How your view on books can change. I read this book a few years ago and back then I thought it was a really good read. Now after reading it for the second time I even dare to use the word brilliant. The book is constructed wonderfully and everything is interestingly entwined. The characters are strong and although some chance encounters seem to be a little bit superficial, the characters stay real till the end. Some conclusions I saw coming for a while, but I don't really care about that. Not in this book and not in any other book. I actually hate those detective novels were everything is hidden until the bitter end. Even more, I hate those people who attack films or novels for the sheer fact that they see things coming.
But enough whining, read this book people, it's one of his best. ( )

In theory, this should have been one of my best books. I had read Coe's What a Carve Up. I liked his style, very readeable, and I identified with the protagonist. The politics didn't bother me because I didn't know much about British politics anyway. However, in The House of Sleep I began to notice a pattern.

It was understandeable that all the villains in What A Carve Up were right wing thinking, successful and rich because that's what the novel is about. But The House of Sleep is not about politics, yet its villain too turns out to be right wing thinking, successful and rich. Now this struck a nerve. In fact, it destroyed my trust in the author and, consequently, it ruined the novel for me. And although it's the same very readeable style, I struggled to finish the novel.

But all this aside, and I suppose all these negative feelings could have died away; I suppose I could have sacrificed my self-righteousness if the story had actually drawn me in. It had many elements of the story that usually captivates me: small town, gloomy atmosphere, eccentric characters... but it was all so dry, so tasteless! I waited for this feeling to fade away as I spend more time with the characters, get the spirit... nothing.

Perhaps it felt so artificial because, not unlike the previous novel, much focus was put on structure, plot twists, and the big, revelatory resolution. But I could see the twists coming miles away, and overall it was unimpressive. I don't know why Coe made the twists so easy to figure out prematurely. I suspect that he knew exactly what he was doing. Perhaps, by the time he wrote this novel, he already knew the type of readers he attracts. Namely, readers who like novels that make them feel smart. ( )

What is in the book: Some students lived for a certain period in the dormitories. Some of the former students have sleep disorders but are not interesting — these sleep disturbances channeled in the minority to where these disorders treated, 12 years later - the same structure that once housed their dormitories. The director of the sleep lab is one of the heroes of the book, also a former student.


What is not in the book: There is no big and exciting love story, but a small with a bizarre spin. The book is not a comedy, is not amusing, is not funny and doesn't have original and witty tweets — not even fantastic writing. It is a book that tries to be smart with unusual combinations of cases, the flexibility of the plot to improbable laws and in general, although the book somehow flows, it runs nowhere and comes nowhere. ( )

Wow! What a different book! Both haunting and humorous and all about sleep. ( )

"Che cos'è il genio? È fantasia, intuizione, colpo d'occhio e velocità di esecuzione", questa frase del film "Amici Miei" continuava a presentarsi nella lettura del libro. Perchè a mio parere Coe è un genio della scrittura. La trama, la costruzione della storia, l'intrecciarsi delle vicende sono di un genio della scrittura. La storia, come ambientazione, ruota attorno ad un posto che a seconda dei capitoli (pari o dispari) è o un college universitario o una clinica del sonno, e spesso le parole finali di un capitolo proseguono e continuano nel capitolo successivo. Ma ogni capitolo pari o dispari è rispettivamente ambientato all'epoca in cui l'edificio è clinica o college.
Ma la storia tutta ruota attorno ai personaggi che vivevano nel college e che per strani intrecci della vita e spesso a loro insaputa si ritrovano di nuovo, ma non per forza nel posto, a ruotare attorno alla casa del sonno.
E' anche una potente storia d'amore, ma non melensa e sentimentale, è una storia di relazioni umane amorose (corrisposte o meno che siano) quale motore delle vicende umane. la lettura è coinvolgente e ti chiede di non staccare mai, sei rapito e a malincuore chiudi il libro in pausa. E personalmente ogni volta che chiudevo il libro mi ripetevo la frase de "Amici Miei" ( )