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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
This book has been on my to-read list for over a decade (three guesses on what to read list it originally featured) and like many great books I have no idea what took me so long. It's a very quick read owing to a very simple narrative style, but what it lacks in stylistic sophistication, it more than makes up for in interesting characters, fantastic plot and some really interesting, engaging ideas. A must read for all those who have always been different from their peers and who struggle with their place in society. Particularly good if paired with [b:The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better|6304389|The Spirit Level Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better|Richard G. Wilkinson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328026576s/6304389.jpg|6489020] and [b:The Robot's Rebellion: Finding Meaning in the Age of Darwin|700096|The Robot's Rebellion Finding Meaning in the Age of Darwin|Keith E. Stanovich|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328872831s/700096.jpg|686407].
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Futuristic sci-fi, read for a bioethics class. Definitely has some ethical talking points, a bit slow moving but thought provoking.
I have always enjoyed the short stories I have read by Nancy Kress. This is my first full length novel, and it didn't disappoint.
I can certainly get a sense of the earlier novella version (which I have not read). There was a point less than halfway in, that it seemed the book and all its plots/themes were coming to a natural conclusion. Then a wrench gets thrown in, and it all veers in another direction. My best guess is that the original novella ends around that point.
This was also my first experience reading a full novel on a kindle. It was definitely useful on a train with a baby, but not my favorite mode of reading.
I'll probably read the sequels.
I can certainly get a sense of the earlier novella version (which I have not read). There was a point less than halfway in, that it seemed the book and all its plots/themes were coming to a natural conclusion. Then a wrench gets thrown in, and it all veers in another direction. My best guess is that the original novella ends around that point.
This was also my first experience reading a full novel on a kindle. It was definitely useful on a train with a baby, but not my favorite mode of reading.
I'll probably read the sequels.
[Retrouvez mon avis complet sur mon blog, ici]
Dans ce court roman d'anticipation, nous allons suivre la fille non dormeuse, Leisha. Nous allons voir les conséquences de sa particularité sur son éducation, ses études, son évolution au sein de la société. Société qui peu a peu va rejeter les non-dormeurs, ces nouveaux humains.
Car il y a beaucoup de thèmes abordés dans ce texte ! Eugénisme, modification génétique des fœtus, changements de la société apportés par des avancées scientifiques et technologiques, accessibilité de ces avancées pour toute la population, peur de l'autre, jalousie de la réussite, les deux dernières qui se transformant en haine... dont la conséquence est la création d'un communautarisme qui va exacerber la différence et la haine.
L'une reste, l'autre pas reste cependant un texte très agréable à lire et intelligent. Je me suis retrouvée happée, l'histoire de Leisha, personnage auquel je me suis attachée très facilement, vous amènera nombre de réflexions et un brin d'optimisme. Un des messages de l'autrice pourrait être "C'est ce que font les gens de leurs particularités qui fait la société".
Dans ce court roman d'anticipation, nous allons suivre la fille non dormeuse, Leisha. Nous allons voir les conséquences de sa particularité sur son éducation, ses études, son évolution au sein de la société. Société qui peu a peu va rejeter les non-dormeurs, ces nouveaux humains.
Car il y a beaucoup de thèmes abordés dans ce texte ! Eugénisme, modification génétique des fœtus, changements de la société apportés par des avancées scientifiques et technologiques, accessibilité de ces avancées pour toute la population, peur de l'autre, jalousie de la réussite, les deux dernières qui se transformant en haine... dont la conséquence est la création d'un communautarisme qui va exacerber la différence et la haine.
L'une reste, l'autre pas reste cependant un texte très agréable à lire et intelligent. Je me suis retrouvée happée, l'histoire de Leisha, personnage auquel je me suis attachée très facilement, vous amènera nombre de réflexions et un brin d'optimisme. Un des messages de l'autrice pourrait être "C'est ce que font les gens de leurs particularités qui fait la société".
Read this book!
1 part SciFi + 2 parts philosophy = me racing to the computer to order books two and three in the Sleepless series.
1 part SciFi + 2 parts philosophy = me racing to the computer to order books two and three in the Sleepless series.
I originally came across this title on an online list of the top 200 science fiction novels of all time. As with most lists of that sort, most of the novels[return]that made it were so litterary as to be unreadable. While this particular title wasn't, in my opinion, one of the best of all time, it was worthwhile.[return]The characters are believable and well done, and they grow and change throughout the book. This is classic science fiction in that it takes one what-if[return](what if some people no longer had to sleep?) and runs with it, fleshing out all of the many implications of that change. In a time when most science fiction[return]tries to build a complete world, the consintration on this one what-if is refreshing. The changes that it causes, and the resulting plot, are well thought[return]out. This is not a space opera. But it is quality sf.
Terrible title -- refers to a saying one of the characters in the book kept repeating. The characters were lousy and the plot was shaky. However, the book was still readable.
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book takes a simple idea - what if scientists were able to turn a genetic key in vitro that could make a person not require sleep? - and works through how that discovery might play out over the subsequent hundred-odd years.
Not only is this is a great read, it's a hard look at ourselves - how we draw the line between ingroup and outgroup, and the lengths to which we will go to protect the ingroup when it is threatened.
Reminded me of Mind of My Mind by Octavia Butler in terms of the questions it asks - but Kress's book arrives at slightly different conclusions.
I will definitely be reading the sequels.
Not only is this is a great read, it's a hard look at ourselves - how we draw the line between ingroup and outgroup, and the lengths to which we will go to protect the ingroup when it is threatened.
Reminded me of Mind of My Mind by Octavia Butler in terms of the questions it asks - but Kress's book arrives at slightly different conclusions.
I will definitely be reading the sequels.
Really great book. I loved the concepts, and all of what occurs as a result is intriguing, logical, and fascinating. I'm very much looking forward to more in this series.