Synopsis
A comedy about the powers we acquire and relinquish when we fall asleep, and when we fall in love. It features Sarah who is narcoleptic, Terry, a disillusioned film critic for whom sleep is a memory, and for Dr Dunstan, sleep is nothing less than a global disease.

Read this book carefully - there is barely a word wasted in a clever and complex development of characters and plot. At the core of the novel are the events which occur in a student house which becomes a sleep research centre. While the lifestyle is recognisable, what happens is disturbing and thought provoking. I cared about the characters in the novel, Coe brings the reader in and involves them in the story.

RELEASE NOTES:

lolamarie USA
arturogrande UK
nell-lu UK
loribee uk (skipped)
mirp UK
catsalive Australia
rhythmbiscuit USA
heartsong2 USA

Arrived today in the mail...next on my list to read.

July 18
I finished reading this over the weekend. I particularly enjoyed the dark humor and creative plot, although sometimes the writing seemed a bit unimaginative.

Sent to arturogrande as part of a bookring. Enjoy!

Arrived safe and well - thanks very much.

-JAFFA- is right - the use of language is wonderfully done - every sentence is there for a reason and every word is crefully chosen.
The icy atmosphere of the house - both literal and figurative - is brilliantly conveyed and the menace underlying the story is built up slowly.
Without giving too much away, I guessed who Dr Madison was quite early on.
The only criticism I would have is that there were a few too many conincidences for the story to be believeable.
But on the whole, I enjoyed this book - thanks very much for sharing.

It's now on its way to nell-lu.

Arrived this morning - thanks to arturogrande for sending it to me, and to -JAFFA- for setting up the ring. I'm half-way through another bookray (Three Junes) which I'll finish tonight, so I'll start this tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it!

I loved this book! I hadn't read anything by Jonathan Coe, so I've had the pleasure of discovering a new author I like - I'll be searching out his other books now.

I liked the way the structure of the book was dreamlike in the way it flitted from one story to another via associations of images and words, and the way sections, events or themes were repeated with variations. I thought it succeeded in commenting on dreamlike states without drifting or becoming incomprehensible - the underlying structure is actually very clear and rigid, and the writing is very readable.

I enjoyed the characters and their relationships with one another, particularly as these were gradually revealed. I *love* books, plays and films with too many coincidences, so this is a plus point for me (although I can also appreciate arturogrande's point of view).

I'd like to read this book again sometime. It would be very interesting to read the earlier conversations and interactions between characters in the light of later revelations. I may have to buy myself a copy!

Thanks very much -JAFFA- for sharing and everyone else for getting the ray this far. loribee has asked to be skipped, so I'll send it straight on to mirp in Ireland. I've missed today's post, but I'll package the book up ready to go on Monday.

Received today. I have two other rings at the moment, I hope to get to this one soon.

Thanks for lovely postcard Nell-Lu. Edinburgh is one of my favorite cities.

posted yesterday 7/12/05

Book received, thanks mirp.

There are an awful lot of coincidences in the relationships between the characters bit I think that was part of the fun. I enjoyed the book but was disappointed that Gregory was still allowed to roam around at the end.

Thanks, -JAFFA-. I have rhythmbiscuit's address & will send this off ASAP.

Posted to rhythmbiscuit on 25/1/6, via surface mail.

Thanks! The book arrived today.

At first I thought this book was really bizarre. It remained bizarre, but I later enjoyed being carried along in its flow. I liked how the chapters alternated, and how the sentence at the end of one chapter would continue as the first sentence of the next. I found myself looking back at earlier conversations, events, and symbols in light of new revelations.

I will mail this book to heartsong2.

SPOILER:
I don't agree that Gregory would have been capable of roaming. And I can't figure out what Professor Cole has to do with Terry at the very end.

RELEASE NOTES:

I am mailing this book to heartsong2.

Arrived in post today! Will finish up what I'm currently working on and then get started right away. Shouldn't be too long.

Looks intriguing!

Wow what a story! The dialogue was witty and the scenes were very intricately arranged. I was amazed to see the overlapping of the characters as the story unfolded. One of the best I've read for awhile!

Ringing back to -JAFFA-, plan to mail by Wednesday at the latest, will send surface if that's ok--the book is still in very good shape for having traveled around the world for the past year!

Thank you so much for sharing with me!

Posting back home to -JAFFA- in the morning (6/17/06)! The books been traveling almost one year exactly!

RELEASE NOTES:

Arrived back last week in very good condition. Glad it was so well received. I intend to release it into the wild whilst on a cycling holiday.