The Night Climbers

On a quick walk through the bargain books at Barnes and Noble, I picked up this hardcover, The Night Climbers, intrigued initially by the poignant cover of a gargoyle perched atop a building. A quick scan of the inside flap, and I was on my way home to start the novel. I was immediately captivated by Stourton's use of language -- I can't recall ever having read words more expressive and entrancing, at times bringing goose bumps to my skin. The story itself is arranged beautifully as well, a coming-of-age exploration of what it means to be accepted, loved, and alive, and Stourton jumps back and forth between the present, and the past--which has seemingly come back to haunt the main character. The novel is haunting, at times stark, and intensely honest, and I would easily put this book at the top of my list of favorites in fine literature. Five stars, only because there is nothing higher! - By Julia Dudek, author of the psychological thriller, Pieces

For a book about night climbers, the actual night climbing is limited to a couple of chapters. Still, this coming-of-age novel has a few twists, and the milieu -- the super-rich and hangers-on at Cambridge -- is fascinating. I enjoyed it as a light read about a self-destructive man and his friends, as narrated by one of the friends. The narrator is suitably gullible but sympathetic, as he seems to berate himself constantly for his youthful mistakes. The plot gets tied up a little too neatly -- Stourton should try a little ambiguity in his next effort.

This book was on a shelf at Barnes & Noble labeled "Recommended by Staff" when it caught my eye. I was intrigued by the flap summary and purchased it. At the time, I was working on 5 other books and so this one sat for a while on my future reading pile until 3 nights ago. I was immediately drawn in to the inner world of the narrator, who remained my favorite character throughout the book. His overwhelming desire to "get in with the right crowd" amused me greatly, since I was the kind of person who loved being in the library during college and he looked with derision on those individuals! What I liked most about this debut novel was the level of literacy that imbued the whole book, as well as the fantastic metaphors constantly used in his descriptions. I enjoyed reading about the lavish lifestyle the main characters designed and fought to maintain, and found it ironic that in order to avoid actually DOING any college level work they had to employ a high level of intellect to their cheating schemes! The pacing and length of the novel felt just right, and I would always finish a chapter wanting to move immediately on to the next one. I finished the book quickly, reading eagerly after work for the last several nights. While I didn't actually LIKE Francis, Jessica, Lisa, or other peripheral people much, I very much enjoyed the book. I look forward to reading his next novel!

Ivo Stourton's night climbers are young, Cambridge University students. "Climbing" has all the right associations in this novel: the characters actually ascend Campus buildings to dizzying heights; they are climing to isolate themselves by surmounting the rest of us. This is social climbing, cult-driven climbing and ultimately climbing to grasp a sort of awareness about choice and the need to chose well. There are significant pages devoted to art in general, and whether the price really does define the product, and these are well-worth pondering. At a more general leve, the idea of night climbing calls to mind the Platonic dialogue involving epistemology; specifically, the problem of knowing how and what you know as you climb throught a mist of fog that precludes visual clarity and limits the certainty about what is or can be known. The night can bring the city into sharp clarity for the climbers, and it can just as easily create instances where they are duped. The night climbers are, throughout this simply remarkably well-written work, wrestling with what they think they understand.... Read this book and let the games begin.....!

This elegantly written novel is all about the tragic sacrifice of devotion and the ensuring complications of a friendship that sets in motion of a series of events which finally roll to a halt a decade later in the snowy streets of suburban London and Cambridge. Central to the story is that of the wealthy lawyer James Walker and his reflections of his life at the prestigious Oxbridge college in Cambridge. Raised in the school of hard knocks and coming from a rather poor social vantage point, James is a trifle awed at having the opportunity to attend such a prestigious school. Cut off almost completely from his peers and not really knowing whom to approach, James welcomes the arrival of Michael Findlay, who erupts into his life along with his group of glamorous, rich friends called the Tudor Night Climbers, who get their kicks out of climbing onto rooftops and leading a pleasure-seeking lifestyle. The head of the group is the seductive and hedonistic Francis Manley who entices the impressionable James with his tales of his life in Zimbabwe and his aristocratic pretensions, particularly that of his father Lord Soulford who is currently trying for nomination as the local Conservative candidate. Soon enough, life for James has taken on the seductive glow of possibility and the promise of fulfillment, with Francis his only link to the shadowy and glamorous world of fox hunting afternoons, clandestine boxing matches, and drug-fuelled parties. To James, Francis is "a fighter," the embodiment of all that James wishes he could be, and someone who has been raised all his life in the midst of a fortune the likes of which James had only encountered in books and glossy magazines. As his friendship with Francis develops, James becomes ever more carried away with the joy of total superiority, while also falling under the spell of the beautiful Jessica Katz who becomes his partner in crime and also a type of co-protector for the reckless Francis. As James falls under this group's spell, the spires and turrets of Oxbridge College provide a glamorous backdrop to all of the unfolding events. It is here on the roof of Tudor Court, with Cambridge bathed in a watery winter sunshine and everything appearing in extraordinary detail, that James sees Francis for who he really is: a conflicted young man who makes you want to suspend disbelief so you can drink more of his magic while also fooling you with his financial and romantic intrigues. Francis earns most of his money from his fighting, but he spends it and he's always in trouble with the bookies, and a whole host of creditors. With his father threatening to cut off his inheritance, and rather than drag his friends through the depression and despair of having no more money, Francis hatches a scheme to forge a Picasso currently owned by Oxbridge College. James, Jessica, and Lisa, the fourth member of the group, conspire to help their hero pursue his outlandish scheme, even as they risk becoming embroiled in