aparker89's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Obelé just wants to fit in, have a happy home and find her missing brother. Instead, she has a chaotic home, finds out her brother is dead (not a spoiler) and that she can NEVER feel like she belongs. Follow her journey in war torn 1960's Nigeria from her brother's tragic disappearance to discovering why she doesn't fit in and meets all the ghosts along the way.
I really enjoyed reading about Nigeria, learning about their local lore and discovering how religions twists and turns to allow for it. This spooky story plays at a coming of age story with ghosts and terrors both supernatural and entirely too human!
I really enjoyed reading about Nigeria, learning about their local lore and discovering how religions twists and turns to allow for it. This spooky story plays at a coming of age story with ghosts and terrors both supernatural and entirely too human!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Classism, Gaslighting, War, Ableism, Violence, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Slavery
Moderate: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Body horror, Sexual violence, Colonisation, and Miscarriage
raforall's review against another edition
4.0
Full review on RA for All: Horror
http://raforallhorror.blogspot.com/2016/10/31-days-of-horror-day-26-review-of.html
http://raforallhorror.blogspot.com/2016/10/31-days-of-horror-day-26-review-of.html
ipelengreads's review against another edition
3.0
God this world! The unbearable and torturing nature of the book makes it very engaging. We root for Obelé throughout the whole story. The mythology is great and I’m certainly jealous that I’m not apart of Mammi River’s world. Kene’s beginning is ultimately a very saddening one but his conclusion is so sweet. I’m glad he finally got his persent
kpkulski's review against another edition
5.0
Everything about this book is amazing. Terrifying, startling with a historical backdrop, the use of lore and witchcraft, oh my goodness, fantastic. I couldn't put this down. Everyone who loves horror should read this.
becsa's review against another edition
3.0
When Kene is taken into the forest by his father and sacrificed the rest of his family has just thought that the child has disappeared. But his sister Obele hears "Mother Voice" and begins to put the pieces together for what happened to him. But Obele is viewed by her mother and father has part Demon with these voices and is continually beat because of it.
Obele must protect herself from the evil around her and relies on Mother Voice to keep her safe. Yet Mother Voice also leads her to meet "others" who help protect her. When the war comes and their family is forced to move will Obele's mom lead her into more danger proclaiming she is a demon?
I enjoyed this book and have never read a book considered African Horror before. At certain times during the book I felt as though I was losing a bit of interest and had to refocus as some parts seemed a bit tedious.
Emotionally I found the book so depressing with what Kene and Obele had to go through. Obele endured so many beatings and degradation that my heart continually broke for her and I was shocked at what her parents put her through. The ending for me was so disappointing as that was really not the way I wanted to see it end.
I did enjoy the look at the mystery behind someone who is deemed a demon and how Brother Emmanuel tried to get the demon out of her. Again it was her mom who didn't protect her but it is the unknown that we fear the most.
Obele must protect herself from the evil around her and relies on Mother Voice to keep her safe. Yet Mother Voice also leads her to meet "others" who help protect her. When the war comes and their family is forced to move will Obele's mom lead her into more danger proclaiming she is a demon?
I enjoyed this book and have never read a book considered African Horror before. At certain times during the book I felt as though I was losing a bit of interest and had to refocus as some parts seemed a bit tedious.
Emotionally I found the book so depressing with what Kene and Obele had to go through. Obele endured so many beatings and degradation that my heart continually broke for her and I was shocked at what her parents put her through. The ending for me was so disappointing as that was really not the way I wanted to see it end.
I did enjoy the look at the mystery behind someone who is deemed a demon and how Brother Emmanuel tried to get the demon out of her. Again it was her mom who didn't protect her but it is the unknown that we fear the most.
ephemerawoman's review against another edition
5.0
I'm so pleased to say that the excitement Onoh generates as a short story writer is replicated here in her first novel. Engaging, pacey & not afraid to deal with some difficult subject matter, The Sleepless is a superb novel with an assured voice.
Using the Biafran war as a backdrop, Onoh blends supernatural and real world horrors in a masterful fashion.
This is a novel that deserves the widest possible audience and I hope it's the first of very many. An essential read in 2016.
Using the Biafran war as a backdrop, Onoh blends supernatural and real world horrors in a masterful fashion.
This is a novel that deserves the widest possible audience and I hope it's the first of very many. An essential read in 2016.
writeramyshannon's review against another edition
4.0
Terrifyingly Scary!
This book is considered African Horror. I wasn't sure what that meant when I agreed to read this book. It is definitely a scary, edge-of-your-seat kind of book. I read a lot of books that are about different cultures, but this is my first African cultural book. I will continue to read more, especially by this author. I'm not afraid of terror or horror, and this book certainly delivers. A restless and sleepless spirit of a tormented boy. His little sister who is cursed. Very terrifying indeed.
This book is considered African Horror. I wasn't sure what that meant when I agreed to read this book. It is definitely a scary, edge-of-your-seat kind of book. I read a lot of books that are about different cultures, but this is my first African cultural book. I will continue to read more, especially by this author. I'm not afraid of terror or horror, and this book certainly delivers. A restless and sleepless spirit of a tormented boy. His little sister who is cursed. Very terrifying indeed.
novelbloglover's review against another edition
4.0
Book Review
Title: The Sleepless
Author: Nuzo Onoh
Genre: Paranormal/Drama/Fantasy
Rating: ****
Review: I personally have never read African Horror so this is a completely new genre to me and was a very interesting experience. I loved the opening page it was so creepy and menacing and hinting at so many dark things to come and for fans of horror like myself it is exactly what we want to see. It complete sucked my into the writing and flying through page after page.
Overall the first chapter was absolutely captivating, there’s a ritualistic sacrifice of a child written the some horrific details and I just loved it. African Horror seems like my kind of reading and I will definitely be reading more by this author and this genre.
I was not keen on the fact that the father in this family is abused towards his youngest daughter and his wife and there is also a slight implication he sexually abused his older daughter – these are themes I don’t personally like – incest and abuse and he’s not afraid the take a birch whip to anyone who angers him or crosses him in a fowl mood.
Obele has a sort of psychic gift, she calls it Mother Voice and it has told her what has happened to her brother, she also sees Kene’s spirit as if he is reaching out to her. When she tells her parents as you can guess all it earns her is a whipping, but the look on her father’s face was priceless.
My favourite thing about this novel is it teaches you so much about the African traditions, superstitions and rituals which teaches you so much about the background of the novel without taking away anything from the novel itself, in fact it adds to it which is very rare in the literary world.
I also enjoyed the fact The Sleepless isn’t just the title of the novel they are actually characters in the book, but naming them would be a major spoiler so I’m not going to.
Another thing about this novel that really impressed me was religion plays a key role but does so without being boring or pretentious. I loved the twists and turns in almost every chapter constantly pushing and pulling you in a million different directions and guessing at what or who is coming for you next.
We see a lot of varied opinions of the aspect of religion and good and evil. I also liked the war within Obele as to whether Mother Voice is a demon or The Virgin Mary.
I absolutely loved how Onoh details the horrors of war and the how realistic the novel is even with its strong paranormal/fantasy elements. The ending was amazing and made for an amazing conclusion to a gripping horror novel, that I will definitely be recommending it to all my blogger friends.
Title: The Sleepless
Author: Nuzo Onoh
Genre: Paranormal/Drama/Fantasy
Rating: ****
Review: I personally have never read African Horror so this is a completely new genre to me and was a very interesting experience. I loved the opening page it was so creepy and menacing and hinting at so many dark things to come and for fans of horror like myself it is exactly what we want to see. It complete sucked my into the writing and flying through page after page.
Overall the first chapter was absolutely captivating, there’s a ritualistic sacrifice of a child written the some horrific details and I just loved it. African Horror seems like my kind of reading and I will definitely be reading more by this author and this genre.
I was not keen on the fact that the father in this family is abused towards his youngest daughter and his wife and there is also a slight implication he sexually abused his older daughter – these are themes I don’t personally like – incest and abuse and he’s not afraid the take a birch whip to anyone who angers him or crosses him in a fowl mood.
Obele has a sort of psychic gift, she calls it Mother Voice and it has told her what has happened to her brother, she also sees Kene’s spirit as if he is reaching out to her. When she tells her parents as you can guess all it earns her is a whipping, but the look on her father’s face was priceless.
My favourite thing about this novel is it teaches you so much about the African traditions, superstitions and rituals which teaches you so much about the background of the novel without taking away anything from the novel itself, in fact it adds to it which is very rare in the literary world.
I also enjoyed the fact The Sleepless isn’t just the title of the novel they are actually characters in the book, but naming them would be a major spoiler so I’m not going to.
Another thing about this novel that really impressed me was religion plays a key role but does so without being boring or pretentious. I loved the twists and turns in almost every chapter constantly pushing and pulling you in a million different directions and guessing at what or who is coming for you next.
We see a lot of varied opinions of the aspect of religion and good and evil. I also liked the war within Obele as to whether Mother Voice is a demon or The Virgin Mary.
I absolutely loved how Onoh details the horrors of war and the how realistic the novel is even with its strong paranormal/fantasy elements. The ending was amazing and made for an amazing conclusion to a gripping horror novel, that I will definitely be recommending it to all my blogger friends.
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