In Irving’s twelfth novel, he sets his storytelling sights on loggers at a remote camp in 1950s New Hampshire. There’s a 12-year-old boy and his stoic father and a moment of grotesque violence that turns the pair into fugitives. Like many of Irving’s other novels, Last Night portrays people and the world they inhabit with fascinating precision. On this score, it’s a wonderful book—the novel as historical reportage—but you’ll need some patience to work through all the lingered-over minutiae. The epic unfolds in slow motion. Reviewed on Sept. 4, 2020