A case of sleep disorder
Stephen King is back to his old best in Sleeping Beauties, his latest horror, this time written with his son Owen. Women around the world mysteriously fall asleep and fail to wake again; small tendrils of white webbing cover them in a waxy layer and it appears nothing will wake them. Those who try, whether accidentally or deliberately, find themselves at the receiving end of the affected woman’s furious and bloody murderous revenge.
About the same time, a mysterious woman, with apparent magical powers and the ability to read thoughts, appears in the woods. Within days the world falls apart as men, without women to “tame” them — or out of grief for their loved ones — turn to violence and fury.
In classic King style, the story is told through colourful vignettes from the lives of all the players. We are sometimes told of the same scene from the point of view of different players and although you wouldn’t describe Sleeping Beauties as in any way a book that aims to provide insight into the lives of others, that’s what you get among the sometimes blood-and brainmatter spattered violence and fantasy.
Much of the action is set in and around a woman’s prison as a world without women descends into chaos.
King has the ability to make you like people even if their behaviour is socially unacceptable; such as the dog control officer who has anger management issues. His internal conversations reveal his self-serving excuses and though you do not forgive the worst of his attitudes, you do gain a little understanding. Sleeping Beauties is a great wodge of a book — more than 700 pages — that needs two hands to read on the bus. There is way too much information in some places, which explains why so few of King’s novels are more successful in print than on screen but as always, he offers a meaty read that will make you cringe in places and laugh in others. An underlying theme of “women good, men bad” is somewhat tiresome even as you look forward to the next stage in the action for each of the individuals. Although this is a fantasy novel through and through, the two writers do skilfully balance the unreal with the real in King’s usual masterful fashion.