This novel reminded me of a modern-day fairytale. I thought this was a unique take on the sci-fi genre and I enjoyed how it kept me grounded with characters and time. I was invested all the way through. A great read.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read and review this ARC. Full review to be found on Goodreads and on my website.

One of the first thoughts after finishing this novel, is that this was written prior to the Covid 19 pandemic. Walker's story about a town that must go into quarantine after a mysterious virus spreads that causes people to fall asleep, unable to wake up. While there isn't as much of a plot as there is character studies, the writing is gorgeous and kept me interested to keep going. I did leave with a few lingering questions that I wish the author had addressed, I do believe this may be intentional. Keeping with the dreamy style, it makes sense that not everything makes sense.

3.5 stars. I liked the writing and overall story...but not really the ending. (This book also hits differently post pandemic.)

I enjoyed this book so much that I finished reading it in an evening. The story is set in a small college town in the hills of Southern California. Out of nowhere a student at the school falls into a deep sleep that she cannot be awakened from. Then another is overcome with this mysterious sleeping sickness. And another. Soon fear, rumors, and the mysterious illness spreads to the surrounding town. This is the story of survival as told in an extremely satisfying prose by author Karen Thompson Walker. I couldn't put it down!


Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

I have a fear, probably unreasonable, about being awake during surgery. "The Dreamers" is a little like that; it's a post-apocalyptic type of story where people begin falling asleep and not waking up. It starts by quoting one my favorite books, "Blindness" by José Saramago and Emily St. John Mandel called it "stunning", which bodes well for me. I really love the writing; it's prose with a bit of poetry, the characters are great, and it's easy to read and get lost in.

If you're a fan of "Blindness" and "Station Eleven", you'll really like "The Dreamers". Definitely recommended. Four stars.

Another great novel by Karen Thompson Walker. I loved Age of Miracles and this one was no different. I love an ambiguous ending, different POVs and a mystery that asks larger questions about our society.

BOOK REVIEW: The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pages: 323
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Sub-Genre: Dystopian Fiction
Location: Santa Lora, California

IF YOU LIKE THIS BOOK THEN TRY…
Book: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
TV: Station Eleven (HBO)

--------------------

All my reviews can be seen at This Is My Everybody | Simple Living | Denise Wilbanks at www.thisismyeverybody.com

♡ Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

I think, I was cursed by this book reading it during the COVID-19 pandemic. I'm very late to the reviewing game, and I know the book was published before the pandemic started, but I found it very difficult to read during the pandemic. I was longing for a life of ours that has long past.

Wow. I read this during a pandemic and it was quite surreal. This book, like Karen Thompson Walker's The Age of Miracles, was beautifully written. Prose that just floats by, perfectly crafted and so easy to read. However, I wasn't in love with the ending--quite disappointed actually. It felt too abrupt and wasn't satisfying for some of the characters I'd grown attached to over the course of the novel. That said, I definitely recommend this novel and will be looking forward to Karen Thompson Walker's next book.

In an a small college town in California, a freshman girl falls asleep and doesn’t wake up. Her roommate, Mei, cannot awaken her, nor the doctors. Soon another girl falls asleep...and another. Mei works with doctors to solve this mystery as a quarantine is invoked.

As you are introduced to a large diverse cast of characters, more is revealed - slowly and magically.

This is more a character study than thriller / mystery. All the best to the author.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC.

What a glorious and unique storyline. Absolutely loved it from start to finish. Thank you so much to the publisher for a copy of this book!

Really really interesting idea for a novel. I found it a bit slow but I was excited to read it and couldn’t put it down because I wanted to see who would wake up!! I will continue to put up new releases by Karen Walker Thompson.

Before the pandemic, this book would have felt super unrealistic. A disease spreading through a town where people are forced to wear masks to avoid getting it? Now that's our everyday reality! Published in 2019, a lot of the book feels weirdly prescient now. Despite the creepy vibe that comes from this foreshadowing, I absolutely loved everything about this book.

Walker describes a small, sleepy college town that is turned upside down when people begin to fall asleep and not wake up. The hospital becomes filled with 'sleeping beauties' who cannot be awakened but appear to be dreaming peacefully in a coma-like state. We get perspectives from a variety of different characters - from college students to new parents of a baby girl - all of who are affected differently by the virus. I loved the magical realism thread throughout this novel - there was enough reality (including descriptions of quarantine and mass panic) to make the unbelievable feel more possible. Walker has a beautiful way of writing (especially when she describes some of the dreams sequences). I felt like I was devouring each and every page.

There were plenty of twists and turns to keep my full attention and an ending that perfectly tied up all loose ends. I'll definitely be checking out Walker's other work and recommending this title to everyone!

The Short of It:

This book originally came out in January 2019, way before our own pandemic hit and yet, the pandemic detailed in this story could have been taken right out of the headlines of today, minus the sleeping illness, of course.

The Rest of It:

The story takes place in the fictional town of Santa Lora, California. Santa Lora is a sleepy little college town (pun intended). Many of its residents work at the local university or at the very least know someone who goes there. In the dorms one day, Mei notices that her roommate is still sleeping although morning has come and gone. Her attempts to wake her are futile. The girl will not wake.

In another part of town, people are falling asleep where they are whether that is in the middle of a jog or walking the family dog. As more and more victims are discovered, the government is called in along with several medical professionals to determine what is actually happening. Is it psychological? Is the water contaminated?

ADVERTISEMENT
REPORT THIS AD

As the story unfolds and the situation becomes more dire, Walker introduces us to the survivors as well as those who will eventually succumb to the sickness. What does it all mean? Why do some wake and others don’t and why are they different after surviving?

So much of this story resonates with me, given the pandemic that we are currently living with. The way the sickness spreads, the lack of understanding in the early days of the sickness, the conspiracy theories hinting at government control. The true winner here is the way Walker plays with dreams and memory. Some of the survivors remember vivid dreams that they had while sleeping. Some feel they are premonitions of the future, others believe they are memories from the past. What’s real anyway?

There are a lot of characters but they are all so distinct and their situations unique enough where I never felt confused over who was who or what was going on. It’s very well done. I cared enough about each of them to worry about their survival and that says a lot.

If you can tolerate a book about a pandemic, and I must say a sleeping sickness sounds a lot better than what we are dealing with now, then pick it up. Someone on FB said that when they read fiction now, they feel uncomfortable when reading about gatherings without masks and the like since they are so conditioned now to meet safely. Well, you won’t have that issue here because masks are the norm in this story.

Readers are going to compare this book to Walker's earlier "The Age of Miracles" even though they are unrelated. Both can be categorized as fantasy realism, and both are entertaining. In "The Dreamers" we have a sleeping pandemic, which, let's be real here, if the world had to have any pandemic, one where people are sleeping is not too bad. There are many characters, and the big question is, what are they dreaming about? It is a unique and fun apocalyptic story.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Could not finish. Sorry! This just wasn't for me. People love it though! I read Age of Miracles but perhaps my mood wouldn't let me get into this.

Reading this book during a pandemic was definitely an interesting experience. I will say, the authors interpretation of what would happen in society given a highly infectious virus felt pretty spot on. I was prepared for this to be more character driven than plot driven, but I still do wish we had been given more plot. After spending so long with these characters, I still didn’t feel fully attached to them. I think we will forever compare books like this to Station Eleven, and by that comparison it fell a bit short for me.