An Oral History, but Not World War Z
3 stars
What if everyone in the world stopped sleeping? How long would we survive without rehabilitative rest, and who would be best at surviving without sleep? Who would be most at risk? And could we find a cure?
This novel, a fictional oral history of the end of the world, deals with these hypotheticals. Without warning or apparent cause, the end of the world is brought about by a mass insomnia event. People simply become unable to sleep, and since the record for living without sleep is eleven days, it seems like it will be a quick end to humankind.
I’m not spoiling anything by saying people start to sleep again and the danger passes. But only 8% of the pre-insomnia population survives, leaving the world depressed, underpopulated, and on the edge of the end.
As with any good oral history, author H. G. Bells uses individual stories and experiences to …
What if everyone in the world stopped sleeping? How long would we survive without rehabilitative rest, and who would be best at surviving without sleep? Who would be most at risk? And could we find a cure?
This novel, a fictional oral history of the end of the world, deals with these hypotheticals. Without warning or apparent cause, the end of the world is brought about by a mass insomnia event. People simply become unable to sleep, and since the record for living without sleep is eleven days, it seems like it will be a quick end to humankind.
I’m not spoiling anything by saying people start to sleep again and the danger passes. But only 8% of the pre-insomnia population survives, leaving the world depressed, underpopulated, and on the edge of the end.
As with any good oral history, author H. G. Bells uses individual stories and experiences to paint the larger picture, adding humanity to an overwhelming idea. Unfortunately, I actually started to lose interest. By the end, with none of the big questions having been answered, I felt robbed.
Presented as a series of vignettes and very short stories, it moved at a pretty solid pace. But once people knew what was going on, it lost steam for me. Yes, people were cranky and tired, and as time passed they became more apt to hallucinate and overdose on stimulants. That’s really about it.
There were some frightening stories out of hospitals, especially those having to do with pregnancies. Some of the coping strategies were interesting. And, as expected, humans are the REAL danger.
I judge this sort of novel by how it stacks up against World War Z, and while it was certainly trying hard, Sleep Over doesn’t really hold its own. Entertaining enough, but just not enough oomph for almost 400 pages.