rhiannon_ling_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
michelle1113's review against another edition
3.0
One of the strangest and most beautiful books I've ever read. The lyrical prose draws you into a fantastical dream world populated with magical, unusual characters.
historian's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
cleaper's review against another edition
3.0
Good book to read when you are reading something else at the same time. The prose is beautiful. Sarah Shun-lien Bynum truly has a gift with words.
curiouslibrarian's review against another edition
Put it down at some point, and I really don't think I'm going to pick it up again.
ericgaryanderson's review against another edition
This is an . . . immersive novel. As the title says, Madeleine is sleeping. And dreaming. But the waking world, or what might or might not be the waking world, pokes its head in now and then. Bynum blurs the lines so deeply and well that she even surrounds Madeleine with various characters whose names are similar. So it's easy to lose your way, and I think that's probably part of the point. I read this because I LOVE her story "The Bears" (in Best American Short Stories of 2016) for the ways she reworks a fairy tale in really evocative, unsettling ways. The novel is evocative too, but I felt more lost in it than I did reading the short story, and sometime very lost indeed, for what that's worth. This is not a novel that easily cooperates with a 5-star rating scale, so I'll just comment in words here without imposing a rating.
ksd1441's review against another edition
3.0
The synopsis for this novel is a bit misleading; however, I did not initially pick this up because of the summary. The format was what attracted me. Back in a writing class during my undergrad, we exclusively read books like these as assignments. Books written in poetic prose, stories written in what appear to be chunks of a whole. My professor called them "town" books, as if the book is writing about everybody in one specific place, if not at the same time or same place. This is a "Town" book.
This book certainly has a magical feel. The dream-like state of the entire story may not flow well for some readers, but I would encourage interested readers to stick with it. The writing is beautiful and poetic, if not a touch strange (and I love the bizarre in fiction. I seek it). I got my dose of the bizarre, and I am satisfied.
Some people would argue that this book does not have a meaning. I have two things to say to that. One, books don't always need a meaning or a message to come away with. Sometimes, they're just stories to share, and it still makes them wonderful. Two, I would say there is a meaning in this book, if not a bit vague. What I took away from Madeleine and her "dreams" is how one should grow to accept oneself for the differences he or she has; learn to love what you're given, and see how it makes you great. See the beauty in others for the differences they have, instead of trying to change it or capture it for seclusion. The "love triangle" of Madeleine, Monsieur Pujol, and Adrien the photographer play this out excellently. They only suffer in their differences while they dwell on them. When they look past them to the humans beneath, they actually find happiness and love.
For those of you looking for something unique, beautiful, and definitely strange, pick up Madeleine is Sleeping.
This book certainly has a magical feel. The dream-like state of the entire story may not flow well for some readers, but I would encourage interested readers to stick with it. The writing is beautiful and poetic, if not a touch strange (and I love the bizarre in fiction. I seek it). I got my dose of the bizarre, and I am satisfied.
Some people would argue that this book does not have a meaning. I have two things to say to that. One, books don't always need a meaning or a message to come away with. Sometimes, they're just stories to share, and it still makes them wonderful. Two, I would say there is a meaning in this book, if not a bit vague. What I took away from Madeleine and her "dreams" is how one should grow to accept oneself for the differences he or she has; learn to love what you're given, and see how it makes you great. See the beauty in others for the differences they have, instead of trying to change it or capture it for seclusion. The "love triangle" of Madeleine, Monsieur Pujol, and Adrien the photographer play this out excellently. They only suffer in their differences while they dwell on them. When they look past them to the humans beneath, they actually find happiness and love.
For those of you looking for something unique, beautiful, and definitely strange, pick up Madeleine is Sleeping.