SLEEPWALKING by JULIE MYERSON

 SLEEPWALKING

by

JULIE MYERSON

THE BLURB:

As the back was covered with positive reviews from critics, I ambled over to Amazon for an explanatory blurb...

Susan finds her year-old marriage to her husband, Alistair, less than ideal. Just as she contemplates leaving him, she discovers she is pregnant with his child. As she grapples with this news she also learns of her estranged father's suicide. Until now, sleepwalking through life has allowed Susan to bury her wants and feelings and has protected her from dealing with conflict and hurt.

And then she meets Lenny. Instantly attracted to this gentle, seductive painter, yet knowing it could lead to crisis, Susan begins an affair with him in her eighth month of pregnancy.

THE REALITY:

It's the second time around for me with this one. It brings back memories of being a student (the first time around!) and living above an Irish pub in north London, circa 1996/97. The author, apparently, was a broadsheet journalist (call me cynical, but does having good connections equal good cover reviews?) and my ex-boyfriend liked her writings, so he bought this book. Me, I'm a chav and preferred to read the News of the World (although I did like the broadsheet weekend supplements). I'm not sure if my ex ever did read the book the whole way through, but he must have read something, as he likened Susan meeting Alistair at a time in her life when she needed to meet someone steady to me meeting him...

Enough of the reminiscing! This is an altogether strange tale, but it's one that touches me on a number of levels. In it you have the notion of ghosts and the dead contacting the living via dreams, and they're both things I've experienced, too. Also, Susan does eventually sort out her relationship with her father, and the baggage she carries around with regard to that out following her strange spiritual happenings, and I have to say that I've done the same with both of my parents.

Enough of being whimsical! This book is really about relationships, and doing what you have to do (or feel you should be doing) and the most heartbreaking relationship depicted here was the one cold mother Queenie had with her sad little son. It is truly wrenching watching him suffer and it brought a tear or a-hundred to my eye. These two characters come across as the strongest and it's noted in the reviews how it's so intriguing watching abuse being passed down from generation to generation. Susan's pregnancy and delight in her little son Jack come across clearly, as does her need to do anything for him. But one unsettling (amongst others) thing about this story was the way a woman who's only weeks away from giving birth embarks on an extra marital affair. It's something I've not come across in a story (before or since) and I kind of get why it happens- in terms of emotions- and I think the sexual descriptions throughout the book are candidly written and clearly depict feelings as well as physical acts.  On a final note, I found the sleepwalking chapter quotes added to the writing in a very interesting way.

This is an unnerving book that will get beneath your skin. Thank you, Wayne, for introducing me to it.