Review: Night Whenever We Go
Night Wherever We Go is a brilliant debut novel by Tracey Rose Peyton. Set on a struggling, Navarro County, Texas plantation in 1852, the plot focuses on the struggles of six enslaved women: Junie, Patience, Lulu, Serah, Alice, and Nan. The owners of the plantation, the Harlows, migrate from Georgia to Texas to grow cotton and hope to increase the number of enslaved persons working the property by bringing on a “stockman” to impregnate the women. Their efforts fail, however, as the women obtain and chew cotton root each day to prevent pregnancy in an act of collective resistance.
This novel tells a unique story, not only because of its setting and source material but also because of the narrative choices that Peyton makes.
For example, Peyton uses multiple narrative perspectives throughout the novel. Some chapters are written from the perspective of a collective “we,” representing all six enslaved women on the plantation and subtlety blending first and third person. Contrastingly, she uses third-person limited when focusing on a singular character, including Charles or Lizzie Harlow. There’s even a chapter written in first-person, letter format.
Another highlight of the novel is how Peyton describes the setting and connects the characters, even the plot, to nature and naturalism. The natural world is very much alive in this novel. The characters rely on nature to provide them sustenance, healing remedies, poisons, and contraceptive options. As such, motherhood and childbirth are also prominent themes in this novel.
Overall, I would give this novel a 4.5 out of 5-star rating. While there is much to love, some of its characters are easily forgotten due to the breadth of the plot and the use of the collective “we." Of the six enslaved women who originally came to the Texas plantation, Nan, the oldest and the healer of the group, and Serah, the youngest of the group, stand out most in the story and in my memory. Next would be Junie, who was gifted to Lizzie Harlow and previously enslaved by her father, and Patience, the only woman who came to the plantation with a child (her son Silas).
The pace of the plot also caught me somewhat off guard, as the action seems to crescendo suddenly within the final two chapters of the novel, resulting in an ending that is as shocking as it is sad but resolved. Ultimately, Night Wherever We Go is a satisfying and emotional read that I recommend for any adult reader, especially women. It’s a fresh take on a tragic portion of American history that deserves to be read.
