Reviews for Madeleine Is Sleeping

The average rating for Madeleine Is Sleeping based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2007-06-26 00:00:00 Nadine Amer I generally don't reread books, but I've returned to this book many times to dip back in and savor individual pages that read, and look, like prose poems. This is one book I haven't put on the shelf after reading, but kept on my night stand since 2004. I have yet to articulate, let alone pinpoint the fascination, but there is something about Bynum's language that speaks to me like oracle, something akin to an ancient augury, birds taking flight to the east (or perhaps it's just the ative prose and the vivid characters: an obese woman who sprouts wings and floats above Madeleine's village, or Madeleine herself, dreaming wonder into being). A highly imaginative and original debut novel.

Review # 2 was written on 2008-01-13 00:00:00 Amanda Cooper This is a story told in snatches of information laden with gossamer imagery and lush description. The creepy and the lovely are placed right on top of each other creating this feeling of wonder that all of these things can exist together. Madeleine is sleeping, and we are privy to her dreams as well as the world that is going on around her; however, the border between the two worlds is thin and permeable. Her dreams are filled with unusual people commonly categorized as "freaks" (I am a sucker for freaks). Meanwhile, the people whose lives revolve around keeping her asleep, are similiarly disjointed and questionable as far as their character and their motives. Sarah Bynum's strength is in her ability to describe the littlest things with perfect acuity. "As Claude stumbles through the orchard, his expectations take on form, enormous size. They will have soft fingers. And gleaming hair. Their nipples will be tiny and wild as strawberries. In an interesting coincidence, Claude found a patch of berries last summer behind this same barn. He kept them to himself. He made visits when no one was looking. And remembering how shyly the berries appeared when he lifted up the canopy of their leaves, Claude pictured the girls' sleepy faces, their looks of surprise. How delighted they will be to see him."