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There are currently 25 member reviews
for Night Navigation
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Lois G. (Redding, California)
One to recommend.
I don't know about you, but when I read a really good book, I recommend it to other people. Not just my friends, but people in bookstores with that "what to read next" look on their face. Night Navigation by Ginnah Howard is a great book to tell others about.
I enjoyed reading Night Navigation, with parts of it touching me deeply. I think it would be a wonderful book for a discussion group, due to the fact that certain parts of it may stand out to different readers.
Ginnah Howard is a talented author and I am looking forward to reading her next book. A book that I hope will not be too long in coming.
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Melissa (McKees Rocks PA)
Dark, Sad and Beautiful
A dark yet beautiful novel made even more haunting by the knowledge of the story being derived from true events in the author's life.
I could see shades of myself in the characters, as well as others in my life; enablers and addicts alike.
The author's writing style reminded me of modern day poetry. Through her prose she drew beautiful pictures of ugly situations.
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Debbie (Grand Junction CO)
Night Navigation
What a wonderful book. The characters really drew me into the story. The author was able to portray the problems drugs create between parent and child, no matter what their ages. I think we often assume only teens have drug problems, we don't often read accounts of adult children and their parents. The struggle can go on for years and this book provided insight into that problem.
I enjoyed the writing and the story and look forward to other books by this author.
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Debi (Charleston SC)
Night Navigation
This book was very hard for me to read because of the content, but yet it was extremely hard to put down. It was so easy to get involved in the lives of Del and Mark. To me the book was just as addictiive as Mark's addition to his drugs. I love getting totally involved in a book and I did with this one. Through Ginnah Howard's wonderfully sensitive writing, I was able to experience the same emotional ups and downs the characters experienced, from anger to love, from hope to disappointment, from steadfast loyalty to wanting to walk away.
I look forward to Ginnah Howard's next book.
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Sheryl (DeQuincy LA)
REAL writing
This book, about a mother and son moving through their respective recoveries from co-dependence and drug addiction, is painfully raw and true to life. Although a "novel", there is no doubt left in the reader's mind at the end of the book that the author knows whereof she speaks. For me, it was one of those books that mesmerized and intrigued me but that I could only read a little at a time. As a licensed social worker, I was impressed that the author captured even the small details of the addiction recovery process accurately. Doing that in such beautiful, concise, and poetic clarity is nothing short of amazing.
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Patricia (Yankton SD)
Astounding First Novel
Night Navigation is a powerful novel from an accomplished first novelist. Writing in the alternating voices of the mother, Del, and her 32 year old son Mark, Howard adds to reader involvement. I was pulled into the skillfully drawn maternal co-dependency, which is part of most mother-child relationships. The author’s writing style of short, choppy sentences in the Mark sections echoes his manic mind state. Having a daughter who is bi-polar and alcohol and drug dependent, the manipulation of the addict is well known to me.
Though this at first seems a dark novel, there are instances of humor which lighten the drama and make the characters and situations real. Her use of imagery, the careful filling of the coffee pot, the struggle with the bats, Mark’s paranoia about crows, all rise to symbolic significance and add depth to the novel.
I thoroughly enjoyed Night Navigation, and am looking forward to the author’s second novel.
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Julie (Rancho Palos Verdes CA)
Not an easy read
If you are looking for a light, easy read, this isn't your book. This is a fabulous book that seems so true to life because the author lived it.
As the wife of a recovering addict (my husband was 2 years sober when we met), there were so many painful parts to this story. Ginnah Howard digs deep and comes out with a fantastic, realistic story about living with an addict, loving an addict, being an addict and dealing with mental illness.
You won't be disappointed in this one.
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