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gymjam_reads's review
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I really got into this story and throughout I kept thinking to myself 'yes, there's probably going to be a lot of books like this now where authors use the COVID pandemic as inspiration', it was only when I finished I saw the publishing date was 2019..! A town gets infected by an unknown virus that causes its victims to fall into a deep, unwakeable sleep. My favourite concept of this book was prodding into the theory that time is on another tangent in dreams and exploring the depth of unconsciousness.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Medical content and Death
spicierleaf's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Death and Child death
mandi_lea's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Pregnancy, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Confinement, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Police brutality
notlikethebeer's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
A fun fact about me is that I have a tattoo inspired by Karen Thompson Walker's previous book (The Age of Miracles). A fun fact about Karen Thompson Walker is that she appears to be some kind of clairvoyant. I had to check multiple times, but this book was indeed written in 2019, aka The Before Times - and yet, managed to describe freakily well what it would be like to live through a pandemic. Even down to the use of the word "super-spreader" and the weird conspiracy theories! Anyway. Covid comparisons aside, this was a really beautifully written book, with a cast of varied and interesting characters. Truly excellent storytelling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic and Death
dnlrbchd's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy
Moderate: Death and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Death of parent, Medical content, and Animal death
bebidocrimes's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Reactions to a pandemic are not completely unpredictable, but to have proof a year after you publish a book on it must be a weird sensation. I do understand the students wanting to break the quarantine because they have been given very little information and were handled poorly, but it happened so quick no one knew what was going on. Being unable to truly understand what the patients dreamed enhances the mystery and I love the idea that they are jumping timelines in their sleep. Every moment happens simultaneously and it could be interesting to explore that more. Imagine their deja vu once they woke up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality and Pregnancy
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Car accident, Death, and Medical content
lilifane's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
What the f*** did I just read?
This book centers around several characters during the outbreak of an infectious disease. It's a virus causing a sleeping sickness, but other than that, the parallels to the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic are way too accurate.
All the denial. All the measures to contain the disease, too little too late. All the careless decisions, all the irrational behaviors, all the selfish acts. All the conspiracy theories and specific vocabulary. You'd think it was a book written during lockdown... only it was published in January 2019, a whole year before the pandemic started. I still can't wrap my head around it, how closely someone can predict so many little details in human behavior. (I wonder how many people who read this in 2019 thought they had a déjà vu.)
The writing is beautiful. For the most part, the sentences are short and simple, written in present tense. This way, you get immersed quickly and have the impression to be part of the events that are unfolding in front of your eyes. Which was brilliantly done in my opinion. On the other hand, there are passages of beautiful, whimsical descriptions and quotable sentences, too. It's a very atmospheric book with eerie, melancholic vibes.
There are quite a few characters the book follows and although you don't get to know all of them intimately, it is enough to get attached to them and root for their individual journeys. I actually got very emotional towards the end.
It's definitely not a book for people who like plot driven, action packed stories. Not much happens here. It's really more of a character study, and the ending might disappoint if you are waiting for a big twist or reveal or explanations. Instead, it raises some philosophical questions, which I personally liked. It fit the atmosphere of the story.
This book centers around several characters during the outbreak of an infectious disease. It's a virus causing a sleeping sickness, but other than that, the parallels to the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic are way too accurate.
All the denial. All the measures to contain the disease, too little too late. All the careless decisions, all the irrational behaviors, all the selfish acts. All the conspiracy theories and specific vocabulary. You'd think it was a book written during lockdown... only it was published in January 2019, a whole year before the pandemic started. I still can't wrap my head around it, how closely someone can predict so many little details in human behavior. (I wonder how many people who read this in 2019 thought they had a déjà vu.)
The writing is beautiful. For the most part, the sentences are short and simple, written in present tense. This way, you get immersed quickly and have the impression to be part of the events that are unfolding in front of your eyes. Which was brilliantly done in my opinion. On the other hand, there are passages of beautiful, whimsical descriptions and quotable sentences, too. It's a very atmospheric book with eerie, melancholic vibes.
There are quite a few characters the book follows and although you don't get to know all of them intimately, it is enough to get attached to them and root for their individual journeys. I actually got very emotional towards the end.
It's definitely not a book for people who like plot driven, action packed stories. Not much happens here. It's really more of a character study, and the ending might disappoint if you are waiting for a big twist or reveal or explanations. Instead, it raises some philosophical questions, which I personally liked. It fit the atmosphere of the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Dementia, Death, Confinement, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Child death, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Suicide, Grief, Medical content, and Panic attacks/disorders
saramcaps's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
A mysterious illness breaks out on a college campus that causes those infected to fall into a coma-like sleep and have vivid psychic dreams. The story is told from too many POVs including a college student, a doomsday prepper family in town, and one of the doctors treating the infected. I didn't connect to or find any of the characters compelling. It was a little too slow-paced for me and focused too much on the study of the disease.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Terminal illness
cemiles17's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
3.25 stars
This book was entertaining to listen to. It had great storytelling elements and a great idea for the overall story. I enjoyed the narrator. After finishing the book I felt that I wanted more, specifically information related to the disease. We get a story in how the disease impacted the community, the fear of the unknown, but not much else. I would have enjoyed the book more if the disease was discussed in greater detail, like with the origin and possible cure. Since we did not get much detail about the disease this story causes you to make your own conclusions and speculate about the information not given. If I didn’t listen to this book on audio I don’t feel I would have enjoyed it as much, and perhaps might have DNF due to the slow pace.
This book was entertaining to listen to. It had great storytelling elements and a great idea for the overall story. I enjoyed the narrator. After finishing the book I felt that I wanted more, specifically information related to the disease. We get a story in how the disease impacted the community, the fear of the unknown, but not much else. I would have enjoyed the book more if the disease was discussed in greater detail, like with the origin and possible cure. Since we did not get much detail about the disease this story causes you to make your own conclusions and speculate about the information not given. If I didn’t listen to this book on audio I don’t feel I would have enjoyed it as much, and perhaps might have DNF due to the slow pace.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
readingwithmeredith's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content
Moderate: Confinement, Death, and Pregnancy
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, and Suicide