Review: Night Film

Night Film by Marisha Pessl
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"It was at this time I learned that the human mind is a blackened overgrown place. Society tries to mow the lawn and trim back the plants, but every one of us is just days away from a wild jungle. And it's the jungle that interests me." -- from Cordova's Rolling Stone interview

This book is essentially a thriller and a really interesting creepy one. The main character, McGrath, is searching for the truth about cult film-maker Cordova and about what really happened to his daughter. As we follow him and his companions on their quest we delve into each of their wild jungles. The documents mixed into the book, like the Rolling Stone interview, add an interesting element. I really liked the way the character of Nora evolved throughout the novel and her back story seemed just the thing to have created the girl she was when we met her.

I thought the ending (by which I mean the last 100 pages or so) was very well done. The story wraps up, and then there is another layer, and then another, and another, etc.

“Just when you think you've hit rock bottom, you realize you're standing on another trapdoor.”