(An Audio version of this will appear on the August Book Review Podcast – Reading in Bed which can be found on all of the usual networks including readinginbed.bandcamp.com)
Blurb:
Evie
and Stevie share everything: a bed, their dingy flat above the kebab
shop, Evie’s loving and normal parents Linda and Dave. But when
Linda dies and Evie starts suffering from seizures, Evie and Stevie
pull apart into separate, isolated worlds. Evie’s world looks like
a farm: a black barn, a cold house where it is always snowing.
Stevie’s world is full of problems she’s avoided and places she
doesn’t want to return to. Yet she must if she is going to get to
Evie and find a place where they can be together again.
Divided
into two complementary narratives, The Things We Left Sleeping by
Kathryn Lund is about the journeys we make through grief and illness
to get back to life.
Strengths / Weaknesses:
Doing reviews on this blog (which also appear on GoodReads) and also a audio version for the book review Podcast Reading in Bed, it cannot be said I never sit still reading and reviewing books as I certainly don’t, but this book was a real surprise.
As the blurb correctly states, the book is split into two compleementary narratives between the two characters after Evie starts suffering seizures after the death of her mother and Stevie also has her own issues to deal with shall we say, what I wasn’t expecting for a good chunk of the narrative to be Evie story to be told on the left side of the book and Stevie on the right handed side of the book, so you were constantly getting bombarded from two different angles then ontop of that there was blocks of text and certainly on Evie’s side of the book sketches, scribbles and.. well, I won’t give tons away as in the terms of spoilers.
Does it work? Yes, it is does but it does take a bit of getting used to. I will be reviewing this book for my Book Review Podcast ‘Reading in Bed’ with my wife, Amanda in August 2022 and she hasn’t read the book yet (We were passed a copy to read together) and will very interested to see what she thinks of this very unusual book.
On the book itself, I have to be honest there are parts of the book where it becomes more like an art statement than the actual narrative of the book and while I did enjoy and frequently surprised by the tricks the author produces, I was convinced on several occasions whether it was simply a bit too much and wouldn’t appeal to some members of the public who make flick through this in a bookshop and / or online and may think simply what the frig.
I know for example what my father and brother would have both said about this as a load of arty nonsense, but like I said I did enjoy it. and thought it moved along at a fairly easy to read pace somehow despite the fact it was over 400 pages.
The use of the farm was quite interesting for Evie and there is a bit of reputation on some of Evie’s experiences in the farm which I felt worked as it showed how the journey of her mental health was going and I also enjoyed Stevie’s relationship with Evie’s Dad and also admired her strength trying to find Evie and get through to her.
On the whole, this was a difficult book but not unrewarding if you are prepared to show it a different kind of love than you would for some books you may have on either your book case or your tablet / kindle whatever but I did enjoy it.
8/10
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