A lonely young woman gets too close to her charismatic female student in this propulsive debut, culminating in a dangerously debauched Midsommar’s Eve. LONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE AND THE VCU CABELL FIRST NOVELIST AWARD • “Memorable and meaningful.”—Claire Messud, New York Times bestselling author of The Burning Girl Lauren Cress teaches writing at a small college … Girl
Lauren Cress teaches writing at a small college outside of Washington, DC. In the classroom, she is poised, smart, and kind, well liked by her students and colleagues. But in her personal life, Lauren is troubled and isolated, still grappling with the sudden death of her parents ten years earlier. She seems to exist at a remove from everyone around her until a new student joins her class: charming, magnetic Siri, who appears to be everything Lauren wishes she could be. They fall headlong into an all-consuming friendship that makes Lauren feel as though she is reclaiming her lost adolescence.
When Siri invites her on a trip home to Sweden for the summer, Lauren impulsively accepts, intrigued by how Siri describes it: green, fresh, and new, everything just thawing out. But once there, Lauren finds herself drawn to Siri’s enigmatic, brooding brother, Magnus. Siri is resentful, and Lauren starts to see a new side of her friend: selfish, reckless, self-destructive, even cruel. On their last night together, Lauren accompanies Siri and her friends on a seaside camping trip to celebrate Midsommar’s Eve, a night when no one sleeps, boundaries blur, and under the light of the unsetting sun, things take a dark turn.
Ultimately, Lauren must acknowledge the truth of what happened with Siri and come to terms with her own tragic past in this gorgeously written, deeply felt debut about the transformative relationships that often come to us when things feel darkest.
Praise for The All-Night Sun
“Inventive and luminous . . . Zinna’s intimate debut dazzles with original language, emotional sentience, and Swedish folklore as it plumbs the depths of grief, loss, and friendship . . . Zinna reaches an inspired emotional depth that, as the title signifies, never stops blazing.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
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Extraordinary storytellers summon an immersive alchemy of time, place, and people that transforms both the cast the reader in a powerful, fundamental way. In THE ALL-NIGHT SUN, Diane Zinna does exactly that. Her characters brim with a painful authenticity that touches those parts of our heart where we bury our most powerful emotions. She explores her locations with such depth that they transcend story and stage, becoming imperative participants. Her descriptions of culture, both academic and international is so spot on as to require no suspension of belief. This tale could truly have happened. Perhaps that’s the ultimate hook. Just as Lauren falls for Siri, we fall for Diane’s superbly constructed prose, words meant to be read aloud, crafted with splendor and sensation. This is art that you will ponder long after you’ve consumed it, an experience that takes you to the outer edges of human emotion, where truth and beauty juxtapose in all their uncomfortable glory.
The Review
A truly powerful and gripping tale of friendship, loss, and grief, author Diane Zinna has crafted a masterful and emotional novel. The protagonist perfectly captures the raw and heartbreaking reality of losing one’s parents and the feeling of loneliness and heartbreak that comes from it. The whirlwind friendship she develops with Siri and the sudden connection she develops with Siri’s brother Magnus helps to lay the foundation for the shocking and crumbling world Lauren has built herself, and how grief can block us from the world as it moves on without us.
Yet it was the balance of atmosphere and culture that really grabbed my attention as a reader. The setting not only of Sweden but of the events of Midsommar added so much history and culture to not only the narrative but the character’s backgrounds, while the atmosphere and the blend of quick friendship with sudden isolation really captured the fragility that grief can create in us all, especially when trauma begins to block out memories along the way.
The Verdict
A remarkable, emotional, and heartfelt story of painful losses and the path to finding hope and friendship again, author Diane Zinna’s “The All-Night Sun” is a must-read novel! That author does an incredible job of capturing the heart and soul of the protagonist’s internal struggle while layering a mystery behind the fate of the young woman who brought Lauren back out of her grief into the narrative. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!
Diane Zinna is a passionate writer who fills this story with a depth of emotion seldom seen by well-seasoned authors. And yet, The All-Night Sun is her debut. Zinna’s characters are beautifully developed and undeniably flawed. Even Sweden holds its own as a full-fledged personality.
The All-Night Sun is a story I will not forget. It’s a story to be re-read and savored.
A lyrically haunting saga of friendship and loyalty merges with many layers of emotion and rich characterization to make The All-Night Sun simply unforgettable. The prose is musical, the characters are well-developed with depth, and the settings are immersive enough to spirit you away. I was enchanted by the unfolding saga between Siri and Lauren and at turns equally invested in the details of Lauren’s academic life, both of which were rendered in vivid, expressive detail so that no words were wasted. The author masterfully crafts a synthesis between setting and character in this nuanced story unveiling the subtle, devastating ways in which our outer worlds and relationships mirror inner struggles and pain. Spectacular, memorable storytelling.
To say that Diane Zinna moved me with her story would not be fair, because it was more than that. She stood above every other book I read this year!!
She writes about grief with an original way to approach it.
The “All-Night Sun” is a lyrical journey that promises to open your heart! Even open your eyes to new ways of seeing the English language!
Diane gave words new meanings.
You will see things differently; they’ll be brighter! Whisper louder! Call to you!! Because you’ll notice even the small things…Diane has taught us how to look through life with a new lense of appreciation.
The world opens up without edges because her story feels so smooth and utterly beautiful!
Let me be blunt –
This book excited me! I tell everyone about it!! Diane is breathtakingly talented!
This may be her debut novel, but the essence screams she has been writing successful Literary Fiction novels for years!
I was given a copy of this book by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.
This haunting story stayed with me long after I finished it! I loved the Nordic setting and vivid descriptions, and Zinna’s skillful depiction of the far-reaching effects that loneliness and grief can wreak on a woman’s psyche.
In this debut, Zinna explores despair and grief, jealousy, the complications of female friendship and how those friendships can create as well as heal emotional wounds. Her vivid characters and unreliable protagonist, who at times I wanted to throttle and at others, hug, are woven into a beautifully written story filled with myths and poetic prose
A deep-seated, fully realized, cerebral exploration of a soul-stirring story where nothing is left unattended. In the hands of author Diane Zinna, grief leads to uncommon yet plausible connections as a friendship between teacher and student builds, crosses continents, and takes unexpected turns. The story of longing for connections in pursuit of filling a void, The All-Night Sun was recommended to me by author interviewer Annie McDonnell, of the popular book page, The Write Review. This sort of recommendation speaks for itself, and Annie’s praise for this well-written book was right on it!
I loved The All-Night Sun by Diane Zinna, mesmerized by the writing and propelled by the story line. It was the perfect read for my scattered and distracted brain, transporting me into another’s story.
Only child Lauren lost her parents in a tragic accident when she was eighteen, leaving her alone in a baffling world. Her parents couldn’t afford to send her to college but after their deaths she guiltily sold everything to raise the funds for her education. She learned how to survive in isolation, accustomed to lying about being orphaned.
At twenty-eight, she has her dream job teaching a writing class to international students at a small Catholic college, a popular teacher who loves her work. She understands her foreign student’s experiences as outsiders, their homesickness, and admired their courage.
Art student Siri comes into her classroom and insinuates herself into Lauren’s life, and for the first time Lauren felt understood, that she had a true friend. Siri was outgoing and sincere, but also a risk taker who charms her teacher out of her safety zone. Lauren is used to secrets, and knows she must keep their relationship under wraps from the other teachers and administration.
Siri asks Lauren to come to her home in Sweden for Midsommer and she impulsively accepts.
The gorgeous descriptive writing weaves visions of an enchanted land and time, maidens frolicing in meadows and woods, flowers woven in their hair, bathing in the cold water. Lauren allows Siri to transform her, and she feels what it is to be young–that fleeting time that passed her by with her parent’s demise.
Siri has a complicated relationship with her siblings. The early deaths of their parents spurred older sister Birgit to take on the role of mother. Siri hates her artist brother Magnus, both blaming each other for their mother’s death, and she warns Lauren to stay away from him. For Siri’s sake, Lauren wants to resist the attraction between them.
The headiness of the all-night sun, being a part of a circle of teenage girls, comes to a crisis at a Midsommer party. Lauren retreats home determined to put Sweden and Siri and her family behind her. But there is no escape.
As her life spirals out of control, Lauren loses herself and her life, but in the end she discovers forgiveness and acceptance.
The All-Night Sun reads like a psychological thriller written by accomplished literary hands that spin a denouement of uplifting satisfaction.
I was given a free ebook by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
The All-Night Sun by Diane Zinna is a great novel that gives a slow, descriptive, and visionary story regarding love, loss, and the repercussions and outcomes of the decisions that we make in life.
This book takes the reader through an intricate and literary journey as we witness arresting landscapes, visionary gems, and characters that are imperfect, flaws and all, and it was fascinating to take a front-row seat to take it all in.
It was at times hard to see events unfolding involving Lauren, Siri, and associated relations. Both were characters that were imperfect, and sometimes not likeable. However, as in life, most things are not black and white, and people are rarely all “good” or “bad”.
What I most enjoyed were the visions created by the wonderful prose from the author in regards to Sweden. Landscapes and events throughout from that aspect is, what I feel, made this book remarkable and unforgettable.
4/5 stars
Thank you NetGalley and Random House for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.