slightly more open-ended and I'd like to think Isabel wasn't actually there lol or that they wouldn't go immediately to necking each other 😅

[Natalia Bas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lecturas recomendadas: ‘’Larga es la noche’’, de Barbara Vine. LGBT, misterio, relaciones varias…

Después de ver la película, me encantó descubrir que existía libro, y me hizo gracia ver si la película sería fiel…

Nos encontramos con una narración que es encantadoramente detallada y poética, dentro de los temas que toca…

Por un lado, tenemos a uno de los protagonistas que a partir de la ‘excusa’ de su pasado, hace lo que quiere con su presente y con los que le rodean.

Otro de los protagonistas, lleno de sentimientos que casi prefiere ocultar, es el que nos hará volver locos a todos, creo que realmente sin quererlo; pero es muy inteligente…

¿Qué puede pasar cuando le dices a alguien eso que quizás no deberías confesar?

¿Y si aparece un tercer protagonista y sucede que una historia de pasión se torna en historia de misterio…?

La verdad es que los dos finales son diferentes, no sabría con cual quedarme… o quizás sí; pero de momento nadie me ha hecho escoger ;)

Por cierto, la BSO de la película es...

[Filip · Rating 2 out of 5]

może kiedyś skończę i zmienię zdanie. na razie dialogi wysysały ze mnie duszę.