Mary Ann Bernal's review of The Night Porter by Mark Barry

If you loved The Remains of the Day, you’ll love The Night Porter

 

 

The story takes place in the modern era and focuses on a two week period when The Saladin hotel hosts four renowned authors competing for the prestigious Arkwright Literary Fiction Award. 

The author gives the reader an insight into a dying profession, reminding one of the performance given by Anthony Hopkins in “The Remains of the Day”.  Mr. Barry delves into the mindset of the British servant personified.  The position was not just a job, it was and still is in some instances, a way of life, which is an alien concept with today’s youth.

The reader becomes familiar with the four authors as snippets of their lives unfold.  There is discourse amongst the contenders as the British and American writers await press conferences and the awards ceremony itself.  Scandalous behavior unbefitting to such a prestigious establishment, but not uncommon in today’s society.

 A few days before the ceremony, the porter finds Julian lying on the floor after having been struck in the head, and definitely not an accident.  And the thrilling ride begins.  As the powers that be attempt to keep a lid on the incident until after the awards ceremony, tension mounts amongst the key players.

 Mr. Barry sweeps the reader into the celebratory arena where expectations are rife, building a climatic finish one does not see coming.  An excellent read by a superb writer and storyteller.  I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more of Mr. Barry’s works.

Amazon UShttp://www.amazon.com/The-Night-Porter-Mark-Barry-ebook/dp/B00J1LJZPA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1395058992&sr=8-2&keywords=the+NIght+porter+by+mark+barry
Amazon UKhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Night-Porter-Mark-Barry-ebook/dp/B00J1LJZPA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395058922&sr=8-1&keywords=the+night+porter+by+mark+barry