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Title:
Sleeping Beauty

Author:
David Halliday

Published By:
LTD Books

ISBN:
1-55316-098-3

Copyright:
2002

Format:
Electronic

The body of a woman is found on the beach, unconscious, during a snowstorm. She is without ID, wearing a dark overcoat, and clutching a suitcase. There's no sign of a struggle or drug use and no sign of injury. Taken to the hospital, her stomach is pumped and she is admitted and remains in a coma. One of the police officers takes it upon him to spend time at her bedside, reading to her from a book that the woman had with her, "Sleeping Beauty". He felt that this book seemed appropriate. Therefore, he returns daily and reads to her in the hope that somehow, his being there and his voice will reach her.

The young woman, who is dreaming, travels via taxi, train, and plane, to an unknown village in search of her grandfather who has died. The people of the village are an odd lot, and all deny having any knowledge of the old man. However, when the woman decides that he must be in another village in the vicinity, she can't find her way out of the one that she's currently in. Every road seems to lead her back to the main square. When one of the residents tells her that the only way she can leave is to be murdered. She meets and becomes friends with a talking cat, meets a baker who holds conversations with his creations, and sells some of the strangest pies ever made.

Most of this story is told from the viewpoint of the traveling woman and at first is hard to understand. However, once the reader realizes who and where the woman is, it makes a twisted kind of sense. The characters all seem rather insubstantial and the world is strange. The actions of the characters are very bizarre, compared to the real world. While this is not my usual choice of genre, I enjoyed reading this story, once I realized what was happening. After reading the authors short biography, the source and substance of this story seems much easier to understand.

Reviewed by: Irene