Reviews

This Town Sleeps by Dennis E. Staples

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year23's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I think this is a debut novel from this author and WOW. I loved it - wasn't expecting the mix of genres (I'd call this speculative fiction) but when it's done well (and it is here!), it's powerful and memorable.

This reads sort of like a set of short stories, but I think the writing does an excellent job of weaving them together and keeping the story moving forward through the MC. An exploration of the complex stories of different families/individuals on an Ojibwe reservation. You meet the MC, Marion, who is aimless, in a liminal moment, who, through a hook up, ends up on a journey that helps bring clarity to other stories as well as clarity & meaning for Marion.

It's the queer mid-life equivalent of a coming of age story meets a ghost story meets quest journey. Most of all, this is a profoundly empathetic character study of the MC and the people in his life - sharing about the joys and grief/pain of this section of the Ojibwe community.

Highly recommend!

rainbowbrarian's review against another edition

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3.0

I'm not sure what I think of this book. I picked it up for an Indigenous queer story and I was interested in the sort of ghost story part of it as well. But the narrative was so scattered across so many points of view that I found it hard to follow at times.

Probably my lack of familiarity with the culture didn't help either. I was also disappointed by the "tragic queer love story" trope too.

I did like the writing, I hope to see more from this author, just maybe a little less scattered.

pn_hinton's review against another edition

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4.0

I wish I had known going in that this book didn't tell the story in a linear way since I could have better prepared for it. It was a good one but the sudden changes of PoV were unexpected based on everything I had heard about it. That's not a bad thing but again I like forewarning in things like that. The strings that were left dangling and never resolved were also a bit frustrating since I am one who enjoys as absolute resolutions that you can get.

All that said it was enjoyable. It wasn't fast paced necessarily, but the story was engaging enough to keep you drawn in. I can understand those who said they started it just to get a feel in it and a few hours later they were done. I also liked the realistic ending in terms of Marion's relationship with Shannon, which is all I will say on that because I don't want to give spoilers.

The author is very good at their craft and I would definitely read more by them. Just go in knowing it's going to be a good but bumpy ride.