Epistolary novels are always a bit of a tightrope. How do you explain, particularly in this day and age, why people are writing lengthy letters to each other with pen and paper. In her latest novel The Sleepwalkers, Scarlett Thomas walks this tightrope, mostly successfully, to deliver an unsettling, gothic mystery that holds its secrets close to its chest.
The Sleepwalkers opens with a list of documents – letters, notes, a transcript and some photographs – with little other explanation. The narrative then works through these, although the story they tell is somewhat out of order. The initial framing letter is that written by Evie to her husband Richard as she plans to run out on him during their honeymoon on a Greek Island. The letter tells of a holiday that has gone off the rails, a strange hotel with a tragic recent past (the inexplicable drowning deaths of “the sleepwalkers” of the title) and a series of weird and unsettling events. That letter cuts off and is followed by the first half of an apologetic letter written by Richard which deepens the mystery before the rest of the documents both enlighten and confuse things further.
By the end of The Sleepwalkers it is hard to know exactly what has happened, but that is part of the point. The use of the letters, notes and transcripts, give specific points of view. They are purposely designed to tell a story either directly as the character perceives it or, more importantly, how that character wants things to be perceived. What Thomas does really well using this technique is allow readers to root for and understand Evie while keeping open the possibility that she may be lying about some of the events described, given she has reason to.
Despite its bright setting of the Greek Islands, The Sleepwalkers is an intensely gothic novel full of creepy characters and strange goings on. Thomas successfully keeps readers both engaged and interested in getting to the bottom of the mystery and completely off balance right down to the last, unfinished sentence.
Robert Goodman
For more of Robert’s reviews, visit his blog Pile By the Bed
Other reviews you might enjoy:
- The Woman in the Library (Sulari Gentill) – book review
- The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant (Kayte Nunn) – book review
- The Shape of Darkness (Laura Purcell) – book review
Robert Goodman is a book reviewer, former Ned Kelly Awards judge and institutionalised public servant based in Sydney. This and over 450 more book reviews can be found on his website Pile By the Bed.
