Night studies: A novel

by Constance Beresford-Howe

Genres: Fiction

230 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Constance Beresford-Howe was born in Montreal. She received her M.A. from McGill University in 1946 and her Ph.D. from Brown University in 1950. She taught English literature and creative writing at McGill until 1969, then moved to Toronto, Ontario where she taught at Ryerson until her retirement in 1988. Her first novel, The Unreasoning Heart, was published while she was still a student.

Ms Beresford-Howe died in a hospice in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk England, on Jan. 20, 2016 at the age of 93.

Reviews

[❀ Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading 3 other books by this author, this one was a slower pace. The characters were a unique collection of personalities with interesting backstories albeit a bit hard to keep track of. Their stories were told in the microcosm of a night school where people were learning English, upgrading or completing university credits. the professors, the registrar, the director, the cleaning lady, students and others all had their own internal life challenges as they struggled through their evenings.

because of the challenges keeping track of characters, this might be a book to read twice! it is well-written but you can certainly tell that it is dated with some of the descriptive words used (fat) and racist remarks of characters.

I am still puzzling how this author seems quite a secret when her characters are rich and have many dimensions as they struggle through their days and lives.