by
3.5 of 5 stars

Mark Genevich, narcoleptic detective, is caught between friends and a police investigation in this wickedly riveting PI novel with a twist&#... read full description


reviews

Jun 24, 2010
Jessica rated it: 4 of 5 stars
http://www.hipsterbookclub.com/reviews/c...

Modernizing the archetypal hardboiled detective story, Paul Tremblay mixes surrealism with traditional noir in his novel No Sleep till Wonderland. A conceptual twist on the genre amplifies conventional crime fiction and explores the mysterious power of the human mind.

Tremblay first introduced browbeaten South Boston private investigator Mark Genevich in 2009’s The Little Sleep. Mark is barely scraping by after a botched case and a More...
0 comments like (1 person liked it)
Apr 08, 2010
Christine rated it: 2 of 5 stars
In this follow up book to THE LITTLE SLEEP we revisit Mark Genevich the narcoleptic P.I. After coupling his landlord mother forcing him to go into therapy, his P.I. business not meeting his expectations and his ongoing battle with his narcolepsy Mark decides to go on a two day bender. Coming out of the bender Mark finds himself a suspect in a arson/murder investigation. The first book was unique because it threw a twist into the typical P.I. genre read. Although this follow up still has the More...
Apr 06, 2010
Electric rated it: 4 of 5 stars
I have a soft spot for broken personalities and a narcoleptic PI is robably as broken as you can get without overdoing it. Tremblay does a great job of portraying believable characters and that is a hell of a job if you work within a genre that it as ripe with clichè as the noir crime novel. The plot is good and keeps you guessing but the real appeal of the book comes from the witty dialogue of the PI with the other characters and most of all with himself. He is struggling constantly with social More...
0 comments like (1 person liked it)
Mar 02, 2010
Emily rated it: 3 of 5 stars
I started out really enjoying this book, and I don't think it mattered much that I haven't yet read The Little Sleep: A Novel. I was intrigued by the covering of narcolepsy, the wandering in and out of consciousness, and the narration somewhere a cross between Hammett and Palahniuk. Points for plot. Along the way though I got tired of the excessive simile and metaphor, the quirky little quips that became more hey-I'm-clever-for-the-sake-of-being-clever than actually being witty, and the distinct More...
Jan 07, 2011
William Thomas rated it: 2 of 5 stars
You're writing a book. You want to sell it. Can't sell it on literary merit because there really isn't any? No problem. Invent a character quirk that you can work into the novel to lure the publishing companies in. Give them something they can put on the back of the jacket to catch the reader and force them to buy the book if for no other reason than to see how this inane premise will work out.

This book? Give your character narcolepsy and then have him talk about it ad nauseum to fill More...
Nov 28, 2010
Scotchneat rated it: 3 of 5 stars
What do you do when you're a narcoleptic detective and a friend of yours takes you on a two-day bender, and then asks you for a favour.

Pretty dark but quite funny at times, though the "hard-boiled" detective wit is a bit forced at times.

Weirdly has some remnants of Jonathan Lethem for me, but not sure why.
Apr 25, 2010
Alan rated it: 4 of 5 stars
I really enjoy the main character - a narcoleptic private investigator from South Boston. The local references were great and the dialogue was pitch perfect. I liked this better than the first one - in his first book the narcolepsy was almost too dominant, here it was blended in much more smoothly.
Sep 09, 2011
Alicia rated it: 3 of 5 stars
Blows up the classic noir style like a balloon - right to the point of popping. Heavy on the metaphor, like the big guy you don't want to tussle with sitting on your legs for 200 pages.
Jun 08, 2010
Erin rated it: 1 of 5 stars
While I enjoyed the first book by Tremblay featuring narcoleptic PI Mark Genevich, I couldn't make it through this one. The references to popular culture are so thick that I could barely make it through. I persevered about halfway through but it didn't get any better so I finally gave it up since I have lots of good books in my TBR pile. I was disappointed in this one, but it led me to wonder what, exactly, an author can do if they create a main character who has no hope.
Jul 27, 2011
Lori added it
I rarely will put a book down and not finish it but I would rather pull my own eyelashes out then read one more page of this horrific book.
Sep 27, 2009
Mark rated it: 5 of 5 stars
A detective story that is the perfect cross between Kafka and Chandler. Crazy, scary, and flat out fun.
0 comments like (1 person liked it)
Feb 08, 2011
Brian rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Really good. Like a narcoleptic Memento. You get the feeling you are sharing his symptoms.
Oct 01, 2010
Amanda rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Interesting detective story, not usually my thing but I liked it.
May 22, 2010
Ellen rated it: 3 of 5 stars
I enjoyed this a lot, although it's not as startling as the first volume (often a problem with sequels to strong novels).
May 17, 2010
Heyhansen rated it: 3 of 5 stars
A little rougher than the first one I thought, seemed like the balance between being "serious" and keeping the character like-able wasn't kept as well. Maybe that was intentional, but the outcome for me was I just wasn't as invested in the character.
Feb 09, 2010
Mairi rated it: 5 of 5 stars
The Genevich books give me much of what I love about Marlowe, Spade, and the Continental Op without the lip-curling, recoil-inducing elements that makes it hard for me to remember the time period in which they were written and read them in context.

I enjoy the wit, the banter, the slowly unfolding twists and turns, and his imperfections. As I read it, I found myself sharing passages and dog-earring pages containing bits that I especially liked.
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Dec 12, 2010
Buck rated it: 4 of 5 stars
No sophomore slump here. Better than the first one. I love his writing style.
Jul 05, 2010
Lulu rated it: 1 of 5 stars
Crappy book. Don't waste your time.
Mar 19, 2010
M rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Delightful!!
Feb 10, 2012
Erin marked it as to-read
Feb 06, 2012
Chris rated it: 3 of 5 stars
Jan 25, 2012
Zebulon rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Jan 15, 2012
Theresa marked it as to-read
Jan 05, 2012
Courtney marked it as to-read
Jan 02, 2012
Doy rated it: 3 of 5 stars
Dec 28, 2011
Doug rated it: 2 of 5 stars
Dec 23, 2011
Marty marked it as to-read
Dec 20, 2011
Jon rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Dec 11, 2011
Adrian marked it as to-read
Dec 09, 2011
Bandi rated it: 4 of 5 stars