The Sleepwalker
A Novel
Book - 2017
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Guest Room comes a spine-tingling novel of lies, loss and buried desire--the mesmerizing story of a wife and mother who vanishes from her bed late one night.
When Annalee Ahlberg goes missing her children fear the worst. Annalee is a sleepwalker whose affliction manifests in ways both bizarre and devastating. Once, she merely destroyed the hydrangeas in front of her Vermont home. More terrifying was the night her older daughter, Lianna, pulled her back from the precipice of the Gale River bridge. The morning of Annalee's disappearance, a search party combs the nearby woods. Annalee's husband, Warren, flies home from a business trip. Lianna is questioned by a young, hazel-eyed detective. And her little sister, Paige, takes to swimming the Gale to look for clues. When the police discover a small swatch of fabric, a nightshirt, ripped and hanging from a tree branch, it seems certain Annalee is dead, but Gavin Rikert, the hazel-eyed detective, continues to call, continues to stop by the Ahlbergs' Victorian home. As Lianna peels back the layers of mystery surrounding Annalee's disappearance, she finds herself drawn to Gavin, but she must ask herself: Why does the detective know so much about her mother? Why did Annalee only leave her bed when her father was away? And if she really died while sleepwalking, where is the body? Conjuring the strange and mysterious world of parasomnia, a place somewhere between dreaming and wakefulness, The Sleepwalker is a masterful novel from one of our most treasured storytellers.
When Annalee Ahlberg goes missing her children fear the worst. Annalee is a sleepwalker whose affliction manifests in ways both bizarre and devastating. Once, she merely destroyed the hydrangeas in front of her Vermont home. More terrifying was the night her older daughter, Lianna, pulled her back from the precipice of the Gale River bridge. The morning of Annalee's disappearance, a search party combs the nearby woods. Annalee's husband, Warren, flies home from a business trip. Lianna is questioned by a young, hazel-eyed detective. And her little sister, Paige, takes to swimming the Gale to look for clues. When the police discover a small swatch of fabric, a nightshirt, ripped and hanging from a tree branch, it seems certain Annalee is dead, but Gavin Rikert, the hazel-eyed detective, continues to call, continues to stop by the Ahlbergs' Victorian home. As Lianna peels back the layers of mystery surrounding Annalee's disappearance, she finds herself drawn to Gavin, but she must ask herself: Why does the detective know so much about her mother? Why did Annalee only leave her bed when her father was away? And if she really died while sleepwalking, where is the body? Conjuring the strange and mysterious world of parasomnia, a place somewhere between dreaming and wakefulness, The Sleepwalker is a masterful novel from one of our most treasured storytellers.
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Publisher:
[Toronto] : Doubleday Canada, [2017]
Copyright Date:
©2017
ISBN:
9780385681988
Branch Call Number:
FIC BOHJA C
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Add a CommentOh, the joy of not reading the back cover! I knew absolutely nothing about what to expect from this - except my usual high expectations for anything by Bohjalian. So, this deliberately-paced novel was a treat from start to finish, moving from the first two-thirds of character studies of 21-year old Lianna, her 12-year old sister Paige, their father, and their missing mother Annalee, the sleepwalker of the the title to the last third, which was something else entirely. There was a fierceness about these characters and this book that made it hard to put down. The story of Annalee, her daughters, and the love binding them will stay with me.
Great book. An easy read but it is written well and the ending sure has a twist!
Now here is the CB I known from previous books - really enjoyed this read. I actually had a hard time putting this down because I thought I knew (dreaded I knew) where he was going. Once again he packs interesting facts into the novel form & one doesn't realize it's entirely new territory. Who would have guessed at this behavior, I'd never realized the stages, depths or kinds of sleepwalking. I'd have been so freaked out to experienced this.
Everything I've come to expect from Chris Bohjalian's absorbing style of fiction is deliciously served up in this recent offering (2017). Humour, sarcasm, mystery and intrigue are but a few of the elements I love most about this contemporary master storyteller. I'd previously enjoyed about a half-dozen of his novels, including 'Midwives', 'The Law of Similars' and 'Trans-sister Radio' (a lame pun but an excellent piece of work), and in my estimation he has consistently created some of the most lovable and entertaining protagonists in modern fiction. Previous comments notwithstanding, I found this one every bit as delightful and enduring as his earlier works and right up there among his best. Some have claimed it's too lengthy, others say it's full of holes, shallow or weak on character development. I'm compelled to offset such criticism with my own humble opinion: I could easily have devoured another 100 pages of elaboration on the ups, downs, twists and turns of Lianna Ahlberg and family. A well-crafted, enriching mystery centred on the esoteric subject of parasomnia.
Enjoyed this immensely! Strange things happen when you sleepwalk. Never thought it would be possible.
thank goodness I was so exasperated by the audiobook that I elected to power through by reading from about page 235 to the end for myself instead.
quite a contrast from the lovely narrator who enhanced rushdie's the golden house, this one almost caused me to quit before the denouement.
(had I read the hardback I could have whizzed past the slow bits in part 1.)
audiobook = .5 stars, last few chapters of the book = 2.25 stars.
A most compelling human interest story. Very well written and keeps your interest until the end.
Another well written book by Bojalian. Quite a few twists and turns. The ending surprised me, even though the author dropped hints along the way. A sad story with scant room for redemption. I had mixed feelings about the book, but if you like this author, you'll probably enjoy it.
Took too long to slog through, but I was not expecting the ending at all - almost worth the slog.
Fascinating and creepy, unpleasant and intriguing at the same time. It made me wonder if this is a real condition, because I would be frightened to know someone who has it.