It begins with a fever. The first to fall is a student slumbering in her college dormitory. Another falls, then another - asleep but unable to wake. It's like nothing the doctors have seen before.
In Karen Thompson Walker's sophomore novel, "The Dreamers," one small college town is taken captive by a mysterious contagious disease that renders its victims unwakeable but alive with rapid eye movements indicative of active dream states. The plot unfolds following a large cast of diverse characters, each facing the same crisis in disparate scenarios.
I very much enjoyed this novel. I loved the author's reserved, encompassing style and I especially enjoyed the way the plot continued with a quiet, deep pull page after page. The author's scope from the wider crisis to a smaller personal lens was seamless and thought provoking.
One might expect a novel surrounding contagious disease to be more flashy or turbulent, but Walker held back and her contemplative approach felt truer to the human experience. Several have described Walker's novels as genre bending and I have to agree. I've never read anything quite like it and am eager to read more from Karen Thompson Walker.
Unique and unexpectedly refreshing, "The Dreamers" makes an ideal choice for curious readers.
Noelle Parker is the Osage branch manager at the Missouri River Regional Library in Linn.