Night (O'Brien novel)

Night is a 1972 novel by Irish author Edna O'Brien.^[1] The novel is narrated by Mary Hooligan, while she experiences a bout of sleeplessness. Mary has been compared to Molly Bloom.^[2][3]

Night

Author	Edna O'Brien
Publication date	1972
Publication place	Ireland

Publication history

The book was first published by Alfred A. Knopf,^[4] and was reprinted by Faber & Faber in 2014.^[2]

Reception

Writing in The Guardian, Andrew O'Hagan compared the work favorably to Jacob's Room by Virginia Woolf.^[1] O'Brien has said she admires Woolf.^[5]

O'Brien has said had she been "sensitive" at the time of publication, she would have "[...] taken a razor to [herself]" in response to its reception at the time.^[5]

References

1. O'Hagan, Andrew (22 August 2014). "Edna O'Brien's Night is all passion, all mind". the Guardian. The Guardian.
2. Conroy, Catherine (20 September 2014). "Night, by Edna O'Brien". The Irish Times. The Irish Times. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
3. Broyard, Anatole (28 December 1972). "Books of The Times (Published 1972)". The New York Times. The New York Times. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
4. Shenker, Israel (2 January 1973). "A Novelist Speaks of Work and Love (Published 1973)". The New York Times. The New York Times. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
5. Moreton, Cole (5 October 2014). "Edna O'Brien: 'I had to grow old before they'd give me credit'". The Independent. The Independent. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2020.