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A review by meliemelo
La Maison du sommeil by Jonathan Coe
2.0
At first, I was completely captivated by this book. And it is indeed fascinating, with its stories of sleep and dreams and the interwoven lives of its characters. The French translation wasn't the best and there were a few issues with my edition (like all the letters with accents never being in italics when the rest of the text was), but still, at first I really enjoyed it.
And then came the twist.
I kind of guessed early on what was going on with Madison, and it could have been well done, but I really don't think it was. Please note that as a cis person, I have no legitimacy in determining what is transphobic and (mostly) what is not, but a few things really struck me, like :
- the correct name and pronouns for Cleo only being used AFTER the operation (which, from what I have read from trans* people, is quite insulting and transphobic)
- and the whole fact that, in the end, it seems that she decided to be a woman mostly for Sarah. I'm not really clear about that one, though : did her love for Sarah awaken the realisation that she was never a man ? Or was it just a transformation instead of her becoming who she was all along ? Writing this, I realise that maybe Cleo was genderfluid or something similar, which could have been good had it been addressed. It really gave me the impression that it was mostly for Sarah and not for Cleo herself that she "became a woman".
To go back to their relationship, the fact that the book ends on their reuniting really left me with a sour feeling. Was that supposed to be a love story, their love story ? To be honnest, I don't know, and I wish it had been a little bit more clear. I'm all for subtelty and leaving it to interpretation, but with such problematics elements I think sometimes you can't afford to be subtle.
Also, on a completely unrelated note : WTF was with Terry's ending ? That was a complete deus ex machina that felt really rushed and unnecessary.
All in all, a book that showed promise but that didn't deliver.
And then came the twist.
Spoiler
Well, actually, the first thing that bugged me was how appalling Robert's attitude to Sarah was, all Nice Guy TM that he was. I kind of hoped that the book would adress this issue and show it as well, not good.I kind of guessed early on what was going on with Madison, and it could have been well done, but I really don't think it was. Please note that as a cis person, I have no legitimacy in determining what is transphobic and (mostly) what is not, but a few things really struck me, like :
- the correct name and pronouns for Cleo only being used AFTER the operation (which, from what I have read from trans* people, is quite insulting and transphobic)
- and the whole fact that, in the end, it seems that she decided to be a woman mostly for Sarah. I'm not really clear about that one, though : did her love for Sarah awaken the realisation that she was never a man ? Or was it just a transformation instead of her becoming who she was all along ? Writing this, I realise that maybe Cleo was genderfluid or something similar, which could have been good had it been addressed. It really gave me the impression that it was mostly for Sarah and not for Cleo herself that she "became a woman".
To go back to their relationship, the fact that the book ends on their reuniting really left me with a sour feeling. Was that supposed to be a love story, their love story ? To be honnest, I don't know, and I wish it had been a little bit more clear. I'm all for subtelty and leaving it to interpretation, but with such problematics elements I think sometimes you can't afford to be subtle.
Also, on a completely unrelated note : WTF was with Terry's ending ? That was a complete deus ex machina that felt really rushed and unnecessary.
All in all, a book that showed promise but that didn't deliver.