Night Boat to Tangier
First edition cover
AuthorKevin Barry
Audio read byKevin Barry[1]
CountryIreland
LanguageEnglish
GenreLiterary Fiction Crime Fiction
Set inAlgeciras on 23 October 2018
PublisherCanongate Books
Publication date
20 June 2019
Media typePrint (hardcover)
Pages224
ISBN978-1-78211-617-2
OCLC1081267637
823.92
LC ClassPR6102.A7833 N54 2019

Night Boat to Tangier is a 2019 novel by Kevin Barry. It is his third novel and was published on 20 June 2019 by the Edinburgh-based publisher Canongate Books.[2]

It was longlisted for the 2019 Booker Prize.[3][4][5]

Plot

The novel is set over a 24-hour period on 23 October 2018 in the terminal building at the Andalusian port city of Algeciras in southern Spain. It follows longtime partners and "fading gangsters from Cork City" Charlie Redmond and Maurice Hearne as they wait for Maurice's missing daughter, Dilly, to pass through on a boat from Tangier, Morocco or leave on one heading there.[6] The two men were once involved in smuggling Moroccan hashish to Ireland through the ports of Spain.[7]

Reception

Publishers Weekly wrote, "Barry is a writer of the first rate, and his prose is at turns lean and lyrical, but always precise. Though some scenes land as stiff and schematic, the characters' banter is wildly and inventively coarse, and something to behold ."[8]

Kirkus Reviews gave the novel a favourable review, writing, "Barry adds an exceptional chapter to the literary history of a country that inspires cruelty and comedy and uncommon writing."[7]

Writing for The Guardian, Scottish novelist Alan Warner gave the novel a rave review, writing, "Barry's sensibility is eerie; he is attuned to spirits, to malevolent presences, the psychic tundra around us. But what distinguishes this book beyond its humour, terror and beauty of description is its moral perception."

Johanna Thomas-Corr, writing for The Times, panned the novel and called its story "flimsy", writing, "The dangers of turning a script into fiction are many and Barry skirts none of them. A novel needs interiority, an intimacy between characters and reader, a simultaneous conveyance of narrative and commentary. Barry does the bare minimum."[9]

The novel was named one of the top ten books of 2019 by the New York Times Book Review.[10]

Film adaptation

At the 2023 Cannes Market, a film adaptation was announced with Barry adapting his material for the screen. James Marsh was attached to direct the film starring Michael Fassbender, Domhnall Gleeson and Ruth Negga.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "Night Boat to Tangier (Audiobook) by Kevin Barry". Audible. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  2. ↑ "Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry". Canongate Books. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  3. ↑ Marshall, Alex (23 July 2019). "Margaret Atwood and Salman Rushdie in Running for Booker Prize". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  4. ↑ O'Connor, Roisin (23 July 2019). "Booker Prize longlist includes Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie and Oyinkan Braithwaite". The Independent. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  5. ↑ Schaub, Michael (24 July 2019). "Booker Prize longlist includes Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, Valeria Luiselli". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  6. ↑ "Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry". Penguin Random House. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  7. 1 2 "Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry". Kirkus Reviews. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  8. ↑ "Fiction Book Review: Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry". Publishers Weekly. 18 June 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  9. ↑ Thomas-Corr, Johanna (9 June 2019). "Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry review — dirty rotten scoundrels". The Sunday Times. The Times. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  10. ↑ "The 10 Best Books of 2019". The New York Times. 22 November 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  11. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (13 April 2023). "Ashok Amritraj's Hyde Park Launches Night Boat To Tangier With Michael Fassbender, Domhnall Gleeson & Ruth Negga – Cannes Market". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
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