Introduction

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD IN FICTION • A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • From one of our most accomplished novelists, a mesmerizing story about a mother and daughter seeking refuge in the chaotic aftermath of the Civil War—and a brilliant portrait of family endurance against all odds

"A tour de force." —Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage

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’t spoken in more than a year. They arrive at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia, delivered to the hospital’s entrance by a war veteran who has forced himself into their world. There, far from family, a beloved neighbor, and the mountain home they knew, they try to reclaim their lives.

The omnipresent vagaries of war and race rise to the surface as we learn their story: their flight to the highest mountain ridges of western Virginia; the disappearance of ConaLee’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’s maid; Eliza responds slowly to treatment. They get swept up in the life of the facility—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 head of the institution.

Epic, enthralling, and meticulously crafted, Night Watch is a stunning chronicle of surviving war and its aftermath.

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Discussion Questions

1. What did you think of Phillips' writing style?

2. Why do you think Phillips did not narrate the whole novel through ConaLee's perspective? What did including other characters' perspectives add to the narrative? Whose point of view did you most enjoy inhabiting?

3. "Night Watch" lays bare the devastation of war and its impact on both combatants and civilians. What surprised you most about the aftermath and continuing aftershocks of the war? What parallels might you draw or lessons might you take away for modern times?

4. Discuss how Phillips explores the themes of memory, trauma, and healing in the novel.

5. Phillips shows everyday people who show moral courage in the face of the chaos and hardships of war. What were some of the best examples of this from the book?

6. Dr. Thomas Story Kirkbride was an actual historical figure who set the gold standard in the 1800s for clinical care in asylums. What did you think of him and his use in this story as a relative of the fictional Dr. Thomas Kirkbride Story?

7. How did the photos, maps, illustrations, and quotes from Dr. Kirkbride add to the narrative?

8. Were you surprised by the revelations and connections exposed at the end of the novel? Did you pick up on any clues along the way?

9. What did you think of the dramatic ending?

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