In 1874\, in the wake of the War\, erasure \, trauma\, and namelessness haunt civilians and veterans\, renegades and wanderers\, freedmen and runaways. Twelve-year-old ConaLee\, the adult in her family for as long as she can remember\, finds herself on a buckboard journey with her mother\, Eliza\, who hasn&rsquo\;t spoken in more than a year. They arrive at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia\, delivered to the hospital&rsquo\;s entrance by a war veteran who has forc ed himself into their world. There\, far from family\, a beloved neighbor\ , and the mountain home they knew\, they try to reclaim their lives.
\nThe omnipresent vagaries of war and race rise to the surface as we lear n their story: their flight to the highest mountain ridges of western Virg inia\; the disappearance of ConaLee&rsquo\;s father\, who left for the War and never returned. Meanwhile\, in the asylum\, they begin to find a new path. ConaLee pretends to be her mother&rsquo\;s maid\; Eliza responds slo wly to treatment. They get swept up in the life of the facility&mdash\;the mysterious man they call the Night Watch\; the orphan child called Weed\; the fearsome woman who runs the kitchen\; the remarkable doctor at the he ad of the institution. Epic\, enthralling\, and meticulously crafted\,&nbs p\;Night Watch \;is a stunning chronicle of surviving war and its afte rmath. (From the publisher)
\nCopies of the book are available \ ;here. Ebook and audiobook copies are available through \;D igital Library of Illinois \;or the Libby app. \;
\nFor those who would like to purchase a copy of \;Night Watch plea se support our local independent bookstore\, \;The Book Stall \;at 811 Elm Street in Winnetka. Copies may also be available at Books Down Un der on the Lower Level of the library. Proceeds benefit the Friends of the Wilmette Public Library. \;
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