Tony and Susan

Tony and Susan is a novel by Austin Wright first published in 1993. The book was initially published by Baskerville Publishers, a small press, after having been turned down by 11 major New York publishers. The book was a critical success and went into two editions with sale to Book-of-the-Month Club as "Talk of the Office," and translation into 13 languages. Movie rights were optioned to Universal Studios and later to HBO (though it was never made) and Warner Books (now known as Grand Central Publishing) took the paperback rights for $400,000 in a two-day auction. Tony and Susan was Warner's lead paperback fiction in September 1994. It was thought at the time that the paperback edition did not sell well because the book was too literary to be a mass-market offering.^[1] In 2010, the book was published for the first time in the UK and enjoyed a critical revival causing it to be reprinted in the United States.^[2][3]

The novel was adapted into a screenplay by Tom Ford and developed into the 2016 film Nocturnal Animals, directed by Ford, which was released to positive reception.^[4] Following the adaptation, the book was again republished, with a new cover and the updated title of Nocturnal Animals, corresponding with the film's release.

In 1990, Susan Morrow is surprised to hear from her ex-husband, Edward, who sends her a manuscript to his novel, Nocturnal Animals. Susan and Edward's relationship had fallen apart 25 years earlier in part thanks to him abandoning his studies to be a lawyer to pursue a writing career. After putting off the manuscript for months, she reads it in the course of three nights after learning that Edward will be passing through her city soon.

Nocturnal Animals is about a meek mathematician named Tony Hastings on his way to his country home in Maine with his wife, Laura, and teenage daughter, Helen. On the way, they are accosted by three men in a truck, Ray, Lou, and Turk, who begin blocking the path to their car. The cars end up bumping each other and the leader of the men, Ray, gets in the car with the Hastings and drives off with them. Ray drives Tony to a clearing and abandons him there. Tony walks to a farmhouse where he manages to call for help. In retracing his steps with the state troopers, he discovers Laura and Helen, both raped and murdered, in the clearing where he had been abandoned. He blames himself for not doing enough to save them.

بعد مرور عام على جرائم القتل، دخل توني في حالة اكتئاب. استدعاه المحقق الرئيسي في القضية، بوبي أنديس، لتحديد مشتبه به محتمل، ولكن عندما عجز توني عن التعرف على رجل تبين لاحقًا أنه تورك، بدا أن أنديس فقد اهتمامه بالقضية. بعد فترة، استدعى أنديس توني مرة أخرى للتعرف على رجل، وهذه المرة تمكن من التعرف على لو كأحد الرجال الذين قتلوا زوجته وابنته. علم أن الرجال الثلاثة كانوا متورطين في عملية سطو وأن تورك قُتل رميًا بالرصاص. اصطحب أنديس توني معه لاصطحاب راي والتعرف عليه، وبعد أن تأكد توني من هويته، أخذهم أنديس في جولة إلى مسرح الجريمة. على الرغم من أن راي أنكر أي معرفة بالجريمة، شعر توني أنه يسخر منه، وفي لحظة ما انتابه غضب شديد وضربه على وجهه.

أخيرًا، بدأ توني يمضي قدمًا في حياته، وبدأ علاقة مع إحدى طالباته السابقات. تلقى اتصالًا من أنديس يخبره فيه أن راي على وشك الإفراج عنه. ذهب توني لمقابلة أنديس، الذي أخبره أنه يحتضر بسبب السرطان. سأله أنديس حينها إن كان يريد أن يرى راي يُقدّم للعدالة. شعر أنديس بموافقة توني الضمنية، فقبض على راي واقتاده إلى عربة تخييم نائية في الغابة حيث تقيم زوجته السابقة إنغريد، دون علم أنديس. انضمت إليهم لاحقًا سوزان، ابنة عم أنديس. ذهب أنديس وأحضر لو من السجن. في عربة التخييم، هدد أنديس بتعذيب كل من لو وراي، لكنهما هربا. نتيجة لذلك، أطلق أنديس النار على لو وقتله، بينما كان يحث توني على فعل الشيء نفسه مع راي. لم يستطع توني أن يُقدم على القتل، فسمح لراي بالهرب. أخبر أنديس توني والمرأتين أنه إذا تم استجوابهما، فعليهما أن يقولا إن راي هو من قتل لو.

يُكلّف أنديس توني بإرسال رسالة إلى أحد أصدقائه من الشرطة. في الطريق، يمرّ توني براي وهو يسير على جانب الطريق، ثم يتوجه إلى المقطورة حيث اغتُصبت هيلين ولورا. يجده نائمًا هناك. يوقظه، ويجري بينهما حديث يعترف فيه راي باغتصاب وقتل لورا وهيلين. يُطلق توني النار عليه ويقتله، لكنه يُصاب بالعمى وجروح بالغة. يترنّح خارج المقطورة ويسقط في وادٍ. يسمع الشرطة قادمة لإنقاذه، لكنه لا يناديهم، بل يُطلق النار على نفسه في بطنه عن طريق الخطأ. وبينما يحتضر، يُهلوس بأنه يقود سيارته إلى ولاية مين مع هيلين ولورا.

The novel causes Susan to reminisce about her past life with Edward. They were neighbors who briefly lived together after Edward's father died and her parents took him in. They met again in college, and slept together despite Edward's puritanical views on sex. However, a short time into their relationship, Edward decided that he wanted to be a writer and that the two would survive on Susan's income as a lecturer. After Edward left for a month-long writer's retreat, Susan began an affair with their neighbor Arnold, whose wife was experiencing mental breakdowns. Sometime after Edward returned, Susan confessed all of this to Edward and eventually divorced him, settling down with Arnold and tolerating his affairs.

Susan enjoys Edward's novel and finds herself sympathizing with Tony. She decides to invite Edward over for dinner the night he is in town in order to discuss his work. Edward never calls, despite the fact that Susan leaves several messages at his hotel. The following day, having discovered he has checked out, she writes a thoughtful piece of criticism for him and then throws it away, sending him a brief note instead telling him she will give him her thoughts if he would like them.

Author Austin Wright received positive reviews for the novel. Publishers Weekly praised his "sharp prose".^[5]

The New York Times called the novel "mesmerising".^[6]

Fashion designer and filmmaker Tom Ford wrote and directed the 2016 adaptation of the book with Amy Adams starring as Susan Morrow, Jake Gyllenhaal as Edward Sheffield/Tony Hastings, Michael Shannon as Bobby Andes, Isla Fisher as Laura Hastings, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Ray. The film received positive reviews and accolades including nine BAFTA Award nominations^[7] and Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Director and Best Screenplay, in addition to Aaron Taylor-Johnson's win for Best Supporting Actor. Michael Shannon received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.^[8]