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In the Middle of the Night
Book by Cormier, Robert
182 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1995
About the author
Robert Cormier
53 books612 followersRobert Edmund Cormier (January 17, 1925–November 2, 2000) was an American author, columnist and reporter, known for his deeply pessimistic, downbeat literature. His most popular works include I Am the Cheese, After the First Death, We All Fall Down and The Chocolate War, all of which have won awards. The Chocolate War was challenged in multiple libraries. His books often are concerned with themes such as abuse, mental illness, violence, revenge, betrayal and conspiracy. In most of his novels, the protagonists do not win.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
July 21, 2014
Nightmares ended when you woke up. Guilt never ended, worst in the dark of night but with you all the time, day or night.
After reading the great I Am The Cheese, I knew I had to read more of Robert Cormier, who's slowly becoming one of my favorite authors. His fiction is unrelenting, demanding and bleak, often tragic. His characters are driven by desperation - to understand themselves, seek solace of personal revenge. Although short, his books pack a great punch - his resolves often aren't pretty and can be a shock to younger readers who are accustomed to sanitized and simplified novels. I think he's underrated and should be better known.
In the Middle of the Night is a late Cormier (1195), and employs a similar themes to I Am The Cheese. I tells the story of Denny Colbert, a sixteen year old teenager who just wants to have a life like all other kids - be popular, have good friends, a part time job, get a driver's license. But Denny's family is constantly moving from town to town, Denny is always the new kid on the block and at school. It doesn't help that his family is very restrictive - his father forbid's him to even pick up the telephone, which begins to ring regularly around October, even in the middle of the night. But one day, alone in their new house in a small Massachusetts town, Denny disobeys his father and picks the phone up - and is drawn into consequences of what has happened many years ago, and continues to haunt his family.
The main themes of In The Middle of the Night are guilt and penance, absolution and forgiveness. Unlike I Am The Cheese, this book features several different points of view, showing the reader how different characters view the same event. It's a great way to show how the characters are perceived by society and why that is so, and how the even continues to influence and shape their lives, along with lives of those who have not been involved in it. This is a very dark and pessimistic book, populated by characters who are either resigned or obsessed - almost as if it was a book of the dead and they were the ghost that haunts it. But the ghost which haunts them all is the long shadow of what happened, which never let go - or more aptly, could never be let go.
I'd recommend this to anyone interested in discovering Cormier - thoght not as twisted and unforgettable as I Am The Cheese it has his stamp of quality, and I look forward to reading more of his works and reviewing them.
After reading the great I Am The Cheese, I knew I had to read more of Robert Cormier, who's slowly becoming one of my favorite authors. His fiction is unrelenting, demanding and bleak, often tragic. His characters are driven by desperation - to understand themselves, seek solace of personal revenge. Although short, his books pack a great punch - his resolves often aren't pretty and can be a shock to younger readers who are accustomed to sanitized and simplified novels. I think he's underrated and should be better known.
In the Middle of the Night is a late Cormier (1195), and employs a similar themes to I Am The Cheese. I tells the story of Denny Colbert, a sixteen year old teenager who just wants to have a life like all other kids - be popular, have good friends, a part time job, get a driver's license. But Denny's family is constantly moving from town to town, Denny is always the new kid on the block and at school. It doesn't help that his family is very restrictive - his father forbid's him to even pick up the telephone, which begins to ring regularly around October, even in the middle of the night. But one day, alone in their new house in a small Massachusetts town, Denny disobeys his father and picks the phone up - and is drawn into consequences of what has happened many years ago, and continues to haunt his family.
The main themes of In The Middle of the Night are guilt and penance, absolution and forgiveness. Unlike I Am The Cheese, this book features several different points of view, showing the reader how different characters view the same event. It's a great way to show how the characters are perceived by society and why that is so, and how the even continues to influence and shape their lives, along with lives of those who have not been involved in it. This is a very dark and pessimistic book, populated by characters who are either resigned or obsessed - almost as if it was a book of the dead and they were the ghost that haunts it. But the ghost which haunts them all is the long shadow of what happened, which never let go - or more aptly, could never be let go.
I'd recommend this to anyone interested in discovering Cormier - thoght not as twisted and unforgettable as I Am The Cheese it has his stamp of quality, and I look forward to reading more of his works and reviewing them.
March 8, 2024
"Nightmares ended when you woke up. Guilt never ended, worst in the dark of night but with you all the time, day or night."
—In the Middle of the Night, P. 86
Robert Cormier never bothers with quaint sayings about how everything will be okay if we just keep a positive attitude, and the only one who can derail our life is ourselves. His shocking, sobering novels demonstrate quite convincingly that other people can mess us up for life through no fault of our own, that misguided rage and a lust for vengeance can reach laterally and knock innocent people off their paths, whether we like to admit that fact or not. Not that there's no deeper agreement in Cormier's books with the firm belief that we decide our own fate by choosing either to move on from our griefs or embrace them like a burning coal and allow the fire to sear our consciences. For In the Middle of the Night, it's just such a decision that drives the plot, and sets off all of the horrors that are to come.
A major trauma can really be devastating to the course of one's life. How much so for a young girl attending a free charity magic show at an ambient old theater with her little brother, when the rickety upper deck caves in and buries most of the children in attendance? On the night that the balcony at the old-fashioned Globe theater collapsed, killing twenty-two innocent kids and scarring the town's psyche for decades to come, life ground to a halt for more than just the twenty-two who actually met their deaths. A trauma like that can sometimes end the lives of the survivors as effectively as it does for the dead, crippled children growing up bitter and blaming the people in charge for the mess that their life has become, and people in charge wracked with second-guessing and unbearable guilt as to what they possibly could have done differently that might have saved lives. It's always the second-guessing that gets us worst, I think, digging into the flesh of our soul like jagged barbs and ripping away chunks of who we are, setting into our skin deeper and deeper if we let it happen. That's how some people lose their way in life, second-guessing themselves right off the edge of sanity.
For nearly twenty-five years after the accident that changed his entire existence, the tragedy that furious family members of the dead victims blamed him for and many still believe was his responsibility, Denny's father has quietly taken the full brunt of their collective and individual rage. He's never defended himself against their verbal barrages or argued back, never made excuses or tried to rationalize his part in the morbid disaster that took place when he was a teenager, and Denny wonders why his father is so accepting of the abuse. Their family has had to move several times to get away from the hateful outpourings of people who let their emotions get the better of them and lead them to pile on the back of the favorite scapegoat, regardless of whether or not they know enough about the accident to judge if their anger is correctly placed. And every October, phone calls begin at Denny's house in the middle of the night, and Denny's father simply picks up the phone and listens to whatever the person on the other end of the line is saying, before hanging up when the call is complete. It's all very mysterious to Denny.
Getting trapped in this phone "game" of his father's was never Denny's intention, yet somehow he finds himself right in the middle of the enigmatic revenge dance when he decides that he wants to stir up some intrigue in his life and no longer obey the strict imperative of the household that he is never, under any circumstances, to pick up the phone when it rings. The most venomous rages that hide in a human heart sometimes will not die (or even fade) with time, and the situation that Denny has stepped into is a crazy and potentially lethal one. More innocent blood could now be shed as a result of the accident at the theater that happened twenty-five years ago, and the silent suffering in the face of persecution that Denny's father has endured for so long could be nothing compared to what he stands to lose now.
How do you decide when enough is enough, and it's time to let go of the past and try to redirect your life? That's a hugely important question, and the answer is undoubtedly different for every person and every situation that they face. Contrary to popular sentiment, I believe that fighting for the past can be a very good and productive activity, even if it takes a long time to achieve the desired result. So, how do we know when it's time to pull the plug on our most important battles for the past and start moving forward? We don't, really, and so we error in this regard way more often than we make the correct call, I would guess. We have to make the right decision based on our own common sense, but what if that sense has been warped by trauma at a young age, not allowing us the benefit of a rational perspective on what's worth fighting for and what struggles will just cost us our emotional well-being? Random bad things happen in people's lives, so that most of the time we can't even tell who's right or wrong in the most important situations. We just have to try to do our best and attempt to be understanding of the struggles that everyone else is facing, perhaps ones that are even worse than ours.
There's so much to get out of this book. What does revenge really even mean? What does it look like in real life, and is there ever an outcome to seeking it that looks anything remotely like the romanticized vision that we have while dreaming how sweet it could be? Why do our minds try to trick us into throwing our lives away on ridiculous games when in reality there's more for us to live for than we even know, more potential goodness coming up ahead in the next days, weeks, years than we could ever guess at or add up and quantify because the twists are too unpredictable for us to see ahead of time? Why do we vacate the good things we could have right now for the flighty fantasy of a possibility, a whispered phantom of a suggested opportunity, the silky voice in our ear that promises us more when we already have the full package in front of us offering the chance for real happiness without strings attached? Is it right to resist the vented rage of others upon us when they blame us for something we never intended to do, something that in all likelihood was not even our fault? Does it say more for our personal character if we stay silent and absorb the abuse or push back hard and refuse to give our assailants the satisfaction of berating us, continuing to claim the innocence that may be ours in the face of the masses who will only ever believe that we are bad? Does it really help honor the victims if we give up our right to defend ourselves and wordlessly accept the role of whipping boy for people who don't know where else to unleash the fury of their blind condemnation? Again, the answer to all of these questions is: I don't know. But this story certainly did cause me to wrestle with every one of these issues, and more.
All in all, In the Middle of the Night reminds me a lot of one of Robert Cormier's other acclaimed suspense novels, We All Fall Down. I actually think that this one wasn't as eerie or spellbinding in the intensity of its delivery as that earlier book, but I might say that it is more thoughtfully written, and I would give it the same two and a half stars. So much of the value to In the Middle of the Night comes by way of the knife's edge that Robert Cormier constantly makes us walk, with that feeling that something awful is always right around the corner. Most of the time the awful things don't happen, but the awareness of the possibility is enough to keep us on the edge of our seats until the last sentence of the final page has been read. With Robert Cormier, you know you're not safe until the moment when the text stops and the story has definitely ended.
As consistently great an author as Robert Cormier is, I would probably place In the Middle of the Night in the lower half of his works, but that is much more a tribute to the greatness he has achieved in his writing career than to any shortcomings in this novel. After having read only one or two of Cormier's books I realized that I felt a powerful need to eventually read everything that he has ever written, and I urge others who have also fallen under his unique spell to make time to experience In the Middle of the Night on their way to reading all of his books. It is a journey worth taking.
—In the Middle of the Night, P. 86
Robert Cormier never bothers with quaint sayings about how everything will be okay if we just keep a positive attitude, and the only one who can derail our life is ourselves. His shocking, sobering novels demonstrate quite convincingly that other people can mess us up for life through no fault of our own, that misguided rage and a lust for vengeance can reach laterally and knock innocent people off their paths, whether we like to admit that fact or not. Not that there's no deeper agreement in Cormier's books with the firm belief that we decide our own fate by choosing either to move on from our griefs or embrace them like a burning coal and allow the fire to sear our consciences. For In the Middle of the Night, it's just such a decision that drives the plot, and sets off all of the horrors that are to come.
A major trauma can really be devastating to the course of one's life. How much so for a young girl attending a free charity magic show at an ambient old theater with her little brother, when the rickety upper deck caves in and buries most of the children in attendance? On the night that the balcony at the old-fashioned Globe theater collapsed, killing twenty-two innocent kids and scarring the town's psyche for decades to come, life ground to a halt for more than just the twenty-two who actually met their deaths. A trauma like that can sometimes end the lives of the survivors as effectively as it does for the dead, crippled children growing up bitter and blaming the people in charge for the mess that their life has become, and people in charge wracked with second-guessing and unbearable guilt as to what they possibly could have done differently that might have saved lives. It's always the second-guessing that gets us worst, I think, digging into the flesh of our soul like jagged barbs and ripping away chunks of who we are, setting into our skin deeper and deeper if we let it happen. That's how some people lose their way in life, second-guessing themselves right off the edge of sanity.
For nearly twenty-five years after the accident that changed his entire existence, the tragedy that furious family members of the dead victims blamed him for and many still believe was his responsibility, Denny's father has quietly taken the full brunt of their collective and individual rage. He's never defended himself against their verbal barrages or argued back, never made excuses or tried to rationalize his part in the morbid disaster that took place when he was a teenager, and Denny wonders why his father is so accepting of the abuse. Their family has had to move several times to get away from the hateful outpourings of people who let their emotions get the better of them and lead them to pile on the back of the favorite scapegoat, regardless of whether or not they know enough about the accident to judge if their anger is correctly placed. And every October, phone calls begin at Denny's house in the middle of the night, and Denny's father simply picks up the phone and listens to whatever the person on the other end of the line is saying, before hanging up when the call is complete. It's all very mysterious to Denny.
Getting trapped in this phone "game" of his father's was never Denny's intention, yet somehow he finds himself right in the middle of the enigmatic revenge dance when he decides that he wants to stir up some intrigue in his life and no longer obey the strict imperative of the household that he is never, under any circumstances, to pick up the phone when it rings. The most venomous rages that hide in a human heart sometimes will not die (or even fade) with time, and the situation that Denny has stepped into is a crazy and potentially lethal one. More innocent blood could now be shed as a result of the accident at the theater that happened twenty-five years ago, and the silent suffering in the face of persecution that Denny's father has endured for so long could be nothing compared to what he stands to lose now.
How do you decide when enough is enough, and it's time to let go of the past and try to redirect your life? That's a hugely important question, and the answer is undoubtedly different for every person and every situation that they face. Contrary to popular sentiment, I believe that fighting for the past can be a very good and productive activity, even if it takes a long time to achieve the desired result. So, how do we know when it's time to pull the plug on our most important battles for the past and start moving forward? We don't, really, and so we error in this regard way more often than we make the correct call, I would guess. We have to make the right decision based on our own common sense, but what if that sense has been warped by trauma at a young age, not allowing us the benefit of a rational perspective on what's worth fighting for and what struggles will just cost us our emotional well-being? Random bad things happen in people's lives, so that most of the time we can't even tell who's right or wrong in the most important situations. We just have to try to do our best and attempt to be understanding of the struggles that everyone else is facing, perhaps ones that are even worse than ours.
There's so much to get out of this book. What does revenge really even mean? What does it look like in real life, and is there ever an outcome to seeking it that looks anything remotely like the romanticized vision that we have while dreaming how sweet it could be? Why do our minds try to trick us into throwing our lives away on ridiculous games when in reality there's more for us to live for than we even know, more potential goodness coming up ahead in the next days, weeks, years than we could ever guess at or add up and quantify because the twists are too unpredictable for us to see ahead of time? Why do we vacate the good things we could have right now for the flighty fantasy of a possibility, a whispered phantom of a suggested opportunity, the silky voice in our ear that promises us more when we already have the full package in front of us offering the chance for real happiness without strings attached? Is it right to resist the vented rage of others upon us when they blame us for something we never intended to do, something that in all likelihood was not even our fault? Does it say more for our personal character if we stay silent and absorb the abuse or push back hard and refuse to give our assailants the satisfaction of berating us, continuing to claim the innocence that may be ours in the face of the masses who will only ever believe that we are bad? Does it really help honor the victims if we give up our right to defend ourselves and wordlessly accept the role of whipping boy for people who don't know where else to unleash the fury of their blind condemnation? Again, the answer to all of these questions is: I don't know. But this story certainly did cause me to wrestle with every one of these issues, and more.
All in all, In the Middle of the Night reminds me a lot of one of Robert Cormier's other acclaimed suspense novels, We All Fall Down. I actually think that this one wasn't as eerie or spellbinding in the intensity of its delivery as that earlier book, but I might say that it is more thoughtfully written, and I would give it the same two and a half stars. So much of the value to In the Middle of the Night comes by way of the knife's edge that Robert Cormier constantly makes us walk, with that feeling that something awful is always right around the corner. Most of the time the awful things don't happen, but the awareness of the possibility is enough to keep us on the edge of our seats until the last sentence of the final page has been read. With Robert Cormier, you know you're not safe until the moment when the text stops and the story has definitely ended.
As consistently great an author as Robert Cormier is, I would probably place In the Middle of the Night in the lower half of his works, but that is much more a tribute to the greatness he has achieved in his writing career than to any shortcomings in this novel. After having read only one or two of Cormier's books I realized that I felt a powerful need to eventually read everything that he has ever written, and I urge others who have also fallen under his unique spell to make time to experience In the Middle of the Night on their way to reading all of his books. It is a journey worth taking.
February 11, 2016
There 19s a powerful buildup to this story. And when the suspense takes over, it 19s immediate and exciting. But the most lurid sections are very strange. They smother any chance for this to be a clear-cut scary fun or even scary shock read. The car crash, the cancer, the inspiration to torment innocent teenagers, and the teen 19s embrace of torment: I 19m not sure what to think about any of that.
Dawn and Nicole are parallels, the heart of gold fresh-faced girls who can see the innate goodness in the story 19s victims. They offer a hint of relief, but it 19s just a moment 19s tease compared to the sickness at the heart of the plot. So if you like your suspense on the creepy side, this book may be perfect for you.
Dawn and Nicole are parallels, the heart of gold fresh-faced girls who can see the innate goodness in the story 19s victims. They offer a hint of relief, but it 19s just a moment 19s tease compared to the sickness at the heart of the plot. So if you like your suspense on the creepy side, this book may be perfect for you.
February 24, 2018
There’s a powerful buildup to this story. And when the suspense takes over, it’s immediate and exciting. But the most lurid sections are very strange. They smother any chance for this to be a clear-cut scary fun read. The car crash, the cancer, the way several teens embrace the opportunity to torment innocent peers: I’m not sure what to think about any of that.
Dawn and Nicole are parallels, the heart-of-gold girls who can see the innate goodness in the story’s victims. They offer a hint of relief, but it’s just a moment’s tease compared to the sickness at the heart of the plot. So if you like your suspense on the creepy side, this book may be perfect for you.
Dawn and Nicole are parallels, the heart-of-gold girls who can see the innate goodness in the story’s victims. They offer a hint of relief, but it’s just a moment’s tease compared to the sickness at the heart of the plot. So if you like your suspense on the creepy side, this book may be perfect for you.
November 3, 2010
This book has a sad beginning, sad middle and sad end. If you are the sentimental type, grab a box of tissues before reading this book. Yet, this is about a boy that will pay for his father's accident. Yes, it was an accident. No one knew that the balcony was so weak it would fall right off in a drop of a hat. There were no flashlights, and there were kids, and there was a noise. Yet, for a father's mistake, there is death, or revenge. I'm saying too much, so you should go read this book. I'm just saying.
November 5, 2013
I had to read this book as part of the mystery unit in my English class. I found that while it was a very well-written and profound read, I was able to see the ending coming from a mile away. Let's just say that if you know anything about Robert Cormier, and know the basic mechanics of mysteries, you'll be able to piece together the climax when you're only midway through the novel. It's a good book, but don't go in expecting a mystery that will knock you off your feet with surprises.
February 5, 2016
In the middle of the night by Robert Cormier, is a very interesting book. It is about a boy named Denny. Denny's father was involved in a very bad accident and somebody out there cant forget it. These phone calls start every October. They call everyday trying to get information on Denny's father. Denny's father always tells Denny, if no one is home and the phone rings DO NOT PICK UP THE PHONE! Can you guess what Denny did? Read more to find out!
February 9, 2016
In the Middle of the night is a very suspenseful book about a 16 year old boy named Denny Colbert, whose father who was in a bad accident that killed 22 kids. He cant drive and he can never answer the phone. Dennys family moves often so he is always starting at new schools. One day Denny answers the the phone with a mystery caller wanting revenge on Dennys family
November 20, 2012
I enjoyed this book. It's small and an easy read. It kept my interest throughout. It is about forgiveness, or the lack thereof. And about consequences, bitterness, sadness and ultimately love. Although I guess I kind of saw the end coming I was still pleased with the way it ended.
June 15, 2015
I checked this out from my own library and didn't, to be honest, expect too much. It was a very old copy that hadn't been checked out in years. But I was actually fascinated with this story! It was suspenseful, intriguing, and creepy - this little book definitely packs a punch!
September 5, 2011
This novel had the most disturbing description of what the after life is that I have ever read. The concept stays with you long after you have forgotten the details of the book.
December 1, 2022
In the Middle of the Night by Robert Cormier is a thriller about an incident that involved the killing of twenty-two children 16 years ago, and haunts Denny until this day. This is not Robert Cormier’s only book. He has written many books like I Am the Cheese, Heroes, and more! Denny Colbert is a 16 year old in the book who is haunted by a phone call that changed his life forever. John Paul Colbert is the father of Denny and the one responsible for the incident when he was 16. Mr. Zarbor is the owner of the theater who passes away later on in the book. This book was well written from the strong vocabulary to the realistic events. This book is very lifelike and shows how people may react in these situations. This book is kind of what I expected from the summary on the back cover, but then towards the end, I was surprised. I would highly recommend this book to those who love scary books or people who like thrillers.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 11, 2018
Robert Cormier is probably my favorite, all-time Young Adult author. I know that other authors have tackled issues teens face, like Laurie Halse Anderson or John Green or David Levithan. Other authors have created suspenseful, imaginative worlds, like the Unwind series by Neal Shusterman. But Cormier has a special place in my heart because his novels, especially the later ones, like this one and Rag and Bone Shop, ask difficult questions about evil, guilt, religion without patronizing. In The Middle of the Night, Denny Colbert finds himself unable to escape his father's actions. Do the sins of the father fall on the sons (or daughters)? In Denny's case they do.
December 27, 2015
This book was really good but sadly, just not 5* quality. To point out few things, the sentence structure is odd for me. Robert Cormier wrote like "Should of been more civil." and " She did not press him to talk. Did not ask any more questions..." , that is, to state a couple of examples. I did take into account who the author is and having read his work before, I knew I should expect a complex beginning. It took me 'til 'round page 100 to identify who was who. This story reminded me of another beloved book, The Girl on the Train, in that there were very shocking truths revealed. Everything sparks towards the end of In the Middle of the Night. That's not saying much because the book isn't very long to begin with.
Seventeen. Eighteen....Thirty-eight? Thirty-nine? Counting every time the telephone rang. One, two three. Sorry, it's like a crazy habit forming. The telephone rings, its incessant ringing filling the rooms. Gods, I loved the telephone. It was my favorite inanimate character. The ridiculous ringing is like the hatred of the people who are calling, or the annoying questions. Or even...a certain someone.
Main characters: Denny Colbert, John Paul Colbert, Lulu, Dave (Baby), and of course, all the tragic people involved in the incident.
Denny Colbert is John Paul Colbert's son. His side of the story is told in third person POV. He tries to live normally like most sixteen year-olds, jobs and driver licenses. However, he met one girl on the bus and wanted to be close to her. Ah, but there were the phone calls at home. He broke the rules and picks up the phone. He learned of his father's tragic past. Picking up the phone again, Denny heard the voice of Asmodeus, Lulu. Things changed as he was pulled closer and closer to Lulu to the point she was all he could think of. 'Til the phone was so very important and the source of his intoxication.
John Paul's story is a small part of the book explaining a tragedy in the past. He worked in The Globe. One day, back when he was a mere teen, there was a show for orphans and poor children. A fire and the balcony caved. He almost died and people believed he killed the children that died.
Lulu and Dave are siblings. Dave (Baby)'s POV is in first person. Lulu is a good actor and I think I slightly exaggerated her personality by mentioning a demon. Anyhow, the siblings were caught in the incident in the past. Lulu lured Denny to meet her with her antics. Dave loves his sister and listens to her. Lulu died in the accident and then woke up alive and seemed a little different. All I'm going to say is...wow...Lulu and Dave do all the shocking. Really. Lulu is...different.
May 7, 2011
I really, really liked this book until I got about a third of the way through. Starting with the positive points (of which there are many), I really enjoy Robert Cormier's writing. His constant use of sentence fragments, sometimes making up several sentences in a row, is a little unnerving at first, but I got used to it fairly quickly and found that it really added to the overall tone and immediacy of the novel. (I'm also a fiction writer, so I tend to notice things most readers don't pick up on.) I also really liked the premise of this book. It's intense and dark and got my heart racing several times throughout the book as I raced through to see what would happen next. I also really like how Cormier jumps around character's points of view, alternating between Denny, Lulu's brother, and Denny's father. Overall, it's very well-crafted and a good read.
However, I think that the pacing of this novel could have been thought through a little more. What I found so interesting about this book to start with is the fact that readers don't know exactly what's going on. There's this big secret about Denny's dad and what happened to him when he was sixteen, but the information is only given out in little bits and pieces. About a third of the way through, however, Cormier spends 50 of the 182 pages in the book going back in time and telling the story from Denny's dad's point of view. It was exciting to finally find out what happened, but then the other 40 pages just kind of dragged, going on about the emotional trauma and repercussions his dad experienced as a result. Seeing as how, in the book's present time, these things are very heavily implied, I didn't think it was necessary, and so I was quickly bored. The last half of the book also dragged for me because it details a lot of unimportant, unnecessary events/thoughts from Denny's perspective, and Denny spends a lot of time feeling sorry for himself. The very end of the book continued this running theme, making me both depressed and somewhat upset I spent so much time reading this book only to have it end with Denny's life still in shambles, and him still depressed and unhappy with his life. So, if you're looking for a book where everything turns out all happy and good in the end, this would not be your first choice.
Warnings (on a scale of 1-5):
Language: 1 The occasional swear word, but not much.
Sex-related: 2 A body's sexual reactions to arousal are briefly brought up, but it is dealt with very smoothly, and it's an important driving element to the plot, so there's a reason for it.
However, I think that the pacing of this novel could have been thought through a little more. What I found so interesting about this book to start with is the fact that readers don't know exactly what's going on. There's this big secret about Denny's dad and what happened to him when he was sixteen, but the information is only given out in little bits and pieces. About a third of the way through, however, Cormier spends 50 of the 182 pages in the book going back in time and telling the story from Denny's dad's point of view. It was exciting to finally find out what happened, but then the other 40 pages just kind of dragged, going on about the emotional trauma and repercussions his dad experienced as a result. Seeing as how, in the book's present time, these things are very heavily implied, I didn't think it was necessary, and so I was quickly bored. The last half of the book also dragged for me because it details a lot of unimportant, unnecessary events/thoughts from Denny's perspective, and Denny spends a lot of time feeling sorry for himself. The very end of the book continued this running theme, making me both depressed and somewhat upset I spent so much time reading this book only to have it end with Denny's life still in shambles, and him still depressed and unhappy with his life. So, if you're looking for a book where everything turns out all happy and good in the end, this would not be your first choice.
Warnings (on a scale of 1-5):
Language: 1 The occasional swear word, but not much.
Sex-related: 2 A body's sexual reactions to arousal are briefly brought up, but it is dealt with very smoothly, and it's an important driving element to the plot, so there's a reason for it.
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August 11, 2011I'm only vaguely familiar with Cormier, but I thought I should read him at some point and the book's blurb caught my attention. Having finished it, however, I'm not a fan. The main character lives in a lonely, depressing world, as if he were living in a fog. I found it very depressing. The beginning was a little weird, and the middle was gripping - especially the parts focusing on Denny's father - but the end was a real letdown, especially once Denny started talking to Lulu.
The point of view shifts from Lulu's brother, to Denny, back in time to Denny's father's experience, and then back to Denny again. I didn't find this a problem, although it did throw me when it said Lulu was dead. I thought I was dealing with horror fiction at first!
I didn't find the way Denny and Lulu's relationship developed at all believable. He finally answers the phone, talks to her, gets intrigued, and suddenly they are very personal and he's imagining what she's like. I just felt like something was missing between his first talks with her and his later talks with her.
It was almost as if the author changed his focus part way through. The theme of son grows up/finds his own identity away from his father or the theme of revenge and guilt sort of disappeared into the weird attraction building between Denny and Lulu. This is reinforced by the ending.
There is bad language and some sexual content, although it's not pervasive. More troublesome to a Christian is the final *SPOILER* revelation of what Lulu experienced when she died: nothingness. This horrifying experience is what drives Lulu's revenge. At least Denny feels comfort from praying.
All in all, I feel blah after reading this book.
The point of view shifts from Lulu's brother, to Denny, back in time to Denny's father's experience, and then back to Denny again. I didn't find this a problem, although it did throw me when it said Lulu was dead. I thought I was dealing with horror fiction at first!
I didn't find the way Denny and Lulu's relationship developed at all believable. He finally answers the phone, talks to her, gets intrigued, and suddenly they are very personal and he's imagining what she's like. I just felt like something was missing between his first talks with her and his later talks with her.
It was almost as if the author changed his focus part way through. The theme of son grows up/finds his own identity away from his father or the theme of revenge and guilt sort of disappeared into the weird attraction building between Denny and Lulu. This is reinforced by the ending.
There is bad language and some sexual content, although it's not pervasive. More troublesome to a Christian is the final *SPOILER* revelation of what Lulu experienced when she died: nothingness. This horrifying experience is what drives Lulu's revenge. At least Denny feels comfort from praying.
All in all, I feel blah after reading this book.
January 11, 2011
Robert Cormier is my favorite author.
Denny Colbert's father was involved in a tragic accident as a teenager, which resulted in the deaths of 22 people. Denny isn't allowed to get his driver's license, have a job, or even answer the telephone, and he moves so often that he is always the new kid in school. When he's sixteen, he breaks the rules and answers the phone. But who is the person on the other side?
This novel, while good, is a little disappointing at the end. The story has a good premise, gives alot of solid backstory, and builds up in the suspense...but then it feels like a bit of a letdown when the climax actually arrives. Basically, this book is paced the other way around from The Rag and Bone Shop; that book starts off slow, and ends very well. This one starts off good, but ends poorly. Just my opinion. Lulu, the antagonist, is built up very well, but just doesn't deliver in the end the same way that Archie Costello, Ozzie, or Brint does. Having said that, it is still a classic Cormier novel in its protagonist; Denny, like Jerry Renault, Adam Farmer, and Paul Moreaux before him, fits the description of a Cormier protagonist: a pretty good, decent guy, not without some problems, but, most of all, alone in his own way. This is probably my second least favorite of Cormier's books (after The Bumblebee Flies Anyway), but I do think it is still much better than Bumblebee.
Denny Colbert's father was involved in a tragic accident as a teenager, which resulted in the deaths of 22 people. Denny isn't allowed to get his driver's license, have a job, or even answer the telephone, and he moves so often that he is always the new kid in school. When he's sixteen, he breaks the rules and answers the phone. But who is the person on the other side?
This novel, while good, is a little disappointing at the end. The story has a good premise, gives alot of solid backstory, and builds up in the suspense...but then it feels like a bit of a letdown when the climax actually arrives. Basically, this book is paced the other way around from The Rag and Bone Shop; that book starts off slow, and ends very well. This one starts off good, but ends poorly. Just my opinion. Lulu, the antagonist, is built up very well, but just doesn't deliver in the end the same way that Archie Costello, Ozzie, or Brint does. Having said that, it is still a classic Cormier novel in its protagonist; Denny, like Jerry Renault, Adam Farmer, and Paul Moreaux before him, fits the description of a Cormier protagonist: a pretty good, decent guy, not without some problems, but, most of all, alone in his own way. This is probably my second least favorite of Cormier's books (after The Bumblebee Flies Anyway), but I do think it is still much better than Bumblebee.
August 19, 2014
On Halloween night, eight years before Denny was born, his father was in an accident at his place of work. It was horrible and that accident has haunted Denny's father for the past 25 years.
Every year phone calls begin in October and Denny has been told to never answer the phone. But he's sixteen now and he decides one day to do what he's not supposed to: answer the phone.
I've only read two books by Robert Cormier, After the First Death and Tenderness. It's been about ten years since I've read both books and so I can't remember every detail about them, but both have stayed with me. I've thought of both books a lot over the years and plans to one day reread both of them.
So I decided to try another book by Robert Cormier and thought this one sounded interesting.
For me, this one took a little bit to get into. The story is interesting, a little suspenseful. I liked the main character, but wouldn't say I felt that I could completely connect with him.
It was a good book, not a favorite, but an enjoyable read nonetheless.
Every year phone calls begin in October and Denny has been told to never answer the phone. But he's sixteen now and he decides one day to do what he's not supposed to: answer the phone.
I've only read two books by Robert Cormier, After the First Death and Tenderness. It's been about ten years since I've read both books and so I can't remember every detail about them, but both have stayed with me. I've thought of both books a lot over the years and plans to one day reread both of them.
So I decided to try another book by Robert Cormier and thought this one sounded interesting.
For me, this one took a little bit to get into. The story is interesting, a little suspenseful. I liked the main character, but wouldn't say I felt that I could completely connect with him.
It was a good book, not a favorite, but an enjoyable read nonetheless.
June 17, 2009
Denny is being harassed because of the "sins of the father", even though his father was truly innocent. People effected by an event 25 years ago, in which Denny's father was also effected, decided that he should be blamed. Therefore, the father receives phone calls in the middle of the night, and those calls are anything but nice. Now that Denny is 16 years-old, he has begun receiving a call from one of the survivors of the horrible accident 25 years ago, and he wants to deal with the call in a totally different manner than his father.
Cormier is well-known for writing "odd" books, and this one fits nicely into that category. I like his writing style and use of descriptive language, but his stories usually have an unusual twist to them. There's nothing wrong with that, however. I was pleased to see that his use of profanity was minute in In the Middle of the Night.
Cormier is well-known for writing "odd" books, and this one fits nicely into that category. I like his writing style and use of descriptive language, but his stories usually have an unusual twist to them. There's nothing wrong with that, however. I was pleased to see that his use of profanity was minute in In the Middle of the Night.
August 9, 2012
First off, I love Robert Cormier. I first read one of his books as required summer reading, which I loathed. But I actually credit his book, The Rag and Bone Shop, to why I started really loving reading. One thing I love about his books is they're so suspenseful, you cant put it down. And luckily, since his books are quite short - you can easily read them in 1 sitting and get this page-turning satisfaction of not having to draw it out a couple of days.
Although this wasnt his best book, I still quite enjoyed it.
For anyone looking to read other books by him, please read "I Am the Cheese", "The Rag and Bone Shop", or "Tenderness"
Although this wasnt his best book, I still quite enjoyed it.
For anyone looking to read other books by him, please read "I Am the Cheese", "The Rag and Bone Shop", or "Tenderness"
September 30, 2011
i rate it this way because mostly the book was boring but it was a little interesting. The books strengths are the way it is writen because it keeps the reader interested in the book because of the the mestry of the book. i would not read another book because it was a ok ending not realy a happy ending.if you give your time to read the book the books ending should good because then people would think it was a waste of time,
February 2, 2014
In the Middle of the Night
Robert Cormier
3/5
Paragraph #1: I liked the book. I liked the book because I read about a tragic accident that killed 22 children.
Paragraph #2: My favorite part was when Denny said "No Comment" after his dad who worked where the 22 kids were killed. My least favorite part is when Lulu tries to kill Denny. I recommend this book to people who like to read mystery/horror.
Robert Cormier
3/5
Paragraph #1: I liked the book. I liked the book because I read about a tragic accident that killed 22 children.
Paragraph #2: My favorite part was when Denny said "No Comment" after his dad who worked where the 22 kids were killed. My least favorite part is when Lulu tries to kill Denny. I recommend this book to people who like to read mystery/horror.
September 30, 2011
I rated the book 2 stars because it wasn't my type of book.
A strength in my book is that it started off interesting with the explosion, but a weakness would be how it kept on changing between time periods.
I would probably not read another book by this author because i wasn't all interested in this book so i probably won't like any other one by him.
A strength in my book is that it started off interesting with the explosion, but a weakness would be how it kept on changing between time periods.
I would probably not read another book by this author because i wasn't all interested in this book so i probably won't like any other one by him.
June 25, 2012
Overall, I liked it. It had a really slow start, but once it finally got going, I liked it.
I loved the premise. A boy was involved/or not with a disaster that killed 22 children. This is the story 25 years later and how he is still paying for it. and how it affecting his family.
The story is really about the son and how he is dealing with all of this.
I loved the premise. A boy was involved/or not with a disaster that killed 22 children. This is the story 25 years later and how he is still paying for it. and how it affecting his family.
The story is really about the son and how he is dealing with all of this.
November 13, 2016
For avid readers of suspense and thrillers, this book is amazing. Every flashback and moment of anticipation built up the layers even more every chapter. The ending didn't dampen the rest of the story, which- I find- is usually a relatively difficult thing to avoid with suspense, but Cormier did an amazing job and I'll definitely be reading his other books!
July 15, 2009
Not much to say here, except that the book is entertaining and written in typical Cormier fashion (flashback, told from various characters' points of view). The story is a good one, and it weaves typical teen angst in with tragedy--a genre that Cormier always does well.
July 5, 2015
Not nearly as dark or scarring as his normal books but still fantastic. Denny's father was involved in a tragic accident 25 years ago that killed 22 children and even Denny feels the effects of it in his life. A great page turner.
September 30, 2011
I rated my book an two star because I dont like the time preiods in this book how it changes from one thing to another.One strength in this book is all the action thats happing one weakness in the book is the time preiods.Maybe because I did not read any other books the author made.
February 18, 2016
Wonderful book! It hooked me up since the Prologue. The ending was a little sharp and sudden and left me expecting more to read. It was suspencefull and an incredibly crafted story. A must read if you want a story that plays with your mind
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February 10, 2016Denny and his father keep getting phone calls in the middle of the night. Denny doesn't know why they are getting the phone calls, but the phone calls are linked to something in his fathers past. Read this interesting, suspenseful book to find out
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