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Dickinson, Peter - Sleep and His Brother
Inspector Jimmy Pibble, recently laid off, managed to stumbled into the McNair House for cathypnic children, courtesy of a tip from his wife. Cathypnic children tend to be sluggish and very, very sleepy, with low body temperatures; some of the staff call them dormice. They seem to be vaguely creepy and yet loveable and tend to inspire obsession in people for some reason.
The atmosphere of this book is great; it's slow and creepy and draws you in little by little. I particularly liked the portrayal of the cathypnic children; some of the characters in the book become enamoured of the idea that they are somehow telepathic and that Pibble may be a telepathic sender.
Unfortunately, I seem to do very badly with any sort of mystery when they don't involve characters that I like or find myself drawn to. That, plus my current inability to keep track of complex plot (or possibly I was always unable to do so?), made reading this very difficult.
The plot honestly isn't that complex, but the small hints and tips that make a mystery are entirely too subtle for me, and I ended up not picking up on any of them. I ended up having to reread the entire middle of the book because I had no idea what was going on, but I lost track of who was who and what their motivations were on the second time round as well.
I'd probably rec this to people who were a fan of claustrophobic mysteries in which nothing is quite solved, but alas, I don't seem to be one of those fans.
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rachelmanija's review
The atmosphere of this book is great; it's slow and creepy and draws you in little by little. I particularly liked the portrayal of the cathypnic children; some of the characters in the book become enamoured of the idea that they are somehow telepathic and that Pibble may be a telepathic sender.
Unfortunately, I seem to do very badly with any sort of mystery when they don't involve characters that I like or find myself drawn to. That, plus my current inability to keep track of complex plot (or possibly I was always unable to do so?), made reading this very difficult.
The plot honestly isn't that complex, but the small hints and tips that make a mystery are entirely too subtle for me, and I ended up not picking up on any of them. I ended up having to reread the entire middle of the book because I had no idea what was going on, but I lost track of who was who and what their motivations were on the second time round as well.
I'd probably rec this to people who were a fan of claustrophobic mysteries in which nothing is quite solved, but alas, I don't seem to be one of those fans.
Links:
rachelmanija's review