Gaps in Paul’s general understanding of what’s going on, as he tries to navigate a Vancouver made monstrous by an other-worldly insomnia plague, are fine with me. That’s the premise of Adrian Barnes’ debut novel Nod: A world in which suddenly nobody sleeps anymore. A few people, perhaps one in ten thousand, can still sleep, and they’ve all shared the same mysterious dream.

I don't usually quote from the books I'm reviewing but in this case it's necessary, "Charles loved big words, loved forcing them into his sentences no matter how much they squealed. It is our intent and purpose to foster and encourage in-depth discussion about all things related to books, authors, genres, or publishing in a safe, supportive environment. Taking a post-millennial jab at the zombie apocalypse trope, Adrian Barnes first novel ‘Nod’ pitches us into a world of the terminally sleep-deprived.As it starts out you could be mistaken for believing you're going to get a high octane end-of-the-world novel with zombie analogues. As Paul is one of the Sleepers, he takes great pains to keep it hidden from others, but gets noticed by a bunch of people who think of his as almost like a god who, as every author would like, hang on his every word, even want to understand one of his manuscripts as the work of a prophet. It was stupid, the story went absolutely NOWHERE, so I was left feeling not only annoyed and offended, but like the entire thing was a waste of time and the paper it was printed on. I persevered, hoping for some explanation of the whole sleep thing that forms the setup of the novel, or of what exactly the golden towers seen by the Sleepers are. A sort of dystopia where the end of the world comes about because almost everyone simultaneously stops being able to sleep.

A few people, perhaps one in ten thousand, can still sleep, and they’ve all shared the same golden dream. He draws a number of parallels between what has happened to him during his treatment and the issues addressed in the book. If you're looking for help with a personal book recommendation, consult our Weekly Recommendation Thread, Suggested Reading page, or ask in r/suggestmeabook. And let me tell you that just a great concept and nothing more than that can have me going for a ten minutes rant without catching my breath. Un saggio sulle parole, la loro origine e il mito di Nod (terra di sogno/incubo che biblicamente diede riparo a Caino) che diventa la nuova Regola per una parte dei sempre svegli (awakened) risvegliati (awakened) dalle predicazioni del folle.Sadly for me, there was far too little "normal" in this novel, it was mostly freak show and I wasn't so much swept away as I was pushed out the boat. Vancouver is the place for Paul to try and think his way out of the problems he faces after the event has occurred. My favorite book is Alice in Wonderland, a story children have always loved—they feel like Alice themselves. Women when they can't sleep turn into disgusting sluts, men turn into megalomaniac, homicidal nutjobs. Maybe if some attempt had been made to flesh her out before her pointless death-- aside from the offhand mention that her uncle had abused her as a child, which is brought up exactly once and promptly forgotten-- then maybe I would have cared for her as a character.