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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
I wanted to love this book. It definitely evoked a strong, strange, dreamy feeling while reading it, but when I put it down, that didn’t linger - I had to remind myself to pick it back up. There was some lovely writing, but there were some parts that just felt off - I don’t know why. I really liked some of the random snippets about sleepers who weren’t real characters in the story, but I didn’t feel a strong connection with most of the actual main characters. It was like they lacked substance and weight unless they were peripheral - Henry felt much more real than Nathaniel, for example. The story also felt unfinished. People slept, people started to wake up. A lot of words were used. Not much felt resolved or settled, it just drifted to an end. It was like bits of Twin Peaks can be sometimes - weirdness for the sake of weirdness, without an anchoring story underneath to make it worth it.
This book is about a virus that attacks a whole town. If you get it you sleep, some for weeks and some for short periods of time. While you sleep many of the people saw dreams of future events and others saw nothing.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Pandemic/Epidemic
I think that this was a little too sad for me. That being said, it's not a sad book. I just would have liked a little more joy for some of the characters that were so very well constructed. This is a character heavy book, and the author did a brilliant job of bringing everyone to life. I also appreciated the story idea and the issues that this narrative addressed.
I loved this book! The Dreamers is a fantastic, mind blowing read that you can breeze through. I received an ARC and will be adding Karen Thompson Walker books to my “want to read” list. Great writing, fabulous author.
On the same level as her last novel, with the same slow start. I did come to like the book by the end, but I feel as though she continues to write the same girl and boy from the last book. I liked the stories that were woven together, especially the father and his daughters and their desire to learn more of their mother. I felt that Mei was done wrong, Matthew was a d*** of the highest order and had some sort of savior complex, that's the only reason I can think of that would cause him to leave her to die. The town being cursed wasn't really a major plot point but I thought it was kind of interesting.
3.75
Very interesting and quick read, with beautiful writing
Very interesting and quick read, with beautiful writing
A mysterious illness is spreading through Santa Lora, Calif., that causes people to fall into such a deep sleep that they appear dead, and unable to wake up. It starts on a college campus but quickly moves through town, causing the entire town to be under a quarantine. Those unaffected by the disease help the “dreamers” so they do not die of starvation or dehydration. When the dreamers suddenly begin to wake up, they experience unusual sensations: knowledge about the future, nostalgia for the past, and a feeling that either no time had passed or more time has passed than really did. There are a lot of characters and no explanation for the disease, so it will appeal to those who enjoy Stephen King or “The Walking Dead.” An interesting perspective about what really happens when we dream.