Night Letters

by Robert Dessaix

For twenty nights in a hotel room in Venice, a traveler, recently diagnosed with an incurable illness, writes a letter home to a friend. He describes the kaleidoscopic journey he has just made across northern Italy from Switzerland, while reflecting on questions of mortality, seduction, and the search for paradise. Against a rich background of earlier journeys in literature, notably Mann's Death in Venice , Robert Dessaix creates a compelling and ultimately uplifting account of a life enriched by a heightened sense of mortality.

Genres: Fiction, Travel, Australia, Italy, Literature, Classics, Death

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Matthew Gatheringwater · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful and lyrical book that uses both a literal and metaphorical journey to explore how life's meaning changes when the narrator encounters his mortality sooner than he might have hoped.

I love the way this book is almost a practical guide to the consolations offered by art, literature, and philosophy. Themes including representations of The Annunciation (cleverly juxtaposed with getting the news of his disease diagnosis) or Dante's delineations of Hell or stories (such as a narrative about the persecution and imprisonment of Casanova) infuse the life of the narrator, influencing his point of view and changing his course of action. Even the last words of the book are an image, as the narrator sends a postcard of Giacometti's sculpture, "Walking Woman" to symbolize the start of his return home.

There are many references to travel literature and the narrator mulls over what the experience of travel is meant to "do" for the person making the journey. For example, is our journey (including our journey through life) meant to be a programmatic series of accomplishments? If so, it is a tragedy to not have time to finish our list of accomplishments and sights to see. Or is our journey more meaningfully measured by the quality of experiences along the way? This view is less subject to the constraints of time (and mortality) and, while still a tragedy, it is at least a tragedy of different proportions. This, at least, is what I make from a first reading, but Night Letters is definitely a book worth reading more than once. I'm going to explore some of the books Dessaix references before returning to it. (Each of the three sections of the book is followed with humorously acerbic yet informative notes, presumably from the pen of the fictitious editor of these letters, Igor Miasmov.)

[Paul Kidd · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a dearth of Australian fiction about HIV/AIDS – apart from Holding The Man and Take Me To Paris, Johnny, there's not much in which HIV is a central theme. Dessaix wrote Night Letters in the mid-1990s when he was coming to terms with his own HIV diagnosis, but the book never mentions the incurable disease its narrator is dying from. This is a semi-autobiographical roman à clef in which HIV plays a supporting role. It's a beautifully crafted meditation on mortality, literature and the search for pleasure. Recommended.

[Troy Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are so many turns of phrase, sentences, paragraphs, whole pages in this book that I just wanted to underline because they’re so beautifully written and insightful. The whole work is intelligent and at the same time heartfelt and intimate. I just loved it.

[Graham Crawford · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the style of this in much the same way as one enjoys the conversation of an entertaining stranger at a dinner party, but every time I put this book down, I didn't feel like re-engaging with it. I guess I like my stories too much to get a lot of pleasure from this sort of "post-structural" narrative.

On an historical note - it's also an interesting record of someone dealing with HIV in the 90's - though it's broad enough to have significance for anyone living on borrowed time. I don't want to make the mistake of confusing the author with the character who writes the letters in this book - but the thought did occur that the man in the novel might have had a hard time adjusting to "life" when the new drugs made HIV/AIDS a manageable disease and not a death sentence.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. An interesting, reflective novel, narrated in letter form, by an elderly Australian with an incurable disease. He writes for twenty nights in a hotel room in Venice. He writes one ‘Arabian Nights’ type of story about the bad luck that occurs to whoever possesses a valuable amulet, another story about the life of a prostitute and her love for a father and son, descriptions of art around Venice, Italy, and comments about the writings of Sterne, about Marco Polo, Casanova and Dante’s Inferno and Paradise.

A well written, original book. Readers interested in Venice should find the book very informative.

This book was shortlisted for the 1997 Miles Franklin award.

[Jordyn Imler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book that describes a dying man’s travels and the things he discovers along the way, but it was just a bit too academia for me. A lot of scholarly metaphors and allegories and while some of the stuff was interesting to read, i felt like I didn’t get much out of this book. Not that I was expecting a ton of plot in an epistolary based reflection novel, but on a side note I did like that it took place in Venice though. I fell in love with the city when I visited and his descriptions of Venice are exactly as I remember it in my head and it transported me back there

[Miguel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books that it is read (and loved) in an intimate and very personal way, almost as if it has been written only for us, to our measure. RD is Australian and in this travel book disguised as a novel disguised as a notebook disguised as an essay on illness disguised as light amusement disguised as a collection of short stories, or everything in opposite, he stages a trip to Europe, to Venice of all destinations, that it is more than a self discovery journey, and more a travel of exposure and of acceptance. As if, contaminated on the inside, there is nothing left to the narrator than letting himself be "infected" by all the beauty and thought that reveals before his eyes and mind. A fascinating book, about the eternal themes of love and death, that has a definitive place in our luggage of improbable travellers.

[Pauline · Rating 4 out of 5]

La qualité épistolaire de ce roman en fait un terrain fertile à l’introspection. Au travers d’un voyage entre la Suisse et l’Italie, le narrateur nous livre ses réflexions sur la vie et la mort, de soi à soi (l’”autre”, destinataire des lettres, reste inconnu).
L’intégration d’histoires qui deviennent presque des fables nous laisse incapables de lâcher le livre !
En bref : une sensibilité admirable et un regard honnête avec soi-même sur l’approche de la mort, et ainsi sur la vie.

[Sammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating meditation on storytelling: why we tell them, how we tell them, and whence we draw our inspirations. "Meditation" is the crucial word, since this novel is structured as a series of letters from an Australian man who has been diagnosed with a fatal illness and is travelling through Italy, all the while experiencing, pondering, storytelling. A strange, beautifully melancholic moment in Australian letters.

[Eliza · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how the book was broken up into 3 sections, and each section had within it a fantastical story that the author comes across on his travels. It made the book feel very magical. My favorite was the 1st section, with the story of the brooch.

[jjmann3 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Night Letters is an epistolary novel, a one-sided conversation of sorts taken through the form of journal entries recounting daily events, scenes, and thoughts of a multi-week trip through southern Switzerland, Venice, Padua, and other northern Italian towns. In between vivid scenes and side jaunts, the book is broken up into three parts, each of which has a tale of folklore woven between the current events.

I’ve read few other books that have done such a decent job of immersing the reader on a trip. While somewhat highbrow, the book mulls over themes such as mortality, culture, loss, and the purpose of travel and adventure. Relaxing and reflective, the book is like a fine meal or drink -- to be enjoyed slowly.

Recommended for those with the time to appreciate where Night Letters can take them.

[Sam Schroder · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is set for study in the NSW HSC English Extension 1 elective called Textual Dynamics. I read it to decide whether or not it is one of the texts I will choose to use with my class for 2018. The jury is out on that until I read the other two but my instinct is to hope one of the others feels more suitable as I don't feel like this book will sit well with the students in my class. The premise of 20 letters in 20 nights had me intrigued and the free-writing, topic-hopping, story-telling structure perfectly establishes the authenticity of the erratic nature of our thoughts and behaviours as we live our ordinary lives. I have so many questions, though. And they'll never be answered. Which, clearly, is the point. But it's annoying.

[grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

“For an hour or two nothing existed for us but this jerky, many-hued dream-world.”

This book is beautiful. An intimate journey through life, mortality, faith and purpose, the story it weaves feels like an amalgamation of musings on meaning, brought together by one man’s travels. This book makes me want to travel, to experience the world, to live. This book makes me fall in love with art all over again.

[Christopher Louderback · Rating 5 out of 5]

Journeying is, after all, so fundamental to the way we humans think of ourselves and assign our lives a meaning. Every second book you read is about some kind of journey, really, isn’t it? And we constantly talk about paths in life — ways, roads, progress, stages and so on — all travel metaphors, when you think about it.
—Robert Dessaix, Night Letters

[lillian horton · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75?

I really loved this book. Every time I put it down, I just kept thinking about all the topics it had addressed. I just really liked the writing style and all the questions it asked. And the conversations with the professor - sublime.

Probably shouldn't have read a book so travel-focused seeing as that still won't be happening for a looong time.

[Anna De Ruyver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik lees niet vaak vertalingen, maar het is een nogal moeilijk boek, veel oude(re) mensenjargon, of erudiet past beter in deze context, dus ik ben blij dat ik dit in mijn moedertaal gelezen heb. Hoe dan ook genoten van het boek, en goede afwisseling tussen lichtzinnigheid en geschiedkundige kennis van het hoogste niveau.

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really really liked this. Was recommended to me by my Mum to read before I go to Venice and it has prompted me to think deeply about travel and journeys. The prose is often breathtaking in its simply beauty.

[Tracey Washington-lacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I adored this book when I first encountered it when it was first published. I was fortunate enough to attend a reading by the author and the beauty of his reading it still resonates with me now. Might be time to re read it when I get through the two piles I have.

[Felicity · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once again Robert Dessaix has made me read slowly so I can savour his descriptive words. At times I found his thoughts rambled slightly, but on the whole another great read. Three and a half stars if I could.

[Tab · Rating 5 out of 5]

i am confident that as time goes on this book will remain as one of the greatest pieces of work i have ever had the pleasure of reading. i am in complete awe.

edit: i am most delighted to discover robert dessaix lives on. a truly magnificent writer he is.

[David O'Connell · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75

What an utterly brilliant work of art. Every page is filled with a richness of language and contemplation - of life, death, culture and so much more. One of my favourite reads of recent times. Didn't want it to end.

[Bronl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put down Night Letters. I have read two Dessaix's in two weeks and I highly recommend them. A brilliant, unique Australian voice

[Chase · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 10%

I got some good quotes, but this was way too literary and turgid for my tastes.

[William DiGena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came in knowing nothing and was pleasantly surprised by this delicious read

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a good writer.not overwhelmed by this one but his reflections on death are so worth reading. Painfully honest.

[Lolla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful, lyrical language, like the clear note of crystal. A delight to read.

[Laura Matute · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful book. I mean, they are meant to be letters, but really it could be just chapters of a novel. Very transforming in the sense of trying to answer to answer some existential questions.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really charming little book - apparently a big hit in Australia. Much more than a travel book as the protagonist writes letters home from his hotel in Venice.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really enjoyable read, although it reads more like a memoir than is does a novel. Dessaix is great at bringing a city to life, and his writing is full of astute, wistful observations. It doesn’t really have a plot, but it’s good storytelling nonetheless.

[Katie Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A series of letters written home, a man struggles with the end of life by taking a trip to Italy. Inside the main character's retelling are further stories, different ways humans struggle with life and death.

Lyrical and focused on meaning, it isn't necessarily the most realistic of dialogue. For those who find the mystery and appeal of places like Venice overdone, you should skip this book, since much of it takes place in northern Italy, ending in Venice. Still, for those who enjoy folklore, fairytales, and myths, this book is filled with those kind of stories/retellings inside it, making the book even richer.

It's a beautiful, quick read, and the ending by far makes this book.