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patriciajoan's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
jsanders05's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
About 20 pages into reading “The Dreamer” I needed to look-up the publication date. I was certain it was released after 2020 because the references to ‘virus’, ‘quarantine’, and ‘sickness’ were all too eerily familiar to what our world recently went through. This novel was indeed written before, and the published in 2019. Did it predict the future? Did Karen Thompson Walker know something we didn’t?
It all started in a college dorm where a young girl falls asleep after a night of partying. No one bothers to try and wake her, they assume she’s sleeping it off. After 18 hours and she still has not woken up, another student finally calls 911 and the girl is taken to the hospital. Soon after, another boy falls asleep and his body, too, never awakens.
After forcing the kids into quarantine, the ‘sickness’ takes more of them and it seems to be spreading. The victims fall asleep and no matter what is done to them, they simply cannot wake up. But the all of the ‘sleeping’ are in fact, dreaming. Having such prominent dreams that their brain activity is being scientifically monitored and it’s proven that even in their sleep, there is more activity going on than when people are awake and healthy. What is causing this virus, how does it spread, and will the ‘sick’ ever wake up?
The story follows several families and their experiences with the illness. I was prepared to immediately give this novel 5 starts, but there are several lengthy descriptions that really don’t help with the plot, and several flash-back scenes that do the same. This novel could have been so much darker.
“The Dreamers” by Karen Thompson Walker
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️
Triggers: su*cide, deaths of young persons, mass deaths, viruses/illness
murderbotsbestie's review against another edition
3.0
Though I loved this book, it was not what I was expecting.
See, when I hear sleepy town and mysterious sleeping sickness, I think this is going to be a creepy mystery.
Hahahahaha.
YOU FOOL.
This is about humanity's reaction to a mysterious sleeping sickness. It's about people and towns and the bonds that bind us together.
And it is beautiful. I loved seeing the characters interact with each other. I felt a connection with each of them, but especially Sara and Mei. They reminded me of myself. It was an emotional rollercoaster to see their journey. The whole book felt like a secret peek inside a raw persons mind.
It was definitely slow, beautiful prose describing death and destruction. That was the creepiest thing about it. The way it was talked about was haunting and unsettling. It was abosolutely incredible, and the writing was one of my favorite things about the book. It's style kept me hypnotized throughout the book.
The plot was incredible, not totally original but Walker made it all her own. I was completely absorbed, desperate to figure out what was going on. I loved the way it unfolded slowly, giving you tiny pieces to stew in. I couldn't put it down and several times I gasped out loud.
I also really liked how dreams played into the book. The interweaving themes of the past, present, future, reality vs dreams gave me chills. I fell in love with the sentences that flowed and the characters Dreams. I fell in love with their souls, their minds. I was perfectly happy to explore their conscious for forever.
Unfortunately, the ending hugely disappointed me. I was left totally unsatisfied and with a million questions. It was underwhelming and it felt very abrupt.
People recover. That's it! That's literally it.
I think she could have added much more and brought it to a satisfying end.
Overall, fantastic book. I think anybody who's a fan of emotional, thrilling books will like it. I would have given it five, but the ending was just awful.
4/5
exorcismemily's review against another edition
4.0
"Every ordinary moment has a potential calamity, and you cannot know when one will rise."
I'm not sure where to start with this review. I buddy read this one with my friends Ashley & Audra, and it led to some pretty good discussions. While I enjoyed The Dreamers overall, I feel like it didn't hit its full potential. However, I was very invested in this story, and I went through more emotions than I normally prefer while reading it.
This book has a sci-fi-ish plot, but it's mainly about human interaction. Some of it is sad, some of it's happy, and some of it is normal. This is definitely a stressful read, and it makes you think about what's important to you.
I wish there would have been more information on the dreams. The book was called The Dreamers, but we didn't really learn a whole lot about what the dreams really were. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it would have gone deeper into it. I'm not saying I need an answer for everything in this book, just a few more answers than what was given.
I would try another book from this author. I tore through this one pretty quickly, and wanted more once it was over. Thank you to Random House for sending me a copy!
I'm not sure where to start with this review. I buddy read this one with my friends Ashley & Audra, and it led to some pretty good discussions. While I enjoyed The Dreamers overall, I feel like it didn't hit its full potential. However, I was very invested in this story, and I went through more emotions than I normally prefer while reading it.
This book has a sci-fi-ish plot, but it's mainly about human interaction. Some of it is sad, some of it's happy, and some of it is normal. This is definitely a stressful read, and it makes you think about what's important to you.
I wish there would have been more information on the dreams. The book was called The Dreamers, but we didn't really learn a whole lot about what the dreams really were. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it would have gone deeper into it. I'm not saying I need an answer for everything in this book, just a few more answers than what was given.
I would try another book from this author. I tore through this one pretty quickly, and wanted more once it was over. Thank you to Random House for sending me a copy!
masch212's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Beautiful and bleak.
kim_j_dare's review against another edition
4.0
What a surprise. It’s been a good while since I was this pulled into a story. I haven’t had a desire to read “plague fiction“ during this COVID-19 isolation, but my interest was piqued by an NPR interview with the author.
What I liked:
* Walker’s lyrical, quiet style of writing
* her ability to put us firmly in the moment, so that we feel invested in the small college town of Santa Lora and the residents we get to know
* how she got SO MUCH of the fear and anxiety and confusion and boredom of the day-to-day right (well before any of us imagined what the first half of 2020 would look like). And some inclusion of fake news and conspiracy theories
* the exploration of dreams and the fluidity of time and reality
*the fact that I had no idea how Walker was going to pull things together at the end
What didn’t work for me so well (SPOILER ALERT)
* the fact that this was an incredibly contagious illness, but that the impact on the larger world outside of Santa Lora was never explored. Especially after some of the quarantined college students were able to escape into other parts of California.
I get that Walker wanted to give us a microcosm of society, and truly enjoyed the experience. Just wish she hadn’t opened the door to the possibility of spreading beyond Santa Lora if she wasn’t going to follow through on that aspect.
All in all, though, a lot to enjoy here.
What I liked:
* Walker’s lyrical, quiet style of writing
* her ability to put us firmly in the moment, so that we feel invested in the small college town of Santa Lora and the residents we get to know
* how she got SO MUCH of the fear and anxiety and confusion and boredom of the day-to-day right (well before any of us imagined what the first half of 2020 would look like). And some inclusion of fake news and conspiracy theories
* the exploration of dreams and the fluidity of time and reality
*the fact that I had no idea how Walker was going to pull things together at the end
What didn’t work for me so well (SPOILER ALERT)
* the fact that this was an incredibly contagious illness, but that the impact on the larger world outside of Santa Lora was never explored. Especially after some of the quarantined college students were able to escape into other parts of California.
I get that Walker wanted to give us a microcosm of society, and truly enjoyed the experience. Just wish she hadn’t opened the door to the possibility of spreading beyond Santa Lora if she wasn’t going to follow through on that aspect.
All in all, though, a lot to enjoy here.
mzee34's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
teighan_campbell's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
joetatum24's review against another edition
4.0
At first, I thought this book was a bit too similar to Station Eleven. However, the further into it I got, I found myself entranced, and even moved a few times. This book became something quite interesting and engaging. I’d recommend it for a light but beautiful read.