The Sleepwalkers
by Scarlett Thomas
Evelyn and Richard are on their honeymoon on a Greek island, staying at a seaside hotel – Villa Rosa – paid for by Richard’s mother. The idyllic setting should make for a memorable stay, but things are not what they seem. The relationship between the couple is fraught, hotel owner Isabella appears to go out of her way to spite Evelyn while ingratiating herself with Richard, and there are many strange things happening that do not seem to be adding up. Then there’s the mysterious story of the couple who were staying at the hotel in the previous year, and who died in suspicious circumstances, ostensibly when the husband “sleepwalked” into the rough seas. What exactly did happen, and how is this related to Evelyn and Richard? Matters will come to a head against the dramatic backdrop of a late summer storm, when many secrets are revealed...
It is difficult to review a novel like The Sleepwalkers because much of its effect comes from plot twists which would be ungenerous to reveal. Suffice it to say that, at its heart, this is one of many novels inspired – whether directly or indirectly – by the #MeToo phenomenon and its aftermath. In this respect, this book might not be terribly original – except that the basic plot is subsumed into a wider narrative which, frankly, is so OTT that it makes it difficult to readers to suspend their disbelief. Perhaps this overindulgence is easier to forgive if one considers The Sleepwalkers not only as a thriller (which it is) but also as a contemporary Gothic novel. There are, in fact, several elements in the book which are typical of the genre, not least the gradual revelation of long buried secrets, and its darkly brooding and mysterious atmosphere. Another Gothic element – and, frankly, the one which raises this book above your run-of-the-mill thriller – is its narrative style, based on incomplete “found” documents, including diary-like confessions by unreliable narrators, transcripts of recordings faultily rendered by transcription software, and photographs which are described but not shown.
All in all, this is an gripping exploration of family and
sexual relationships, given an unusual twist thanks to its neo-Gothic trappings.
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