Yesternight
Alice Lind, school psychologist, travels to Gordon Bay, Oregon in 1925 to administer IQ tests to the schoolchildren there. Alice has always believed in science, and thinks that all problems can be solved with psychology. However, when she meets strange little seven-year-old Janie, her core is shaken and her beliefs uprooted. Janie exhibits characteristics of someone else and tells stories of her past life. At first, Alice believes this is just an overactive imagination. But Janie’s father believes that she has been reincarnated, while her mother fears Janie is insane. The more Alice learns about Janie, the more confused she becomes about what is true. She also begins to unravel deeply hidden secrets of her own past, which leads to more mysteries and more complications. Could Janie really be reincarnated? Could Alice, herself, also be reincarnated?
Winters has been one of my favorite authors since she first published In the Shadow of Blackbirds, but this story is much darker, more racy, and just a little confusing. The entire story is fascinating, but Winters never quite explains everything, leaving a lot up to the reader’s imagination. Alice is a modern woman, and much of the story revolves around her sexual desires, which didn’t really seem to fit with other parts of the story. Nevertheless, these slight issues did not hinder the remarkably intriguing tale of Yesternight.
