Review 423: Sleep Donation

Sleep Donation by Karen Russell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Trish Edgewater works at the Slumber Corps, a non-profit agency that helps those infected. Her sister Dori died from insomnia, stayed awake too long. It has become an epidemic. Dori was one of the first dozen or so documented deaths. Using her sister’s story Trish is one of the top recruiters, always able to get new donors that give their dreams. Then comes the unexpected Baby A whose dreams are so pure they help reverse the illness with the highest percentage of the afflicted. Are they using her dreams too much? Her father thinks so.

Then comes the nightmare from Donor Y that causes some to electively not sleep. Is the nightmare so bad you would die to stay awake to avoid it? Apparently, that is what’s happening.

Within this crisis moment, Trish something out that would taint the purity of their non-profit organization. Trish isn’t sure if she should tell someone. If she does, another crisis will develop, less donors and even fewer sick people will be helped, meaning more people will die. It is a dilemma.

There’s a slight aspect of horror in this book, but it’s always at the edge, beyond what’s on the page. The book I read contained pen and ink drawings in black and white which accented the story line.

This was a quick read, being a novella helped, but the story was quick as well. What a horrible world it would be if people couldn’t sleep, then died from it. Yes, it is a bit of a horror story.