THE NIGHT WATCHMAN’S OCCURRENCE BOOK by V. S. Naipaul

This is an odd story that is told through an artifact, the log kept by the night watchman and his managers. At first the text feels like a dead thing, all the action has happened in the past, the momentum stalled through the limitations of this point of view. However, the dialogue and that takes shape after the first few entries is as lively as any present tense action scene.

Besides the underlining racism and classism, there is also an employee vs. employer motif that I really like, all of three which are tangled up a like a bowl of spaghetti. You can remove one noodle without impacting the rest of the dish. The new night watchman has received no training. He is just told to log everything that happens after the bar is closed.

The struggle that unfolds between the night watchman and the manager is becomes a heated one. The night watchman wants to please the manager, but the manager is inept and inconsistent in his requests. The night watchman can do nothing but fail.

The brilliance of this story is that it asks you to take sides as any story does where a conflict is introduced. However, the reader of this story does not know where to stand. At times the reader must stand with the racist employer; the night watchman’s failings are too grand to be over looked. And at times the reader will no doubt stand with the nigh watchman; the manager’s incompetence to show true leadership cannot be forgiven.

The end of the story is not really an end. The manager is replaced with a new one. This new manger has new expectations. And, for this middle-manger, I can see that the cycle will now start over. I think that if there is a message in this story, the message is that clear communication between employer and employee is paramount for anything to be accomplished. And if there is too be clear communication, people must work with each other, understand each other despite their differences.

This is a must for anyone that has to communicate with either a manager or an employee.

Naipaul, V. S., “The Night Watchman's Occurrence Book.” The Night Watchman's Occurrence Book: And Other Comic Inventions. New York: Vintage, 2002