Night Owls
by: A. R. Vishny
September 17, 2024 Harper Collins
368 pages
review by: E. Broderick
I’ll never forget the day that I found out A. R. Vishny is funny. I was starting a short story critique group (still going strong!) and this wonderful writer that I admired mentioned she was interested in participating. Her story she was actually a bit of apocrypha for her novel in progress. It’s an exercise lots of writers perform to make sure their characters are well rounded. And it worked! Because the book was Night Owls and the short story made me laugh so hard the first thing I said when we opened the floor for critique was “OMG I had no idea you had a sense of humor.” Luckily she forgave me for my foot in mouth syndrome and still let me read an arc of the book.
In truth, I think she replied with something very gracious about trying to be funny but never knowing if it was working. Dear reader, it was working. It still is working. It works so hard it ought to receive overtime pay. Night Owls , a YA fantasy feature two Estries – a more obscure Jewish magical creature akin to female only vampires – named Clara and Molly who run a movie theater in the village. The theater, which is a renovated old Yiddish theater, is practically its own character and their ticket taker Boaz just so happens to see the dead. So basically everyone is keeping secrets about their magical sides from everyone else. This cozy little arrangement self implodes when Molly’s very human girlfriend disappears and Ahsomdei King of sheydim – you can think of sheydim like Jewish demons but with chicken feet – starts getting feisty.
Each character has a wonderfully detailed backstory which we learn as the novel progresses. There is a wealth of Jewish lore, including an appearance by the ring of Solomon (although it is never formally called such). Vishny has a light touch, specifically addressing the issue of blood libel surrounding Jewish vampires while also acknowledging that accepting the monstrous half of oneself is not necessarily a bad thing. Because what society calls monstrous is often just a woman trying to think for herself.
Normally I go for the sapphic plot lines, or heavily invest myself in either the magical creatures or sentient dwellings. In this case though, it was not the estries, or the theater, or the cool Yiddish stage trivia that pulled me in. It was Boaz and his freaking hilarious sense of humor. Is Kugel a pasta or cheesecake? The bit about the klezmer band (I won’t ruin it for you). His ineffable ability to say the most ridiculous yet truthful things. This guy slayed me again and again. I was so thrilled to have the chance to meet him again and discover the rest of his story.
Night Owls deals with heavy topics but it is never itself heavy. It was a joy to read, taking me only a few commutes, which is saying something since I am reading on a tiny Iphone screen with NYC public transportation shenanigans distracting me all around. Come from the movie trivia, stay for the chicken feet (I admit I am also a sucker for Ashmodei stories). There’s something for everyone here.
Note: BookishlyJewish received an arc of this book after we asked for one.