Something of the Night – The Review
Written by Nikki-ann on Saturday, 7 January , 2012 at 5:13 pm
Author: Ian Marchant
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 978-1-84737-634-3
What do you get up to when the night falls?
Something of the Night is a semi-autobiographical book by Ian Marchant, exploring Britain’s night time activities. Each chapter investigates something different, whether it’s bonfires and fireworks, life at motorway service stations, drunken nights out, Soho’s ladies of the night and other goings-on under the cover of darkness.
Just a short step into the book I realised the author lives just over the hills from me, though, admittedly, “just over the hills” is still nearly an hour’s journey away due to our lovely country lanes and roads. Put it this way, when you live in a county where there’s more sheep than people, “local” covers quite an area!
Still, it was great to see names of local places popping up every now and then as this area generally just doesn’t exist (although ex-MP Lemsip, sorry… Opik Lembit put us on the map a few years ago). Even local news has to be quite big to nudge past the North & South Wales news on the local bulletins.
Something of the Night isn’t just about what Mr Marchant gets up to when it gets dark, he also provides us with some history, facts and figures along the way too. His drunken friend Neil also comes along for the journey through Something of the Night, even though he thinks Marchant’s previous book was called ‘The Longest Mile’ (It’s ‘The Longest Crawl’ – a book about a massive pub crawl!). We also get quite an insight into Ian Marchant’s musical tastes (somewhat before my time though, I must admit!).
If you’re after an easy read with some history and some laughs along the way, then I’d recommend giving Something of the Night a go. It’s an enjoyable read.
Buy Something of the Night by Ian Marchant.
This is the 1st book I’ve read for the British Books Challenge 2012.
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Please note: I received this book free from Simon & Schuster in return for a review. However, this has in no way influenced my opinion of the book.
Comments (6)
Category: Auto-biography,Books,British Books Challenge,History,Reviews
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Comment by Imaginography
Made Saturday, 7 of January , 2012 at 5:52 pm
This sounds like just my thing – off over to Amazon now to secure a copy 
Thanks!
Comment by Marilyn Chapman
Made Saturday, 7 of January , 2012 at 6:00 pm
A great review – sounds like just what the author needs… and deserves, too!
Comment by Jo
Made Saturday, 7 of January , 2012 at 6:18 pm
This sounds really good. Never heard of them before, will have to check it out.
Comment by Ian Marchant
Made Saturday, 7 of January , 2012 at 8:53 pm
Thank you very much for the word up.
Comment by bermudaonion (Kathy)
Made Saturday, 7 of January , 2012 at 10:00 pm
What an interesting concept for a book! I’m glad to see it’s executed well.
Comment by Yvonne
Made Sunday, 8 of January , 2012 at 10:26 pm
Hi Nikki,
I wondered what gave the author the idea for such a book, so I checked out his website and what an interesting person he must be, I have been reading for ages.
The book itself sounds like a great read, although probably not one for anyone of a delicate disposition!! I am not so sure that you should have admitted to living so close to the area Ian was describing, as I shall always be wondering if you know of any of the places he visits, or the characters he meets along the way!! ‘JUST JOKING’
