Rest and Be Thankful

Laura is on the brink of burn-out. She’s a paediatric nurse working long and unsociable hours, and her domestic life has turned sour. Then she starts to experience sinister hallucinations.

Feverish, with little respite, this novella hits hard.

Glass’s writing is lyrical and visceral. She effectively puts the reader into the head of the protagonist. Her personal experience as a nurse is evident in this vivid portrait of life (and death) on a children's unit.

Tragic and deeply moving.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher, Bloomsbury Books, for the ARC.

4.5 rounded down

Rest and Be Thankful has a similar vibe to Glass's 2018 debut Peach - visceral, dark, poetic and experimental - but I'd venture that it's more accessible and hopeful than its predecessor, while still maintaining that slightly unnerving edge that worked so well in Peach and sets Glass's writing apart.

The protagonist, Laura, is a nurse in a paediatric unit. Laura is permanently exhausted, unhappy in her relationship and has dark, vivid dreams (when she does finally get some sleep). We follow her in her job on the ward where she is confronted daily by the impermanence and fragility of life in the children she looks after; in her dreams where she gets no respite from reality and in her short hours awake at home with her unpleasant boyfriend.

Glass says a hell of a lot in few pages, and her writing is something special - this made for utterly compelling reading and I can't wait for her next offering.

4.5 stars - What the hell did I just read. This was both the weirdest book I ever read while being the most relatable book I have ever read. Glass painted such a eerie tale in so few pages. I think the discussion behind depression and burnout was particularly interesting. I was afraid for Laura (a tired, pediatric nurse) while at the same time being afraid of her. Glass' writing is exactly what I love: descriptive, lyrical and odd. The entire reading experience put me on edge and I had no idea what was happening the entire time because Glass depicted Laura's feelings so well, that I felt like I was Laura. The ending of the novel made me want to throw my iPad across the room; she was able to evict this emotion from me. I really appreciated what Glass did and definitely want to read her previous novel now.