The Sleep Room
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Need an explanation... SPOILERS!
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He dreamed what happened in the book. All of the people that he interacted with in the dream were people that he saw in the hospital and they were incorporated into the dream. The letter at the end of the book written by Dr. Maitland explains what happened to him.
I agree that it is confusing because so much of the book that happened was real but it was written that way so that you would not see it coming. If you could tell that he was dreaming earlier on in the book then the end would not have been as shocking and surprising as it was.
I also think it seemed so real because he thought it was real and maybe to him it was real just not to the rest of the world?
I think you're right. but I think because the actual story was so good, the sleep room patients, the paranornal activities, chapman, it was a disappointment to find out it wasn't real. I was expecting a massive climax at the end. I also thought it could have been better explained at the end because I was just left wondering "what was the point?" why explain about his ex Sheila? was he with her in reality before he married? and then the nurse that went missing. Did she actually really go missing? was chapman real? Did he really scratch his own eyes out? I still think it was excellently written and a good story. The concept Reminded me of Shutter Island with Leonardo Decaprio..
I agree that the ending was disappointing, I hate endings like that I personally feel like they take away from the actual story. But I guess not everyone feels like that.I know there were so many loose ends to the story that were never directly addressed in the last chapter and then the letter at the end. So your left with the feeling of never finding out if any of these character were real. I mean could Sheila have been a mistress of his and that is why they were so detached? and Chapman was a big character that played chess with him and told him about the bed that moved at night... and so on and yet was he real? Maybe a friend of his in real life?
Maybe the writer wanted us to wonder about all these and if so he achieved that. But I don't know about you but I don't like not knowing all the answers.
Yep it is very close to shutter island the two main characters just had different professions.
Exactly what I thought. I'm just glad I'm not the only one that feels this way...
No problem, I'm sure that many other people will agree once this book had more people reading it.
I was disappointed as I am a big fan of Tallis' well done Viennese mysteries. It didn't even feel like the same writer. Looking for a movie deal, maybe? But it's not even an original story line. A real puzzlement said Alice.
I hate these "it was alllll just a dreeeaaaammm" endings. Blech. Such a cop-out!
That's what I thought. I was really looking forward to finding out the mystery behind the hauntings. I suppose in a way we did but definitely disappointing.
I "think" that I am a pretty astute reader but.... I NEVER saw the ending coming; I was completely clueless, and it wasn't until the letter and him lying in bed w/ his wife and Dr. talking to him/about him that I finally said, "Ah ha!" (Well, that's not quite what I said :) I did not feel disappointed; I felt that it was quite clever, actually, and I'm not a big fan of "it was all a dream" scenario cop-outs. I felt that this was somehow different because what had gone before was just SO darn real. A "thinker" for sure !!
Read Tallis's interview and was sorry he stopped writing the Lieberman series. I guess he didn't want to plough the ground again about Germany and the Holocaust, so stopped just before it. As for his desire to write horror tales, perhaps he is also in the Sleep Room. Wake up, and do what you do best, Frank.
I just read his latest "The Forbidden"...much better job, Frank!
So Ruth, you did not like THE SLEEP ROOM and to Iris, not clear.... what does he do best ?? Thanks for your help!
Betsy wrote: "So Ruth, you did not like THE SLEEP ROOM and to Iris, not clear.... what does he do best ?? Thanks for your help!"
The Vienna crime series was wonderful! I am disgusted that he switched genres--I would not continue to read him. So annoyed! Wish he could see my comments.
His best was the Vienna series. The Forbidden is of another genre altogether but a good read compared to The Sleep Room.
The unreliable narrator is a device I am not fond of, just as I dislike liars in life. Moreover, Tallis did not give sufficient clues leading to the reveal--it was quite sudden, and I felt, unjustified. I thought the scenes with Chapman were touching, and I wondered for a moment if Dr. Maitland was in fact dead, with James writing the letter. All the characters were very flat and not memorable otherwise. Someone mentioned not liking James, but what was there to like or dislike?
I liked the SLEEP ROOM but then this was my first Tallis book.Erin or others smarter than I : HOW did you tell that ...."he was dreaming earlier on in the book?" What were the clues/information that led you to know?
Rachel, I liked your comparison to SHUTTER ISLAND, one of my all-time favorites, and WHAT an ending to that book. Did you see THAT coming??
Betsy--That's an excellent challenge you gave! If I could bear to skim the book again, I would look for those clues. The only thing that worried me was why James didn't pick up on Chapman's confession of murder.
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I think I have the general idea of the story line and the ending, but I think because it ended so completely different to how I expected, it has totally confused me.
Was he asleep from the start? So Non of it actually ever happened? His wife was Jane and his doctor was Mainland? Was he waking up towards the end and his wife was in the sleep room with Maitland? But then what about his ex Sheila? And what about Chapman? And the other sleep room patients? Was he dreaming with them? But then they didn't actually haunt the place did they? Wyldhope had burnt down when James was a boy and thats where his father died??
Am I so confused because James's fantasy was so convincing, I can't possibly fathom that it wasn't real and in actual fact he was lying in a bed the whole time confusing people from reality with his fantasy?
If someone can help me I would be very grateful!