She wrote the book herself, which is laudable. How do I know she wrote it herself? Hmmmm...well, it's MATERIAL more than narrative. Not to say that's bad--in fact, it's good if you have a short attention span. And it is excruciating in some parts, not badly written (as Material goes), but "ouch, Lauren, you're hurting me with this self-deprecation and shame; for God's sake, think before you speak!" excruciating. I identified, even though she's about half my age, and it made me uncomfortable. At the same time, It gave me some laughs. The widower boyfriend sounds like a prig, and her straight-faced adoration of him and his insufferable kid were the least interesting parts. Hope this young woman finds success; I'd like to see more of her, and she's probably better as a performer than as a writer.

This intelligent novel captures early 21st century upper-middle-class dysphoria brilliantly and unsentimentally. 2001 doesn't seem long ago, but the listserv or message board transcript early in the book is a snapshot of a bygone era in online interaction. (Narrative devices like the listserv, meant to be funny I suppose, were the weakest parts of this book.)I do appreciate it when a novelist takes the trouble to write in third person these days--but the all-seeing narrator in Inspired Sleep is a little too chummy with his reader, at the expense of his characters in a few instances. Too much winking and nudging for complete suspension of disbelief. Overall, though, it's a wise and clever book with more perfect turns of phrase than I've read in a long time. He's as good as Tom Perrotta and Francine Prose, who probably don't see themselves as at all comparable to each other or to Robert Cohen. Oh, well--it's MY library and my review! I highly recommend this book, though, and hope Robert Cohen writes more novels.