Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker Narrator: Cassandra Campbell
Published by Penguin Audio on January 15, 2019
Genres: Science Fiction
Length: 10 hours, 30 minutes
Format: Audiobook
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In an isolated college town in the hills of Southern California, a freshman girl stumbles into her dorm room, falls asleep—and doesn’t wake up. She sleeps through the morning, into the evening. Her roommate, Mei, cannot rouse her. Neither can the paramedics who carry her away, nor the perplexed doctors at the hospital. Then a second girl falls asleep, and then another, and panic takes hold of the college and spreads to the town. As the number of cases multiplies, classes are canceled, and stores begin to run out of supplies. A quarantine is established. The National Guard is summoned. Mei, an outsider in the cliquish hierarchy of dorm life, finds herself thrust together with an eccentric, idealistic classmate. Two visiting professors try to protect their newborn baby as the once-quiet streets descend into chaos. A father succumbs to the illness, leaving his daughters to fend for themselves. And at the hospital, a new life grows within a college girl, unbeknownst to her—even as she sleeps. A psychiatrist, summoned from Los Angeles, attempts to make sense of the illness as it spreads through the town. Those infected are displaying unusual levels of brain activity, more than has ever been recorded. They are dreaming heightened dreams—but of what? Written in gorgeous prose, The Dreamers is a breathtaking novel that startles and provokes, about the possibilities contained within a human life—in our waking days and, perhaps even more, in our dreams.
I like science fiction and books with some sort of disease or virus fascinate me. The medical efforts and diagnosis process capture my attention. The Dreamers is a totally different focus.
There are a variety of different primary characters developed with insight as to their thoughts and ideas. Throughout the crisis, we are privy to their stream of consciousness containing their feelings about many things. There is a subtle thread of various quasi-political or even cultural attitudes in many characters. One is a prepper of sorts; another is an idealist against big business of his family background. There is a man who is a new father of only a couple weeks. It all begins with a bunch of new college students.
The illness has the affected asleep with life-like dreams, from the past or the future, who knows? The dreams are unsettling. There is also fear and prejudice from those not ill and a scramble for supplies as they are quarantined. There are parents who want to get in to care for their children attending the college. There are children who want to help their parents. The National Guard is part of the force keeping them from leaving town.
I read with interest about these people and their experiences and feelings. While I wanted to know what happened to them each, I wasn’t really very emotionally involved. I didn’t feel any urgency. I would have preferred a bit more of the science or medical aspects. I never got the feeling anyone was doing anything which would change or improve the situation. Of course, the medical personnel were sustaining the lives of those asleep.
Narration:
There is very little dialogue in this book, only occasional conversations related. Most is the story being told in a comfortable tone, so I could listen at 1.5x speed. There are somewhat distinct voices used for the primary males and females, but it felt like everything was within a neutral range, probably because their stream of thoughts, no matter the character, was all in the narrator’s pleasant voice.
Listen to a clip:
About Karen Thompson Walker
Karen Thompson Walker is the author of the New York Times bestselling novel The Age of Miracles, which has been translated into twenty-seven languages and named one of the best books of the year by Amazon, People, O: The Oprah Magazine, and Financial Times, among others. Born and raised in San Diego, Walker is a graduate of UCLA and the Columbia MFA program. She lives with her husband, the novelist Casey Walker, and their two daughters in Portland. She is an assistant professor of creative writing at the University of Oregon. Her second novel, The Dreamers, will be published in January 2019.
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I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2019 Audiobooks
- 2019 Releases
- COYER WINTER
Thanks for sharing your review. I’m still on the fence about this one. The idea of it is fascinating but it doesn’t “feel” like what I would be wanting from it. I’ll think on it some more:)
Not everything is for everyone. This was very well written and the narration was great. The story just wasn’t exciting to me. And maybe it is meant to be more thought-provoking than exciting.
Thanks for your review, Anne! This one is in my queue.
I”ll be very interested to get your impressions.
I confess that it’s the first time I hear about this one but it looks good!
Every so often I try something completely new which I just see.
I’ve been seeing some buzz about this book but your is the first review I’ve seen. I’m so intrigued by the premise and it definitely doesn’t sound like anything I’ve read before. It does seem odd that there’s not more of a sense of urgency around what’s happening but I’m interested in giving this one a try.
I may not be explaining it well. It’s more like a women’s fiction?, more character studies? than a mystery / action plot? Most of the people are isolated, in quarantine, so we don’t know very much about treatment efforts. Lots of things are shut down, so they don’t have to go to jobs or routine activities. The action is when someone falls asleep.
Wonderful review, Anne. For me this one was super character centered. I was a invested because I kept imagining if something like that could really happen. I felt nervous through much of the book, and like you, I though it was well-written.
Thank you. It was very character centered which did keep me invested as well. At the end, I just didn’t feel like it went anywhere like other books might. It was a different style than I expected but a good book.
I like a sense of urgency, and like you would enjoy medical tidbits and deets.
It was more a study of people than I normally expect in scifi, not as much science. Still a very well done story.
Oh wow – this sounds creepy in a good way! Does it have a “happy” ending? I find darker sci-fi that ends ambiguous is tough for me. Thanks!
It’s more like life. Some good, some bad, life goes on. It is a virus and with the quarantine eventually there are no new cases. So while there is some closure, it felt more open ended to me.
Sounds really interesting, though I’m not sure if I would enjoy without a lot of dialogue. I’ve had issues with books without a lot of dialogue. Great review.
Melanie @ Hot Listens & Books of My Heart
Thanks. It is an unusual review because it is not the typical book for its genre. It’s very well-written just not ordinary.