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A review by julies_reading
The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker
3.0
I read this specifically for my Buzzword Readathon monthly challenge; this month's word was "Dream" and this was the only book on my tbr that fit the bill.
In the SoCal town of Santa Lora, a sudden sickness has begun. Kara, a freshman at the local college, goes to sleep one night in her dorm and doesn't wake up. She is sent to the hospital, where they find that she seems to be dreaming intensely before she dies there. Then others start feeling tired as well. This novel is an ensemble piece following multiple people in the same town and their experience with this virus.
I've had this on my radar for a while, and I'm glad I put this off. Who would have known that there would be an actual pandemic to compare this to? It was so interesting to see Walker's take on what would happen in this situation and how a lot of the characters' responses lined up with what has taken place in real life. I also felt like the slow pacing of the story (and further the performance of the audiobook) really added to the narrative; it felt sleepy, dreamlike, which obviously suited the plot itself and brings the reader into the story even more.
The few things I wasn't a fan of in this novel are more up to my own personal taste than actual quality, so if these things don't bother you or if you tend to enjoy them, this book may be for you! While I thought that the multiperspective style was indeed the best choice for the story, I wish that time was spread more evenly between the different characters. I particularly cared about Ben and Annie, but I felt neutral about the others, and that could be in part because of where in the story each of them had focus. The other thing that I would have liked to see was more of a result of what is happening to those who fall ill. It is stated and shown what happens, but having more reprecussions would have been nice. Overall, this was an easy start to the new year and my buzzwordathon challenge, and I'd be interested in picking up some more speculative fiction from Walker in the future.
In the SoCal town of Santa Lora, a sudden sickness has begun. Kara, a freshman at the local college, goes to sleep one night in her dorm and doesn't wake up. She is sent to the hospital, where they find that she seems to be dreaming intensely before she dies there. Then others start feeling tired as well. This novel is an ensemble piece following multiple people in the same town and their experience with this virus.
I've had this on my radar for a while, and I'm glad I put this off. Who would have known that there would be an actual pandemic to compare this to? It was so interesting to see Walker's take on what would happen in this situation and how a lot of the characters' responses lined up with what has taken place in real life. I also felt like the slow pacing of the story (and further the performance of the audiobook) really added to the narrative; it felt sleepy, dreamlike, which obviously suited the plot itself and brings the reader into the story even more.
The few things I wasn't a fan of in this novel are more up to my own personal taste than actual quality, so if these things don't bother you or if you tend to enjoy them, this book may be for you! While I thought that the multiperspective style was indeed the best choice for the story, I wish that time was spread more evenly between the different characters. I particularly cared about Ben and Annie, but I felt neutral about the others, and that could be in part because of where in the story each of them had focus. The other thing that I would have liked to see was more of a result of what is happening to those who fall ill. It is stated and shown what happens, but having more reprecussions would have been nice. Overall, this was an easy start to the new year and my buzzwordathon challenge, and I'd be interested in picking up some more speculative fiction from Walker in the future.