Book Review: The Sleepwalker

The Sleepwalker by Chris Bohjalian

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The story: Beautiful Annalee Ahlberg is missing and presumed dead. She has a history of serious sleepwalking—sleepwalking during which she does bizarre and disturbing things of which she is unaware the next day. Her family assumes that she has walked off the bridge into the river while sleepwalking. Lianna stays home from college to care for her younger sister and their father. They are all lost, waiting for a body to turn up, waiting to find out what has really happened to Annalee. During the investigation, Lianna falls in love with the detective, and we begin to wonder if Gavin, who also suffers from sleepwalking, might know more about Annalee than he should.

Me: Chris Bohjalian is a masterful storyteller. There is absolutely no question, NONE, that he writes exquisitely. He is a wordsmith of the highest caliber. In fact, as I write this, I have to change my 3-star rating to a 4-star rating simply because Bohjalian deserves a minimum of 4 stars no matter what he writes. But the story itself is still just a 3-star for me. I liked the characters in this novel: the motherless sisters, the despondent widower, and the detective, Gavin. I was interested in learning the science behind sleepwalking. But, frankly, I just couldn't embrace the whole sleepwalking plot, which plays into the ending of the novel is a surprising way—and one that didn't feel satisfying to me. I love Bohjalian's writing, but I much prefer The Buffalo Soldier, Skeletons at the Feast, and The Double Bind. He's simply brilliant!



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