A Review of Victor Manibo’s The Sleepless (Erewhon, 2022)

Posted by: uttararangarajan

Written by Stephen Hong Sohn

Edited by Uttara Rangarajan 

 

So, this title I was so excited about, I took it with me on a long plane flight, and Victor Manibo’s The Sleepless (Erewhon, 2022) did not disappoint. Any science fictional future which involves a strange disease and a noir plot is going to be the mash-up that will make the minutes fly by. Let’s let the official webpage marketing description do some work for us: “A mysterious pandemic causes a quarter of the world to permanently lose the ability to sleep—without any apparent health implications. The outbreak creates a new class of people who are both feared and ostracized, most of whom optimize their extra hours to earn more money. Jamie Vega, a journalist at C+P Media, is one of the Sleepless. When his boss dies in a suicidal overdose, Jamie doesn’t buy this too-convenient explanation—especially given its suspicious timing during a controversial merger—and investigates. But everything goes awry when Jamie discovers that he was the last person who saw Simon alive, and realizes that he has no memory of that night. Not only do the police suspect him, Jamie can’t account for the lost time, and the memory loss may have to do with how he became Sleepless: not naturally, but by biohacking his body through a risky and illegal process. As Jamie delves deeper into Simon’s final days, he tangles with extremist organizations and powerful corporate interests, and must confront past traumas and the unforeseen consequences of biohacking himself. But he soon faces the most dangerous decision of all, as he uncovers a terrifying truth about Sleeplessness that imperils him—and all of humanity.”

 

I’m not going to belabor this review with a full plot summary, but suffice it to say, I was very satisfied with how Manibo ends up delivering some of the information that is crucial not only to develop fully realized characters, but to tie up various narrative strands. I was especially impressed by the way that Manibo deals with the scientific aspect of sleep, which really made the novel robust. Of course, as with any mystery, there are a lot of twists and turns, and Manibo leaves us with a satisfying conclusion as well. A definite standout read for 2022 and certainly a work I’d recommend for any Asian American literature fans, who enjoy that combination of mystery and science fiction!

 

For more on the book and for purchase links, go Here

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