The Little Sleep audiobook

The Little Sleep might as well come with a questionnaire stapled to its cover asking you to compare it to The Big Sleep, so I will oblige the marketing campaign by looking for connections: The settings have little in common (1930s Los Angeles vs. 2000s Boston), and there is a superficial plot connection (a daughter or two with a powerful father, pornography, and blackmail figure in the events of both books). But when you come to the novels' protagonists, things get interesting. The most obvious connection between Philip Marlowe and Mark Genevich is their preferred mode of communication: sarcasm. In general, the writing style of author Paul Tremblay is almost a parody of Raymond Chandler's hardboiled voice: the world-weary wisecracks and noir metaphors (categories that sometimes overlap) come in an unrelenting stream. There are so many of these touches in The Little Sleep that some are bound to fall flat, but the novel's strategy is to overwhelm: Readers will barely have time to smile or roll their eyes at a writerly flourish before the next one comes along.The important thing, though, is that The Little Sleep deals with more than solving a mystery and cracking wise, as did The Big Sleep before it. As a writer of mysteries, Raymond Chandler was plain awful. Critics excuse (and sometimes even praise) his convoluted plot lines because the critics are dazzled by the creation of Philip Marlowe, who ranks as perhaps the most fascinating character in the history of the detective genre (Sherlock Holmes notwithstanding). Similarly, the real attraction of The Little Sleep is Mark Genevich. Paul Tremblay's plot is mercifully simple compared to the messes that Raymond Chandler cooked up, but what kept me turning the pages of The Little Sleep was "Mark Genevich, narcoleptic detective" (as he is billed on the back of the book). I had expected that his narcolepsy would be played for laughs, but The Little Sleep is too smart for that. Genevich's struggles with his condition are of a piece with his Marlowesque voice: Like his hardboiled predecessor, Genevich is a damaged man with an arsenal of (mostly sarcastic) defense mechanisms, and he does not give up his secrets easily. So I will read the next Mark Genevich mystery for the same reason that I read the Philip Marlowe mysteries: not because I want to read a mystery but because I want to spend time with a fascinating character.

A detective with narcolepsy, who also may or may not be hallucinating when awake? And who gets a job but was "asleep" when he received the case, not knowing what he was hired to do or by who? How can this not be an enjoyable read?"The Little Sleep" is a premise-driven novel, no doubt, and while it does give in to many of the cliches in the noir genre, it does so intentionally. Almost self-deprecatingly. Tremblay's created a character that's fun to watch, from his "condition" to his snarky attitude. Add the unreliable narrator element to the mix and this was just an enjoyable little novel to dive into, one that would make for an excellent transition to the screen -- big or small.Many of the turns and twists were predictable, so don't go into this expecting a superb or shocking mystery, but the ride in getting to these plot twists was still worth taking. Kudos to Tremblay for a very different kind of P.I. and adding flavor to an oft-tiresome genre. I'll definitely be picking up the sequel.

Really 3.5 but I don’t know how to do half stars It was very interesting & had a seductive voice (audiobook) narrating which helped a lot. I did not predict the end, & read it in a hurry towards the finish as I was intrigued. It’s original & it’s also a sort of horror story - narcolepsy & the other symptoms scared me truly & were skillfully woven through the tale and made very important as health always is. It is your whole being - what you can do or not do … what you wish you could do but cannot. I liked this part of the book the most. Not to say it is inspirational, as those type of books often annoy me intensely- why can’t you do anything when a person with only one working little finger can accomplish Everest feats. They can; tour, build houses, make presentations etc but you have trouble getting out of bed 🛌- with 10 working fingers. OMG I’ve gone off the track … good book

I bought this book on a whim when I saw SST had a special signed edition coming out.Man, I'm so glad I did. I absolutely loved this. This one felt just so damn cool from the get go. What a great character with a terrific, original voice. I blazed through this.Five stars no question.

Click the image below to watch the quick Wordless Video Book Review Schlafly Oatmeal Stout pairs well with Paul Tremblay’s The Little Sleep. When enjoying a book about a narcoleptic detective, coffee immediately comes to mind. The roasted barley and oatmeal with coffee and raisin notes helps me to empathize with the character of Mark Genevich, drowsy yet always searching for the morning breakfast-and-coffee perk needed to keep me going.  My wish for you, dear reader, is for less violence and misery than befalls Private Investigator Genevich when enjoying your Oatmeal Stout.

Tremblay’s books are always winners for me. This was a sharp, quick, intriguing piece of detective fiction with a punchy writing style that had me hooked from the first page. Not my usual genre of preference, but still enjoyable. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4!

It’s clear that I need to read more of Paul Tremblay’s work. While I didn’t love The Pallbearer’s Club, I enjoyed Tremblay’s writing style. He came across as accessible and fun, someone I could easily digest while providing enough pathos for his protagonists to feel like they are more than literary ciphers.I grabbed this on a lark in a bookstore, knowing that it was an early Tremblay novel and a satire of the hardboiled PI genre. As I’ve written about before, I’m not a fan of most satire as I’m too literal minded. But as I said, I liked Tremblay’s writing so I tried it.Perhaps this is satirical on one level but Tremblay’s humor is muted. There is a touch of it but mostly, one feels for the stumbling, bumbling narcoleptic Mark Genevich. Much like Lionel Essrog in Motherless Brooklyn, Genevich’s debilitating condition seems like hell and he has to struggle through it in order to solve a rather intricate political mystery involving a Boston DA with connections to none other than Whitey Bulger, and his daughter, who happens to be a star on an American Idol type show.There’s a surrealist aspect as neither the reader nor Mark knows what’s real and what’s hallucinatory but Tremblay is able to steady the narrative because he knows how to ape Chandler in the best ways. There are similes but they don’t go over-the-top. There’s tough guy dialogue but it’s always spoken through the mouth of a true sad sack. It’s quite a tribute to Chandler, better than most, and the narcolepsy bit feels less like a gimmick (which I assumed it was) and more like the centrifuge that spins the story.One of my favorite crime tales this year, I’m fast becoming a fan of Tremblay’s work.

A solid 4 stars. I’m a big noir murder mystery fan, love all the old black and whites as well as the novels. Phillip Marlow and The Big Sleep is one of my favorites and I enjoyed the way Paul Tremblay had a Phillip Marlow-esque character with narcolepsy who has a lot of little sleeps. Funny!The character makes real mistakes and has so many great one-liners and come backs. One of my favorites was when he was being cornered by two goons. He said “I’ll be the meat in this goon sandwich”. Ha!I listened to this on audiobook and the narrator did a fantastic job playing the gritty hardboiled detective. Looking forward to more cases to solve with Mark Genevich.

Really great detective novel, the ending was a little unsatisfying and that’s what hinders it from a true 5⭐️ but the depiction of the Massachusetts settings and books and crannies of every place Genevich went to was incredible. Witty but not to the point of overdoing it or exhaustion, and a very good detective, I like the narcolepsy twist that was great and original

Can’t wait to read the next installment!

Mark Genevich has narcolepsy in the worst way. He falls asleep midsentence. He has vivid hallucinations that he can't always tell from reality. He walks around and has conversations in his sleep, often fooling others into thinking he's awake. He suffers from attacks of cataplexy, aka "sleep paralysis". And he works as a private detective, which for him generally means taking cases that consist of finding data on the internet. However, now he's been hired by a pretty young contestant on "American Star", who also happens to be the daughter of the local District Attorney. Only, he's not sure exactly what she's hired him to do. See, he was asleep through most of their meeting. But he has some pictures of her in various states of undress that were left on his desk, so he figures someone must be blackmailing her. Working on this small amount of information, Mark begins digging into the case, but soon he begins to question even the little he does know. He figures he must have stumbled onto something, though, because thugs are following him around and roughing him up.This book's plot focuses on the bizarre case Mark Genevich has found himself tied up in, but the real focus of the book is the tragic figure of Mark himself. Disfigured in an accident at the age of 21 and suffering from narcolepsy ever since, Mark lives a shadowy half-life of what he calls "little sleeps", and tries to delude himself that he is self-reliant, and doesn't need his mother as a caregiver, even as she stays at his apartment multiple times a week and gives him rides anytime he needs to go anywhere. He covers his confusion with lots of snappy witticisms, but underneath, he's melancholy and often frustrated, and this case only adds to his stress level. Paul Tremblay does a great job of bringing the character of Mark Genevich to life, and arouses a great deal of sympathy for him in the reader, especially since the reader recognizes early on that there's no miracle waiting for Mark--he's stuck stumbling his way through life for the foreseeable future. Mark's condition is sort of a metaphor for the human condition, though, and I know that's a really hackneyed thing to say, but I'm serious. His struggles with the constant neurological urge to fall asleep, and all of the problems that come with it, are much more obvious and physical manifestations of handicaps and burdens that all of us carry throughout our life. The fact that Mark always finds a way to muddle through, to keep going in the face of some pretty intense setbacks throughout the book, make "The Little Sleep" somewhat of a positive, uplifting tale, even despite the persistent melancholy of its main character, and its dark tone throughout. This book is an excellent new wrinkle on the classic hardboiled detective tale, with nuanced plotting, character depth, and profound emotion threaded throughout. Anyone looking for a 21st century spiritual successor to Raymond Chandler should check this book out ASAP.

Explaining The Little Sleep by Paul Tremblay with a few snappy pull-quotes makes the concept of the book sound completely convoluted and ridiculous. It does when I’m the one stringing the words together anyway and I’ve tried a few times. So I’ll settle for the movie pitch short-cut. The Singing Detective meets Memento, with a wittier protagonist —and no psoriasis. The tale of a narcoleptic detective solving the puzzle of how a photograph fell into his hands while he was sleeping unfolds like a banquet. The details of Mark Genevich’s life in South Boston are vivid and sharp. The characters spring to life fully formed. The author deftly handles the complicated plot as reality shifts. It’s like watching an expert juggler toss knives and flaming torches while eating an apple. As a reader I was at times unsettled, but never once did the author drop the threads and get me lost. In lesser hands this could have been a train wreck of false clues and heavy-handed plot twists. I never for a moment felt cheated. I especially, appreciated the tiny details that helped to pull me into the main character’s world. One example is dialog tags showed up in odd places. Did he say that out loud! Phew, no.Best of all is the main character’s interior monologue which can best be described with an example:Aunt Patty limps, favoring her left side, probably a hip. When her hip breaks, she won’t make it out of the hospital alive. Yeah, like I said, I’m in a mood.She says, “What’s your name?”“Mark, Mark Genevich. Nice to meet you, Aunt Patty.”“What nationality?”“Lithuanian.” Maybe I should tell her what I really am: narcoleptic. We narcoleptics have no country and we don’t participate in the Olympics. Our status supersedes all notion of nationality. We’re neutral, like the Swiss, but they don’t trust us with army knives.The Little Sleep is solidly on the list of the best books I’ve read this year. (I know, I know, I’m late to the party) I’m looking forward to reading the sequel, No Sleep till Wonderland. I’m also anticipating yet another treat with Swallowing a Donkey’s Eye. I’m hearing great things.

There's Raymond Chandler's THE BIG SLEEP, and then there's Paul Tremblay's THE LITTLE SLEEP. It's funny, the title, on so many levels.I like detective stories, mysteries. I just read my first Lee Child, have long been a fan of John Sandford, Preston & Child, and F. Paul Wilson. Paul Tremblay holds his own against these guys, and makes the classic noir his own. Call it contemporary-noir, or neo-noir, it's a modern twist, with a great sense of humor. The narcolepsy alone is hilarious, and everything that comes with it. It's just as funny as it sounds. But there's more, a depth to his writing, a darkness, a harsh reality. And it's that second layer, added to his humor, that make this book more than just a good time. I did laugh a lot, reading this, for sure. But there's more to THE LITTLE SLEEP than PI jokes. There's loss, and sympathy, and even hope.I'm not surprised that there is a second book, NO SLEEP 'TIL WONDERLAND, that continues the sad story of the narcoleptic detective, Mark Genevich. There's a lot to explore in this world, and I look forward to more of it. Tremblay has also written a lot of great short stories, some included in THE MEAN TIME, out later this year from ChiZine Publications, a fantastic press.

The perfect tonic to restore me after The Wooden Sea, this is clever and fast and expertly written, with a likable lead to boot. Tremblay makes writing a complicated character look remarkably easy, and rather than going for any of the obvious gags that having a narcoleptic detective for a lead might inspire he crafts a nuanced and finally poignant novel that is much more than a simple mystery or noir pastiche. In an effort to read a little wider I've been trying to avoid reading more than one book by an individual author each year but I'm positivley slavering to pick up No Sleep Till Wonderland.