The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker
4 stars
"At first, they blame the air."
One day a college student comes back to her dorm after partying and falls into a deep sleep. She doesn't wake up. Then the sleep overtakes another student in the dorm and then another. The town of Santa Lora finds itself under the mysterious and elusive spell of deep sleep and no one knows where this disease has come from or what it wants from those that it claims. The Dreamers is an odd novel. It's very magical-realism but has tongue-in-cheek jabs at conspiracy theorists who don't believe that bad and mysterious things happen. It's a fun novel. I was so excited for this novel because it's odd enough to be right up my alley and the premise just sounds haunting. I am attracted to stories that have undertones of disbelief and dark themes. I want to preface that while this book tackles dark themes and topics, it doesn't not really feel like a dark novel. The tone feels very dreary and almost like you yourself wading through a dream. It's weighty while feeling weightless. Light while drowning in darkness and kind while showing the cruelness of the world. It's a novel of walking contradictions. A novel of humanity wrapped up into a small town and an odd virus that causes people to succumb to sleep. Karen Thompson Walker is a great writer. Her prose is strong and consistent throughout. One of my favorite things about her style is that her sentences are concise and to the point while retaining an air of infinity almost as if the period was more of a comma that wants to say more, but has that to say too much would be detrimental to the story. It's beautiful and captivating. However, it doesn't work in terms of characters. It works for the story and the elusiveness of consciousness and dreams, but I was never sold on any of the characters we follow because I didn't find myself becoming immersed in their minds, but only wading through their happenings like a random bystander.
Whimsical Writing Scale: 4.25
"There is kindness in not telling. There is love in covering up.
This novel follows multiple narratives. Mei is the one we follow the most and she is a young college student who is the roommate of the first victim to succumb to the sleep. I liked her narrative and her story took me by surprise, but I don't know if I would say if I was connected or even rooting for her. Sara is a teen whose father works at a janitor at the college and has been preparing for the end of the world. I really liked her narrative. It was filled with innocence and ease, but I felt disconnected from her and wanted to see more into her thoughts and terror. Ben is a new father who lives next door to Sara's family. I found his story to be the most interesting. Out of all the stories his made me the saddest, but even then, I didn't really feel like I was connecting to his emotions. We also follow Rebecca, but not out-right. She is taken by the disease early on, but her story is interesting because a baby is forming inside of her as she sleeps. I loved her ending and the way Walker wrapped up her ending.
Character Scale: 4
"The only way to tell some stories is with the oldest, most familiar words: this here, this is the breaking of a heart."
I do recommend this novel to people who enjoy novels that are very different. This is a quiet and slow-moving novel that will not be for everybody. I think that this novel will be a favorite for a lot of people and I recommend picking it up if it sounds interesting to you.
Plotastic Scale: 4.25
Cover Thoughts: I love the cover and the blocked lettering. It fits really well and it just looks nice.
4 stars
"At first, they blame the air."
One day a college student comes back to her dorm after partying and falls into a deep sleep. She doesn't wake up. Then the sleep overtakes another student in the dorm and then another. The town of Santa Lora finds itself under the mysterious and elusive spell of deep sleep and no one knows where this disease has come from or what it wants from those that it claims. The Dreamers is an odd novel. It's very magical-realism but has tongue-in-cheek jabs at conspiracy theorists who don't believe that bad and mysterious things happen. It's a fun novel. I was so excited for this novel because it's odd enough to be right up my alley and the premise just sounds haunting. I am attracted to stories that have undertones of disbelief and dark themes. I want to preface that while this book tackles dark themes and topics, it doesn't not really feel like a dark novel. The tone feels very dreary and almost like you yourself wading through a dream. It's weighty while feeling weightless. Light while drowning in darkness and kind while showing the cruelness of the world. It's a novel of walking contradictions. A novel of humanity wrapped up into a small town and an odd virus that causes people to succumb to sleep. Karen Thompson Walker is a great writer. Her prose is strong and consistent throughout. One of my favorite things about her style is that her sentences are concise and to the point while retaining an air of infinity almost as if the period was more of a comma that wants to say more, but has that to say too much would be detrimental to the story. It's beautiful and captivating. However, it doesn't work in terms of characters. It works for the story and the elusiveness of consciousness and dreams, but I was never sold on any of the characters we follow because I didn't find myself becoming immersed in their minds, but only wading through their happenings like a random bystander.
Whimsical Writing Scale: 4.25
"There is kindness in not telling. There is love in covering up.
This novel follows multiple narratives. Mei is the one we follow the most and she is a young college student who is the roommate of the first victim to succumb to the sleep. I liked her narrative and her story took me by surprise, but I don't know if I would say if I was connected or even rooting for her. Sara is a teen whose father works at a janitor at the college and has been preparing for the end of the world. I really liked her narrative. It was filled with innocence and ease, but I felt disconnected from her and wanted to see more into her thoughts and terror. Ben is a new father who lives next door to Sara's family. I found his story to be the most interesting. Out of all the stories his made me the saddest, but even then, I didn't really feel like I was connecting to his emotions. We also follow Rebecca, but not out-right. She is taken by the disease early on, but her story is interesting because a baby is forming inside of her as she sleeps. I loved her ending and the way Walker wrapped up her ending.
Character Scale: 4
"The only way to tell some stories is with the oldest, most familiar words: this here, this is the breaking of a heart."
I do recommend this novel to people who enjoy novels that are very different. This is a quiet and slow-moving novel that will not be for everybody. I think that this novel will be a favorite for a lot of people and I recommend picking it up if it sounds interesting to you.
Plotastic Scale: 4.25
Cover Thoughts: I love the cover and the blocked lettering. It fits really well and it just looks nice.
Have you read The Dreamers? What are your thoughts on it? Do you plan on picking it up if you haven't? Let me know down below in the comments!
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