All Other Nights

Dara Horn is a young novelist who has now published her third book. I've loved them all. The first two are In the Image and The World to Come. The new book, which I recently finished, is entitled All Other Nights. It is historical fiction with strong Jewish content, like the other books.

This book is set during the Civil War and follows a young Jewish man from the North who ends up serving as a spy in the South. The title comes from the Passover Haggada because of the opening scene in the book.

The story is entertaining, with a nice mix of suspense, romance, and historical detail. It paints a vivid picture of that time and place, especially describing the mixed feelings within the Jewish community. I particularly liked the scene set in Philadelphia...without giving away too much of the plot, this is a scene where the main character is finally working to be true to himself. It is a turning point in the story, and definitely poses lots of "What would I do" questions. The description of what the city looked and felt like at that time was great, especially reading about the difficulties a disabled person faced in getting around town.

All of Horn's books are very readable, with a nice mix of entertainment and historical learning for the reader. Enjoy!

Peter Stein