It's like a spreading virus. Great read, only the ending was a bit like a candle going out for me, although I do understand the essence of it. Enjoyed it, thoughtful and written in a way that you think, this could actually happen Food for thought and interesting, definitely.
View all 20 comments. The premise? A disease is affecting a college town causing unstoppable sleep and vividly strange dreams. It all starts at a university in Southern California when a student, Kara, falls asleep and no one can rouse her, not her roommate, Mei, and not even the doctors at the hospital.
That event is then followed by another student, and then another, and then the town is sieged with pani 4 genre spanning stars! That event is then followed by another student, and then another, and then the town is sieged with panic by this unknown and perplexing illness. At first no one knows why this is happening. Are the students playing a prank? With the doctors finding no known medical cause, just what could be going on?
I personally cannot imagine how scared I would feel in that situation. At times, I was panicked and forlorn, like the townspeople and students.
Other times I was emotional over the effects of this disease on the community and individuals within it. There was palpable tension, and again, that frightfulness. Not in the horror kind of way, but in that unknown, insidious, completely out-of-your-control kind of way.
The exploration of dreams versus reality was also captivating. The Dreamers is all about the characters and their raw and authentic emotions. I was so completely transfixed I felt like I was a resident of the town, too.
I found The Dreamers a memorable, thought-provoking, insightful, and frightening page-turner. This book spans genres, including eerily tense suspense, light science fiction, and dystopian; all on a backdrop of a glorious character study. Loved it! Thank you to the publisher for the complimentary ARC. All opinions are my own. My reviews can also be found on my blog: www. View all 44 comments. Nov 21, Susanne rated it really liked it Shelves: buddy-read , netgalley. No one can wake her. She is the first of many.
Two sisters, Sara and Libby are left to fend for themselves after their father succumbs to sleep. Around town, there are armed guards, keeping the uninfected together in one place. Supermarkets are out of food and 4. Supermarkets are out of food and people are scared. The brain waves of the sick are highly unusual showing that the dreamers are in an active dream state and no one has any idea what it means. My nerves were on high alert from the very first, my detective skills working overtime trying to figure out every possible scenario.
Can you blame me? I mean, even though it sounds somewhat innocuous, this is still an illness I have no interest in catching. It is intriguing, lovely, lyrical and yes, a bit terrifying. It makes you think about the idea of community v confinement and which situation would help or hurt you most in a situation like this. This is a character driven novel: my heart lurched and my chest pounded and I felt like I was on an emotional roller coaster.
This was a buddy read with Ms. So so glad we read this one together! Published on NetGalley, Goodreads and Twitter on View all 62 comments. Feb 24, Matt rated it it was amazing Shelves: modern-lit , favorites , Karen Thompson Walker manages to write about the same kinds of themes as Perrotta, but she makes it her own by using a much more surreal writing style.
The writing style matches the title perfectly. The story follows multiple characters as they realize that there is a mysterious illness falling upon the town of Santa Lora, California. People are falling asleep and not waking up. The illness has such a large effect on the town that they have to quarantine the population to get the illness under control. The main focus is the characters and how they deal with these unfortunate and unexplained events.
The characters range from a college aged girl falling in love to a married couple struggling to make sense of the world as they try and raise their newborn daughter.
The theme of how characters handle uncertainty in the world struck me and sat with me. When bad things happen we all try to look for answers, but in the end the answers are found within ourselves and the people around us, not necessarily in the chaotic and unpredictable world we live in.
View all 22 comments. A girl named Kara. A party. She leaves, not feeling well, thinking she is coming down with something, she is so very, very tired. She makes it back to her dorm room, and falls aslee 4. She makes it back to her dorm room, and falls asleep in her clothes, her boots still on, so that when her roommate wakes up the next morning she finds her sound asleep.
Not wanting to disturb her, Mei dresses quietly and leaves the room as soundlessly as possible. When Mei returns nine hours later, Kara is still asleep in bed, and Mei calls her name, again and again, but Kara does not respond.
Not to Mei. Not to the paramedics who come. The sirens. The bumps along the road. The doctors trying to wake her. She sleeps through it all. This sickness moves through the dorm, and then spreads beyond the campus - slowly at first, insidiously. From an elderly man to the young, people begin to fall victim to this unnatural sleep, the hospital begins to fill up with people, alive but sleeping, dreaming unusually vivid dreams, the kind that would feel all too real — if only they would awaken.
Walker dips into the theories of Freud, Jung and others now and then in the ponderings and theories of the unfamiliar, unnatural dream state these people have entered into, which is shown by their unusual brain activity. At the same time she brings us into this world, the tenuous nature of this delicate, almost ethereal place these people find themselves in, the sleeping and those who are surrounded by the confines created by those sleeping.
How this virus is spread, the response of those who are supposed to help and protect, the question of an allegiance to those we know and love vs. Beautifully creative and subtly unsettling story of a community faced with a devastating threat, shared through gorgeous prose, and a story that keeps you turning pages through some unexpected twists, all the while loving every minute.
View all 77 comments. It starts at the local college where a young girl cannot be woken. After that it spreads daily, until the entire town is quarantined. Not enough doctors, nurses, patients are taken to different places after the hospital fills up. Patients, parents, those who are trying to help, all fearful they will be next. What is causing this? No medical professional has any idea, no cure.
All they know is that the sleepers are dreaming. Right book at the right ti 3. Right book at the right time, was in the mood for something a little different, and I was pulled into this story. Many characters, but the novel actually folows, I believe five different family units. The panic realistically portrayed, as was their desperation. Food running out, dogs starving in the streets as their owners sucuumb.
Some dream of past events, some of the future, and some maybe from another life. The ending I felt a little abrupt, but I was okay with that.
View all 17 comments. Dec 24, JanB rated it it was amazing Shelves: netgalley , buddy-read-with-marialyce. The premise is not a new one but the story Thompson writes is unique and compelling. What makes this book different is the thoughtful nature of the writing, the dreamy quality, and the brilliant turns of phrases. A sleeping sickness strikes a quiet, fictional college town in Californi 4. A sleeping sickness strikes a quiet, fictional college town in California.
It begins in a college dorm and initial attempts to contain the illness fail. The disease is determined to be airborne, and the entire town is quarantined. The different ways the residents deal with such a threat makes for riveting reading. Their brains are in a deep REM sleep stage. Some characters are more fully developed than others and I found myself caring deeply about what happened to them. Eventually, some dreamers wake up and struggle with assimilating back into their regular lives.
The past, present, and future are fluid and they and we are left pondering reality and the nature of time. Is there a thin line between dreams and reality? Is there fluidity of time: past, present and future?
Are there alternate realities that exist out there in time and space? The illness itself is not the focus of the novel and few answers are provided, which worked for me but may not for some readers. Some threads are left dangling.
Even now, a couple days after finishing, I find myself thinking about it. I appreciated not being spoon fed by the author but allowing her readers to ponder the issues. This would make an excellent book club choice. Highly recommended for fans of character-driven novels who are looking for something different and who do not require their endings to be neat and tidy. View all 73 comments. A beautifully written, spellbinding story! Santa Lora is a small college-town community. A quiet town where not much happens, until a sleeping epidemic starts.
Beginning within the college dormitory, students begin to fall into a deep sleep, leaving them in a semi-conscious state, unable to be woken. Doctors have never encountered this disease. Panic spreads, as does this disease - areas are isolated, quarantines set up, make-shift hospital areas created, emergency help is sent. How do 4. How does this disease spread? Who will it affect? Where did it come from? Is there a cure? This type of story would not generally be something I would read.
I have a hard time suspending disbelief so I need to have realistic storylines and characters. After reading several raving reviews of this novel, I just had to give it a try. Am I ever glad I did! The writing is exquisitely unique and mesmerizing. I fell into the trance of the story within the first few pages and was completely consumed by the narrative. I had an immediate connection to the story as a whole, my curiosity piqued and hungry to get to the resolution.
Never once did I struggle with disbelief of what was happening — I was completely engaged and hopeful. Told through multiple characters perspectives, the story unfolded brilliantly. I was engaged with each character, however, my sole focus was on the big picture of how the community reacted and managed this obscure disease.
This was my first novel by the author, Karen Thompson Walker. I look forward to reading more from her! This novel will stay on my mind for some time. This was a Traveling Sister read that we all enjoyed experiencing together! Thank you to my lovely local library for the loan of this fantastic book! View all 26 comments. Sep 01, Ova - Excuse My Reading rated it it was amazing Shelves: sci-fi , netgalley , contemporary , netgalley. Now there's a guarantee I am giving to you: If you liked Station Eleven you will love this book.
I have never heard of Karen Thompson Walker before, but felt intrigued by the book description on NetGalley. I am so glad I have read this book. It is one of the fabulous finds, a book you pick by instinct and left you amazed. I can summarise this as a borderline science fiction character drama- just like Station Eleven it swirls around lives of a bunch of people after a catastrophe- although in this Now there's a guarantee I am giving to you: If you liked Station Eleven you will love this book.
I can summarise this as a borderline science fiction character drama- just like Station Eleven it swirls around lives of a bunch of people after a catastrophe- although in this book it's not a world-wide event, but a small town disaster, Walker masterfully delivering the intense feel of a lock down. There is sadness in this book but it's not cringe, beautiful as if a form of art. Set in fictional university town Santa Lora in California, the book starts when some college girls fall asleep and fail to wake up.
They dream. But no one knows what's causing this. Story moves between different point of views, Sara and Libby with their paranoid dad, a young married couple, Ben and Annie with their new born baby girl Grace, two castaway college students, Mei and Matthew, and a man named Nathaniel. I found almost all character's point of views really enjoyable and loved the way the story was delivered.
The last chapter is one to remember. I personally think the situation of a virus spread was handled excellently- no exaggeration, o unnecessary drama, as if a dish with all proper ingredients and a spot on pinch of spices. If you like psychological books with touch of sci-fi I will highly recommend.
View all 21 comments. Another winner for Karen Thompson Walker! Thought I was reading Stephen King there for a bit. This time it begins at a college with a young girl who doesn't feel well, thinks she might have the flu, and is so tired sh Another winner for Karen Thompson Walker!
What is imaginary? View all 25 comments. Jan 06, Esil rated it really liked it Shelves: netgalley. I stepped right out of my comfort zone with The Dreamers. I usually stay miles away from anything that has a sci-fi or surreal feel. But I read so many positive reviews of The Dreamers that I became curious. And I must confess that I had requested an advance copy without realizing what it was about.
So I dipped my toe in the first few pages and got hooked. In fact, I loved it. The premise is simple. A small isolated university town in California is hit with a sleeping disease. It starts with a f I stepped right out of my comfort zone with The Dreamers.
It starts with a few students and then spreads to many people in the town. The story is told in a somewhat dreamy tone, shifting between different characters whose lives intersect in various ways as they are caught up in the effects of this mysterious illness.
The fabulous writing and the depiction of the characters and their various reactions are what had me glued to this book. It made for an intense reading experience — leaving me with lots of food for thought. Again, the writing was just phenomenal. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy. Jan 30, Elyse Walters rated it it was amazing. Enter la-la land This was a fascinating-eerie story. Mysterious right from the beginning. Head-scratching puzzle of a novel We keep hearing how important sleep is- that lack of sleep is the cause for many health issues.
Perhaps this college town with hundreds sleeping are revitalizing their minds and body. Too many college exams and late night parties are a health hazard. I had a little fun with this novel - my own cuckoo mind was captured by the dreamy-atmosphere.
As the character Enter la-la land As the characters fell into dreamland I thought about walk-out strikes from jobs- Then chuckled at the thought of a town going on strike from being awake. Why not? It was dystopia without horror. The stories - characters - prose - were all compelling!!!
Great exploration of the unconscious - awake or asleep Mystery land of dreamland.. We wonder Do we dream of our past? Our future?
Kudos to the author - Very creative novel of the unknown world. Jul 31, Tammy rated it really liked it. This is the sophomore effort from Walker and is broader in scope than her first novel, The Age of Miracles.
A sleeping sickness sweeps across a college dorm and spreads beyond the confines of the campus. Many people, at different stages of life, fall asleep and dream. This is an unnatural sleep and brain activity indicates that these are unnatural dreams. This reads very much like a Young Adult novel and presents questions about the dream state vs. The variety of characters and their disparate reactions to the sickness is what makes this more than simply a speculative illness novel.
View all 24 comments. Mar 06, Tooter rated it it was amazing. I fully expected not to love this book as it's not my choice of genre. But I found myself really looking forward to reading each night as it was very well written and riveting. Highly recommend, even if it's not a genre that you normally read. Jan 09, Felice Laverne rated it it was amazing Shelves: netgalley , magical-realism , full-review , lit-fic , dystopian , read The eyelids flutter. The breathing is irregular.
The muscle tone is visibly slack. With each new patient…these signs that the sleepers might be dreaming. The sickness sweeping the town took on a life of its own—the true antagonist in t The eyelids flutter.
The sickness sweeping the town took on a life of its own—the true antagonist in this novel. It left behind an eerie quiet upon this Southern California town, which Walker punctuated beautifully— disconcertingly: an explosion here, a dog still on its leash wandering the silent neighborhood there, a man sleepwalking in the middle of the road who may or may not meet his end with a vehicle.
Mei is a freshman in college when the sleeping sickness chokes the small town she lives in. It starts in her dorm, on her floor, with the pretty, lip gloss smacking girls and popular boys falling prey to sleep one by one. I thoroughly enjoyed The Dreamers. It is a thoughtful read featuring a cast of odd-balls. I will say that I wish the book had gone further, pushed the bounds just a tad more.
That is both a compliment and a critique simultaneously, the former in that I wanted to read more about these characters, and the latter in that I wish Walker had explored this avenue she started to veer on toward the end: an avenue lined in nightmares and premonitions. I wonder where this path could have led us, what wondrous views we could have seen from that perch. Alas, Walker took us to the edge of that cliff—far enough so that we could see what could be—but never pushed us into the arms of what was below.
Some would praise her for such restraint, while others would yearn to place their feet upon that path less taken. I, myself, am on the fence, one foot hanging midair of what could have been, the other solidly placed in the reality of what the novel offered. The Dreamers moved me. I thought about this book when I was away from it and turned the pages swiftly, hungrily, when I was in its company.
I recommend this novel to lovers of fiction writing, particularly dystopian fiction or narratives featuring altered realities and small towns in a panic.
Walker by N. Hot Sense of Place by N. Hot Clarity of Lines by N. Hot Threes Company by N. Dirty Secrets by Karen Rose.
Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell. Invisible by Paul Auster. Habibi by Craig Thompson. And before school even begins for Ellery, someone's declared open season on homecoming, promising to make it as dangerous as it was five years ago. Then, almost as if to prove it, another girl goes missing. Ellery knows all about secrets. Her mother has them; her grandmother does too. And the longer she's in Echo Ridge, the clearer it becomes that everyone there is hiding something.
The thing is, secrets are dangerous--and most people aren't good at keeping them. Which is why in Echo Ridge, it's safest to keep your secrets to yourself. Read more. Into every generation a Slayer is born… Nina and her twin sister, Artemis, are far from normal. Here teens are trained as guides for Slayers—girls gifted with supernatural strength to fight the forces of darkness. Instead she follows her instincts to heal, carving out a place for herself as the school medic.
This is the story of a very serious young girl who would rather study and dream than become a respectable housewife and live up to the expectations of the world around her. As well she should.
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