Set in Istanbul, The Fabric of Night is a unique example of how lives are impacted by the actions of others, whether sane or not. Are the events unfolding in this complex plot of characters and craziness an illusion or reality? Who is the narrator? Who are these characters and how are they involved with one another? Who are the additional spontaneous characters weaving in and out of the plot like gold thread through the red in a Christmas tablecloth?

Albin Kranz is a sculptor and the main character of this truly unique novel. His world appears to be focused on the murder of an American man that he witnessed over breakfast one day while on vacation in Istanbul. As the novel advances, however, the reader begins to question everything in an attempt to see through drunken illusion to the reality on the other side.

On the other side of the fine line between reality and illusion is a group of student artists and Albin’s longtime girlfriend, Livia. They try hard to forge a common bond among themselves on this class trip, but the disturbing presence of Albin and his alcoholic illusions create more rifts and troubles for the group than any good.

No one knows what is real, what is not, or how they will ever continue their lives in the same fashion upon their return home. When Albin officially disappears, questions about the validity of his claims are somewhat answered, but much still remains in haziness.

The Fabric of Night brings to light the mentality of a person suffering the final fatal stages of alcoholism. The terrible impact an alcoholic can have on the lives of all those that encounter him/her play out here. The confusion and chaotic thinking are sometimes difficult to follow and not really pleasurable to endure.

The character’s complexity is very Dean Koontz-like and artfully played out. Not many can clearly express lunacy and a double personality as an individual weaves in and out of illusion and reality, fact and imagination, accurate interpretation and misjudgment. Christoph Peters brings to life an unusual example of how lost a person can get when swallowed in their own hazy alcoholic world.