The Light of Day: A Novel - Softcover

Swift, Graham

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1400032210 ISBN 13: 9781400032211

Publisher: Vintage, 2004

Synopsis

On the anniversary of a life-shattering event, George Webb, a former policeman turned private detective, revisits the catastrophes of his past and reaffirms the extraordinary direction of his future. Two years before, an assignment to follow a strayed husband and his mistress appeared simple enough, but this routine job left George a transformed man.

Suspenseful, moving, and hailed by critics as a detective story unlike any other, The Light of Day is a gripping tale of murder and redemption, as well as a bold exploration of love and self-discovery. This powerful novel signals yet another groundbreaking achievement from Graham Swift, the author of the Booker Prize-winning novel Last Orders.

About this title

Review:

In The Light of Day, Booker Prize-winning author Graham Swift takes readers into the mind of an ex-cop turned private investigator, who mulls over his relationship with a former client jailed for murdering her husband. In classic noir fashion, Webb has fallen for his client and anxiously awaits her release. Moreover, Webb had been called in to track the husband's affair, and Webb's role in the crime remains dubious. Swift's novel is somewhat in the vein of stream-of-consciousness style; Webb's thoughts are described, as they take place throughout a single day, in no particular order and without adhering to any strict plot structure. The novel's strength is indeed its structure: it is based not on chronology but as if on a sort of emotional resonance, with Webb's thoughts and preoccupations providing the novel with a depth not normally found in traditional detective novels. As an example, Swift writes of Webb's recollection of tailing the husband, after he had ended the affair and put his ex-lover on a plane:

He headed back towards the car park. In his shoes what would I have done? Found some spot that looked out on the runways? Pressed my nose against cold glass? All those taxiing lights. All those trundling planes, the people inside them like mere possibilities. At night it's hard to follow....

Webb is a fallible gumshoe who doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve, but, thanks to Swift's deft prose, has the range of his emotions revealed as he looks toward the future and contemplates his past actions in The Light of Day. --Michael Ferch

From the Back Cover:

Praise for Last Orders:

“Graham Swift is a purely wonderful writer, and Last Orders, full of gravity and affection and stylistic brilliance, proves it precisely.” -- Richard Ford

“An amazing novel . . . A truly virtuoso performance . . . A metaphor of the journey we all take.” -- Ann Beattie

“This is Graham Swift’s finest work to date: beautifully written, gentle, funny, truthful, touching and profound.” -- Salman Rushdie

“A profound, intricately stratified novel full of life, love lost and love enduring.” -- The Globe and Mail

“Resonant, distinct, irresistible . . . both convincing and extraordinarily intimate.” -- Washington Post Book World

About this edition

• Publisher: Vintage
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1400032210
• ISBN 13: 9781400032211
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 323