Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster as well as the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
#NetGalley #Simon&Schuster #TheSleepwalkers #ScarlettThomas

Title: The Sleepwalkers
Author: Scarlett Thomas
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: April 9, 2024
Themes: family, mystery, humans as monsters, marital relationships, vacation horror,
Trigger Warnings: Adultery. Sexual assault, pedophilia, human traffiking
This was a tough one at times. It was a good idea but the execution left something to be desired. “Sleepwalkers” is a collection of letters between newlyweds. Through their letters to each other, written during their honeymoon in an awful hotel on a Greek island, we are privy to their already failing relationship…and a mystery ensues.

Right from the beginning, this story had trouble coming together. The letters of Evelyn were very wordy and a little ridiculous. Through the letters, we learn that Evelyn and Richard have had a very unusual honeymoon. During the first half of the trip, the couple was joined by Richard’s best friend and his girlfriend. The strangeness only increases as Evelyn and Richard arrive at the second hotel to spend some alone time. The woman in charge of their new accomodations exhibits very odd behavior. She treats Evelyn rudely and Richard like a prince. Richard clearly likes it. A mystery starts to appear slowly and strangely. The disjointed way the story was presented was distracting for me. I can see a good story in the narrative but it’s buried under its presentation. In addition to the choppy pacing, the characters were difficult for me to like or care about. This couple hates each other and it shows. Sometimes, that’s fun but in the case of this unusual book, I can’t say that it worked for me. The whole thing was too long and had too little at stake. This was disappointing to me as I really love Scarlett Thomas’ writing style and her ideas are creative. This one just didn’t work for me. I’m sure the next one will.

A gothic story on a Greek island? Yes, please! This was very unique. I binged it and couldn’t put it down.

I DNF'd at 48%. I tried reading the ebook twice from the beginning & could not get into it. I tried listening ti the audiobook it still struggled. It just seemed to drag & I had no idea what was even going on after 3 attempts.

Rating this was hard because did I enjoy this book? Not really… but only because of the subjects and the characters. I had hope for a crazy twist or something juicy to happen, especially with the island setting and impending storm which usually equals drama (gave me major Lucy Foley vibes)

Unfortunately, this only got worse! WTF is up with these characters???? Clearly the author can write but this book in particular was just too f$&%ed up to rate highly. Everyone and everything about this was ICK!

I can tell the author was going for disturbing* and unlikeable characters but this was a stretch

*Beware of extremely sexually vulgar topics and descriptions (porn, pedophilia, incest) there are lots of awful triggers in this one.

Thank you #netgalley and @simonbooks for my gifted e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

The style and set up is definitely different than the other books I had read this year so far. It reminded me Janice Hallett books where you get the story through materials presented to someone: make your conclusions and fill your own gaps. It leaves a lot to your imagination and let you choose your own adventure

Richard and Evie went to this Greek island for their honeymoon. Everything started as it should be until they moved to the hotel chosen by Richard's mother. The owner of the hotel was not the kind you would expect to see in hospitality business. She was perfectly attentive to men, but women, especially Evie, not so much! As days go by Evie started to feel more and more annoyed by Isabella's actions and her husband's nonchalance. When Isabella started to talk about the sleepwalkers who walked in to the sea, Evie got even more sensitive

A wild whodunnit with implications stretching into some unsavory groups and actions. Next time you are on vacation, be on the look out for people who are extremely beautiful but look out of place. Maybe you can help someone out of a hairy situation

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for letting me read this one early. This one is out now!

I didn't like these characters which made me hate the book. For me, it was like hanging out with people you don't enjoy and I never wanted to pick up this book. For that reason, I don't recommend this one.

Well this was an interesting one. I was invested because I wanted to know exactly what was going on but I didn't really enjoy the any characters. I couldn't believe this couple was on their honeymoon acting like they hated each other. But I found out why. The twists were more drama more than thriller but yes they were shocking! I definitely yelled at the book because of that. Overall a solid and strange read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with an eARC of The Sleepwalkers in exchange for my honest review!

I tried to vibe with this book, I really did, but it simply leaves me in a bleh state by the end of it. I can appreciate Scarlett Thomas's ambition in creating this enigmatic tale that forces us to piece everything together for ourselves via letters, diary entries, a recording transcript, and lists of photos. It's an intriguing format choice for sure, but it ends up just making things more frustrating as I attempt to dive into the story, as I follow characters of varying unlikability, as the atmosphere admittedly builds up in a claustrophobic and enthralling fashion and yet fails to compensate for my disconnection with the narrative. The abrupt and open-ended conclusion doesn't help matters, even though I understand that it's a purposeful decision.

Overall, I'm officially rating The Sleepwalkers 2.25 out of 5 stars, which I'm rounding down to 2 stars on Goodreads. Again, I wish I could have had a better time with this, but oh well, at least I gave it a try.

Evelyn and Richard spend their honeymoon on a Greek Island for a two-week period. The second week, they check-in to a special villa, owned and operated by the beautiful and mysterious Isabella. Right away, Isabella has eyes for Richard and acts as if Evelyn is not there. Richard and Isabella both gaslight Evelyn into thinking she's imagining things and losing personal items. A storm hits the island and unleashes feelings and secrets that no one can escape.

I really wanted to like this book, hence why I waited a few days to write my review. I had some issues following the plot and the excerpts, but I am not sure if the issue was the formatting on the digital copy or if that's just how the book was written (it was written in letter format). I liked that this was fast paced and sometimes comical, but I honestly still don't really know what happened.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster, Scarlett Thomas and NetGalley for the ARC.

Scarlett Thomas' "The Sleepwalkers" isn't for the faint of heart. It's a plunge into a swirling vortex of secrets, unreliable narrators, and a fractured timeline that will leave you questioning everything you think you know. But here's the beauty of it: the very confusion the story evokes is exactly what makes it so brilliant.

From the very first page, Thomas throws you headfirst into the disarrayed world of Evelyn and Richard, a honeymooning couple on a storm-battered Greek island. Their fractured relationship and cryptic conversations hint at dark secrets lurking beneath the surface. As the narrative unfolds through a combination of present-day narration and Richard's unsettling letters, the line between truth and deception blurs. You'll find yourself echoing the sentiment of the character Marcus, who pleads, "You gotta make it clearer what actually happened."

Yes, the jumping timeline and fragmented storytelling can be off-putting at first. The letter format, riddled with Richard's cryptic confessions, adds another layer of disorientation. But trust me, this is all part of Thomas' masterful plan. As the pieces of the puzzle slowly fall into place, the fragmented narrative becomes a reflection of the fractured relationship at its core. The confusion you experience as a reader mirrors the confusion Evelyn grapples with throughout the story.

By the end of "The Sleepwalkers," the fragmented nature of the story transforms from a hurdle into a revelation. It becomes clear that Thomas wasn't aiming for a straightforward narrative; she was crafting an experience. The disorientation you felt throughout the story becomes a powerful tool, allowing you to viscerally understand the emotional turmoil of the characters.

"The Sleepwalkers" is a bold and daring novel that demands your full attention. It's not a comfortable read, but it's a rewarding one. If you're looking for a story that will stay with you long after you turn the final page, then this is a must-read.

Thank you Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for allowing me to read and review.

I enjoyed this. 3.5 stars

The story was a mixture of genres. It balanced quiet and introspective moments with thrilling, action-packed sequences.

I enjoyed the stylistic choices made by the author. The story read like a screenplay at times, and like hazy stream-of-consciousness at others. The characters were deplorable, and the author didn't shy away from that, but her chosen perspectives really enhanced that experience.

I have one criticism, and it's that the story gets too complicated at the end. The reasons behind everything were too 'big' for the rest of the story, and ended up feeling rushed and messy.

Total White Lotus vibes here, minus the plushy resort and Tanya’s charm 🐚

This sharp, dark novel is about honeymooners in Greece, with secrets of their own, who learn of a couple who died when one chased the other who was sleepwalking into the sea. It’s told through a unique structure that totally worked for me, setting the wife’s version of events against the husband’s, and comparing the dead sleepwalkers’ tale to the young honeymooners’. Some of the story is told through partially destroyed letters, which was particularly confusing in the kindle version. The more I read the more I wondered if the honeymooners actually were the sleepwalkers?

So interested in discussing this with other readers - the reviews on Goodreads are all over the place!

I really enjoyed so much about this book. It was very evocative. The author really created this claustrophobic, paranoid atmosphere, and the vibes were very unsettling. I liked how mysterious it was, I liked the setting and was really curious to keep reading and see where it would go. The characters were compelling and the twists and turns kept my guessing. Unfortunately, the ending kind of ruined it for me because it was so unclear! I'm not sure if I just didn't get it, but the questions weren't answered, and the plot wasn't really tied up in a satisfying way. I don't need things to be tied up with a bow, but it felt a little like the author gave up at the end. Ultimately I loved the vibes and how unique this was but I wish the ending had been more clear and satisfying.

The Sleepwalkers by Scarlett Thomas
.
A newly married couple are honeymooning on a Greek island. They are staying at a hotel owned by a woman that seems both friendly and untrustworthy.
.
This was somehow not what I was expecting at all. This book was written entirely in letters and scripts, which I didn’t realize going into it. It took awhile to get the hang of and somehow left me with even more questions.

There was obviously a lot of eerie stuff going on and it kept me reading, I needed to know what was going on!

Then the book took a weird turn I wasn’t expecting that really opened my eyes to our characters and that was very surprising. I’m still not sure if it felt necessary or was just for shock value.
.
3⭐️⭐️⭐️ The moral of the story is this book was strange in a good way because it kept me reading all the way to the end, yet I’m not really sure I enjoyed it.

The Sleepwalkers had such an interesting premise, but I was unfortunately disappointed. I think one of the biggest distractions was the pacing of the book - the first chapter was almost half the book! The writing style was not for me, and I struggled to remain engaged. I will say the book did get a bit better and finally came together, but not enough for me to truly enjoy and appreciate this one.

The Sleepwalkers was a dark and harsh book with multiple POV set in Greece. I’m not sure what I was expecting going into this one but man, it was kind of crazy. I was initially thinking Evelyn was just kind of nutty but then things get weirder. I didn't know if I liked this book or didn't, even after I finished it. I mean, it kind of left the reader feeling a little filthy, like I could do with a shower so for that, I'd say the author is pretty good, no?! I still don't know exactly where I stand with this one so the rating is hovering between 2.5 and 3 stars.

I just couldn’t get into this one. The writing style wasn’t my favorite and nothing ever hooked me and pulled me into the story. I was expecting a thriller, but just wasn’t getting it with The Sleepwalkers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Shuster for an advanced copy of this book and the opportunity to read it!

This book was weird. When I finished it, I felt I had no idea what I had just read. Each character is written in the same voice, so it was sometimes difficult to differentiate between them when chapters changed. The premise was great, but even though it wrapped things up in the end, I still felt like it was an unfinished story.

I wanted to love this because I adored Oligarchy and have also enjoyed other Scarlett Thomas, but this is a difficult book to enjoy, despite its ambitious complexity of plot and smooth writing.

Much of the struggle of this book is that the story is just so utterly unpleasant to read. It’s nasty but not in a fun way, and is rooted completely in a really icky and uncomfortable series of sexual assaults that are difficult to read and also taint the entire narrative with, well, ickiness. It feels a bit like the book was going for gritty and actually landed on off-putting.

And that’s a shame, because some of the bones of the plot were good, and the titular mystery was one worth exploring more. Had that been the true focus of the book, the results would likely have been better than what we actually get, which is mostly the back and forth of a marriage in which a woman somewhat unwittingly ends up married to her rapist. Yuck.

This fact, the recounting of the events that led to it, and the constant awful interactions between husband and wife (and quite frankly, between the husband and literally anyone) are no doubt intended to be tense and unsettling, but mostly they just come off as clunky attempts to shock, and negative contributions toward both the enjoyability and the quality of the novel.

Thomas is a terrifically good writer, and that comes by though here as it does in other novels. But she’s at her best when she’s using her scathing wit to pillory problematic institutional norms, and this book strayed badly from that.

**Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC and Simon Books for the physical copy of this title!**

This one sounded like the perfect vacation book for me. An island, some murder, and some shady characters at a hotel? Sign me up. Unfortunately, right out of the gate I couldn’t get into the writing and format. I struggled so much with this one, and what should have been a quick read just kept dragging on.

A very generous 3 stars for the setting and concept. I think fans of literary fiction will enjoy this one, just don’t go into it expecting an exciting thriller.