Enchanted Night ~Steven Millhauser
–published 1999
–Crown
–112 pages
–9/10 stars
I was made aware of Steven Millhauser when Chris reviewed this novella on his website in early 2010. I wasted no time in ordering a copy from my local library. In early April of 2010 I wrote:
“Enchanted Night is an all-too-brief glimpse into the magical and mysterious events that happen to a handful of residents in a small Connecticut town on a particular hot summer moonlit night. As darkness is pierced by the almost-full moon, strange forces begin to work on a group of people and inanimate objects in seemingly random, unconnected ways. Millhauser weaves these diverse elements into a cohesive though unconventional story, a story with its own set of dangers and mysteries yet filled with such beauty that it is nigh unto impossible to put this book down.
In Enchanted Night, Steven Millhauser introduces characters and situations in brief (sometimes one paragraph) stories that build upon themselves and ultimately each other as the night unfolds. Individual “chapters” are sometimes less than a page long, seldom more than one or two pages, which lends itself to a quick read because of the temptation to read “just one more”.
In the light of the moon a mannequin begins to feel stirrings of life, children hear the siren song of an unknown player. Five code-named teenage girls break into people’s houses and leave notes announcing “WE ARE YOUR DAUGHTERS”. Attic toys suddenly spring to life, a 14 year old girl believes the only place she can feel free is on the moon. A single man who lives with his mother discovers himself having an unexpected adventure. These and other even more eccentric story lines dominate a book that one cannot help but find, as Chris did, enchanting.”
I apologize for the wholesale plagiarism from an earlier review but I wanted to give you some idea of the novel before issuing a half-hearted warning: Kailana and I read this together on this past moonlit Friday night and we will both be answering a series of questions about the novella. I have made an effort in my answers not to spoil the reading experience with any revelations of the outcome of any story lines. We all define “spoilers” in our own way and I do talk in a little detail about a few characters/situations.
You have now had a mini-review and if you choose not to follow the jump then I can rest easy knowing that I have once again pimped this book. 🙂 But if you would like please come along for more discussion of Enchanted Night and be sure to check out Kailana’s thoughts on the book.
