A review by jlightwells
Nights When Nothing Happened by Simon Han

3.0

A family drama playing out in the suburban jungles of Plano, TX, this novel relies on things seen and unseen to advance its captivating plot. The Chengs, a family of four, have lived apart and together in China and in Texas and have different understandings of safety, security, assimilation, and the good life. The youngest Cheng, Annabel, is a sleepwalker and a preschool bully. Her older brother Jack sees himself as her protector and follows her into the night to bring her home when she sleepwalks. Their parents are sometimes absent, sometimes overly attentive, and usually aloof. Over the course of the novel, chaos arises from inaction and the mundane becomes dangerous. Simon Han is a local DFW author and is incredibly gifted. This short novel was poignantly unsettling.