Hunting Midnight (The Sephardic Cycle, #2) in Around the World in 80 Books

Find A Copy At

Group Discussions About This Book

No group discussions for this book yet.

What Members Thought

Dec 29, 2023 Tony rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: setting-europe, historical-fiction, novels, setting-us-south

Over the years, Zimler has written five novels in his "Sephardic Cycle", following the fortunes of various members of a Portuguese Jewish family called the Zarcos. The first of these -- which I haven't read -- was the wildly successful "The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon," which revolved around the 1506 Lisbon Massacre. This second book moves the action about 300 years forward to the start of the 19th century, and about 300 kilometers north, to Porto. It's the life story of John Zarco Stewart, the son Over the years, Zimler has written five novels in his "Sephardic Cycle", following the fortunes of various members of a Portuguese Jewish family called the Zarcos. The first of these -- which I haven't read -- was the wildly successful "The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon," which revolved around the 1506 Lisbon Massacre. This second book moves the action about 300 years forward to the start of the 19th century, and about 300 kilometers north, to Porto. It's the life story of John Zarco Stewart, the son of a Scottish wine merchant and a Portuguese mother who grows up happily running around the streets of Porto with daredevil friends Daniel and Violeta. The first third of the book is a richly detailed story of adolescent innocence and its eventual loss.

This loss is tempered somewhat by the introduction to the household of the titular "Bushman" (presumably a San / Saan) brought by the father from a trip to South Africa. Named "Midnight," he becomes a kind of mentor / protector of young John -- and it's hard not to see this as an unfortunate manifestation of the "magical negro" trope. Life in Porto comes to an abrupt and tragic end when French troops invade in 1809 and sack the city (an event that's also tackled in Bernard Cornwell's historical military adventure "Sharpe's Havoc"). Melodrama ensues, Midnight disappears, and John grows up to marry and have children. Buried under adulthood are various secrets, such as his mother's hidden Jewish heritage and what happened to ruin his parent's marriage. These matters tug mightily at him and he eventually sets out to uncover the truth.

This takes him to England and eventually to America, on a quest to find out what happened to Midnight. This shift in scenery is somewhat jarring -- especially when a new narrator is introduced late in the book. Here we meet a slave girl who is part of a plot to revolt against the overseers of the plantation she's been raised on. This final section of the book becomes a melodramatic thriller, as John buffets around the South, seeking his old mentor while not upsetting the locals. Indeed, melodrama is perhaps the best description for the whole book as it moves from one soap opera plot twist to another. This historical setting and rich detail is so well done that it helps paper over the improbabilities, but it's a shaggy dog of a book that's a little all over the place. Readers who enjoyed "The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon" should definitely check it out, and anyone with an interest in Porto should read at least the first half or so for the historic color. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jul 21, 2009 Shannon Wallner marked it as to-read

Shelves: plbookclub

Like

Aug 13, 2011 Davida "Davi" marked it as to-read

Like

From the Bookshelf of Around the World in 80 Books…

Find A Copy At

Group Discussions About This Book

What Members Thought

Around the World in 80 Books