The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker follows the town of Santa Lora, California when a virus breaks out on a college campus. The virus places those it infects in a deep sleep. Some people die - others are quarantined and brought to the hospital where they are hooked up to IVs and feeding tubes for survival. No one has any answers about the virus. It is unknown where it originated, how it’s spread or why it is affecting people differently. The other mystifying part of the disease is the dreams it induces - are they flashbacks? Premonitions? Alternate realities? Are any of us really aware of what’s reality and what’s a dream?
I really loved this one. It’s written in a way that it almost reads like a dream itself. I listened to a lot of it on audio and the narrator is perfection if you are a fan of audiobooks. The story has such a light air to it as you follow the town and the virus that kept me completely hooked. It’s delicate and beautiful and quiet and delivered on everything I wanted.
Thanks to @randomhouse and @netgalley for the complimentary e-galley in exchange for an honest review.
