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librarian235 's review for:
The Dreamers
by Karen Thompson Walker
This novel, as well as her debut novel, [b:The Age of Miracles|12401556|The Age of Miracles|Karen Thompson Walker|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1342487370s/12401556.jpg|17382941] , spawned from a single question; What if? [a:Karen Thompson Walker|5142414|Karen Thompson Walker|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1544817449p2/5142414.jpg] has a distinct style of writing. Her chapters are generally quite short, usually only a page or two. She also tends to use a lot of short sentences rather than ones with lots of clauses and adjectives. However, she is amazing at allowing the reader to see in the character's point of view. You are transported to this world, a realistic world where fantastical events transpire. In "The Dreamers", there is a mysterious illness that falls upon the students at a California college. The small town surrounding campus is soon falling down with the same illness, an illness that puts the victim into a deep sleep. In this comatose-like sleep, the sick are thrown into a world of dreams. This unknown illness wrecks havoc on this sleepy college town.
Karen Thompson Walker introduces us to many different characters, ranging from the college students to children and their parents. She intertwines their story lines effortlessly, not unlike [b:Station Eleven|20170404|Station Eleven|Emily St. John Mandel|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1451446835s/20170404.jpg|28098716]. There are a lot of similarities between this book and Mandel's debut novel. However, the ways these women interlace the character's storylines are very different. While Mandel's book is segmented into sections of several chapters within the same storyline, Walker chops up the short chapters with paragraphs from different storylines. Ultimately, Walker brings the character's storylines together more quickly than Mandel did.
I would recommend this book to fans of Station Eleven, those interested in interpretations of dreams, and fans of sci fi and books featuring contagions.
Karen Thompson Walker introduces us to many different characters, ranging from the college students to children and their parents. She intertwines their story lines effortlessly, not unlike [b:Station Eleven|20170404|Station Eleven|Emily St. John Mandel|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1451446835s/20170404.jpg|28098716]. There are a lot of similarities between this book and Mandel's debut novel. However, the ways these women interlace the character's storylines are very different. While Mandel's book is segmented into sections of several chapters within the same storyline, Walker chops up the short chapters with paragraphs from different storylines. Ultimately, Walker brings the character's storylines together more quickly than Mandel did.
I would recommend this book to fans of Station Eleven, those interested in interpretations of dreams, and fans of sci fi and books featuring contagions.