The Night Child

Nora, the troubled protagonist of Quinn’s debut novel, poses several unusual problems for narrator Campbell, not the least of which is finding voices for a character with two personalities. Nora, married with a six-year-old daughter, is teaching high school in Seattle at the close of the 20th century when long-suppressed memories of childhood trauma begin to return. They’re preceded by the image of a girl’s luminous face floating before her. It belongs to Margaret, a dissociative identity of Nora’s, and it takes her back to her horrific childhood with a brutal, alcoholic mother and a father who was even worse. These memory trips lead to a breakdown and hospitalization. Actress Campbell introduces Nora with a self-confident voice, though one almost too soft for a teacher. Later, in the hospital, her normal speech gives way to a druggy dreaminess mixed with the childish natter of her Margaret personality. Her visitors include a dry, unemotional husband who informs her he’s leaving for another woman; a slightly officious nurse; the kind, gentle-spoken principal of her school; and her concerned but oddly confrontational psychiatrist. Together Quinn and Campbell present a vivid depiction of the soul-numbing ordeal of mental illness. A Blackstone hardcover. (Feb.)