The Watch That Ends the Night

In its simplest description, The Watch That Ends the Night seems like a lighthearted romantic comedy - a man marries the widow of his best friend, and years later their relationship is thrown into chaos when the friend walks back into their life years later. It's so much more than that, though: this novel is an introspective look at the human condition, and of a society that seeks to leave behind the horrors of the Second World War and enter a newer, more modern world.

I read this (and discovered MacLennan as a writer) entirely because of Gord Downie paying homage to him in a song. I mention this not to be self-effacing, but because the material that he drew from is essential to understanding the themes of the book:

“I at least discovered this: that there is no simple explanation for anything important any of us do, and that the human tragedy, or the human irony, consists in the necessity of living with the consequences of actions performed under the pressure of compulsions so obscure we do not and cannot understand them.”

The Watch That Ends the Night is a breathtakingly beautiful meditation on the process of aging, the ways that our life experiences shape the person we become, and the ways that our understanding of romantic love are impacted by those things.