Lights All Night Long

A Novel

By: Lydia Fitzpatrick

Narrated by: Michael Crouch

Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

A gripping and deftly plotted narrative of family and belonging, Lights All Night Long is a dazzling debut novel from an acclaimed young writer.

"A luminous debut.... It's hard not to read the book in a single sitting." (The Los Angeles Times)

"Lights All Night Long is utterly brilliant and completely captivating.... One of the most propulsive, un-put-downable literary novels I've read in ages." (Anthony Marra, author of A Constellation of Vital Phenomena)

Fifteen-year-old Ilya arrives in Louisiana from his native Russia for what should be the adventure of his life: a year in America as an exchange student. The abundance of his new world - the super Walmarts and heated pools and enormous televisions - is as hard to fathom as the relentless cheerfulness of his host parents. And Sadie, their beautiful and enigmatic daughter, has miraculously taken an interest in him.

But all is not right in Ilya's world: He's consumed by the fate of his older brother, Vladimir, the magnetic rebel to Ilya's dutiful wunderkind, back in their tiny Russian hometown. The two have always been close, spending their days dreaming of escaping to America. But when Ilya was tapped for the exchange, Vladimir disappeared into their town's seedy, drug-plagued underworld. Just before Ilya left, the murders of three young women rocked the town's usual calm, and Vladimir found himself in prison.

With the help of Sadie, who has secrets of her own, Ilya embarks on a mission to prove Vladimir's innocence. Piecing together the timeline of the murders and Vladimir's descent into addiction, Ilya discovers the radical lengths to which Vladimir has gone to protect him - a truth he could only have learned by leaving him behind.

A rich tale of belonging and the pull of homes both native and adopted, Lights All Night Long is a spellbinding story of the fierce bond between brothers determined to find a way back to each other.

©2019 Lydia Fitzpatrick (P)2019 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"With remarkable vocal agility, narrator Michael Crouch takes a fascinating novel and makes it downright riveting. No matter what appears in the audiobook, Crouch is game.... Crouch's skill with diverse voices and dialogue delivered with exceptional timing come to the fore. His well-measured delivery is agreeable and shifts subtly with each new event or character. Before long, this audiobook is less a production one is hearing and more a revelation taking place in one's own mind." (AudioFile Magazine)

“Lights All Night Long is as delicious as it is dazzling - a mystery I was tempted to read in one sitting as well as a startling, clear-eyed exploration of what holds us together, regardless of location or distance. Brilliantly conceived and exquisitely observed, Lydia Fitzpatrick’s debut shines as brightly as its title.” (Chloe Benjamin, author of The Immortalists)

“For readers drawn to literary thrills, Lights All Night Long offers drugs, sex, and murder, but this supple, sparkling novel is really about tender souls navigating unfamiliar terrain and human bonds warm enough to thaw snowbanks. The indecipherable language of loss, love, and longing is normally impossible to understand. At last, thankfully, we have Lydia Fitzpatrick to interpret it.” (Adam Johnson, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for The Orphan Master’s Son)

“Lights All Night Long is both a mystery and a coming-of-age story that is plot-driven and engaging without ever skimping on character development or straying from the bond between Ilya and Vlad - the true core of the story. It’s a heartbreaking read, and one I struggled to put down. Fitzpatrick has crafted an impressive debut that feels transportive yet holds within it an intimate study of the ties that bind us to one another - across families, across continents.” (Buzzfeed)

An excellent book

This book is exceptionally well written though very depressing. It couldn’t be otherwise: it depicts Russian provincial life in all its ugliness. But it is also uplifting because it reminds us that there is beauty and goodness in everything that surrounds us. The only minus I found as a native Russian speaker is mispronunciation of many Russian words and wrong accents in those.

I loved this fascinating story

This is gripping from beginning to end. I love the characters and this touching tale of love, loss, achievement, and downfalls. Don’t miss this one!

Incredible novel!

This is a thrilling book on all counts. A work of great imagination. A beautiful piece of writing filled with artistry and humanity. Lydia Fitzpatrick is a compelling new voice for her or anyone else’s generation!

And beautifully narrated by Michael Crouch...

great story

I was surprised by how much I liked this. An honest depiction of love. I both read and listen to my books. I'm glad I listened to as I would have staggered on the Russian.

Intriguing Quick Read

If you’re looking for something simple yet interesting, I’d pick this book up. It wasn’t quite a 4 for me, but definitely held my attention.

Gripping and intense!

It’s been awhile since I’ve had a book, that I didn’t want to put down. This was one of those books.
Lydia transports the reader to a poor town in Russia; I felt like I got to know the locals in that town.
When characters in her story spoke or acted in a way that I responded to, Lydia, the author, then would write a response to exactly what I was thinking, as if explaining the story just to me. I rate a book 5 stars if I both laugh and cry. I did both with this one and at times it was more than just a few tears shed. The ending was neat and tidy and I was good with the way it ended.

Excellent telling of the mystery

Amazing reader spoke all the parts in character.
You can feel the frigid air of hopelessness. The explanation of social structure of the mother county grew with the testimonies. Language is rough but telling of the nature of rhe events.

A Must Read

Everything about this amazing novel is perfect, profound, powerful and extremely touching. It's difficult to say enough good things about it.

Descriptive!

This book was descriptive with full insight. Made me feel as if I were a fly on the wall. Wonderfully written!

Couldn't Stop Listening

This is one of those books you either can’t put down or can’t wait to pick back up anytime you get a spare minute—not something that happens very often! Lydia Fitzpatrick paints such intimate and personal portraits of each character—Ilya and Vladimir especially—and through Ilya’s eyes we experience the magnetism and heartbreak of addiction in those we love and the helplessness and determination that can accompany it. Lights All Night Long transports us to tiny forgotten places on the map—giving us a glimpse into life in small town Russia and rural Louisiana. With language that is often arrestingly beautiful, Fitzpatrick kept me listening from beginning to end. The narration is phenomenal—kudos to Michael Crouch for a stellar performance.