I was a big fan of Dara Horn's The World to Come, so I was pleased to get an advance copy of her new novel, All Other Nights. I read it on a recent plane trip. Made me forgo the movies, the music channels, the inflight magazine, and, yes, the snack.All Other Nights clearly is the most compelling book I've read in months: Civil War historical fiction (which I don't often read) and a real page-turner.
Jacob Rappaport, a Jewish soldier in the Union Army, is given two orders by his commanders: first, to murder his own uncle, who is plotting to assassinate President Lincoln; second, to ingratiate himself with a Southern Jewish family and marry one of the daughters, who is suspected of being a spy.
This novel is suspenseful, well-paced, literary fiction, loaded with historical detail, posing issues of family, society, and social justice. Although it is, and no doubt will be marketed as, Jewish literature, it has a much broader appeal.
All Other Nights deserves the wide audience Cold Mountain had. Perfect for book groups and book talks. Highly recommended.
