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| Plot Summary of Night and the City |
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"He's a guy who'd blackmail a man with a dying wife; sacrifice an aging wrestler in a fight for a meagre profit; sell his prostitute girlfriend, whom he lives off, to white-slavers. He's Harry Fabian, one of London town's low-life, with a humble, street-trader brother that loves him all the same."
Charles Smyth, Resident Scholar
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"Kersh's best-known and most-respected novel, published in 1946, is a Dickensian "slice o' life" look at London's underworld. Harry Fabian is a fast-talking con artist and kept man (read: pimp) who claims to have been a successful songwriter in America and tries to put together funding for all-in wrestling matches. We meet his girl, Zoe, and several comely dancer/prostitutes (Vi and Helen) as well as the criminal financiers and tough guys of postwar England. Not everyone is unsympathetic -- Adam, a nightclub waiter and manager who yearns to do sculpture and gets involved with Helen, has a certain ethic and moral grandeur -- but pretty much everyone gets crushed by the milieu. This novel inspired at least two namesake movies: a 1950 Jules Dassin noir starring Richard Widmark and Gene Tierney, and a much weaker 1990 remake with Robert De Niro and Jessica Lange."
David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Night and the City |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- upbeat
- humorous
Time/era of story
- 1930's-1950's
Life of a profession:
- criminal
Crime & Police story
Yes
Story of
- criminals stealing from other criminals
- conman stealing/fraud
- one man's rise in a criminal organization
- bad criminals on the run
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Job/Profession/Status story
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- gambler
- thief/con artist
Age:
- 20's-30's
Eccentric/Mental
Yes
Eccentric:
- eccentric
- deluded
Ethnicity/Nationality
- British
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
- an organization
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- unemployed
Eccentric/Smart/Dumb:
Yes
Eccentric:
- obsessed
- wild
- eccentric
- emotionally unstable
- dumb
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
- an above average amount
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- bulging muscles
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 4 ()
Europe
Yes
European country:
- England/UK
City?
Yes
City:
- London
- dirty, grimy (like New York)
- dangerous
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
- moderately detailed references to deaths
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
Unusual Style:
- No single main character?
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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