Nick Van Loy has been a sufferer of insomnia himself. He uses this experience to write a novella that has an engaging style. It might be short in length but hits like a punch in the stomach with its content.
The protagonist, Seth, is a freelance writer who is also writing a novel in his spare time. He meets up with his old friends from college that he hasn’t seen for a while. Falling asleep, on the train, on the way home leads to a chain of events that spiral out of control. The girl beside him leaves him a note that begins an unraveling. Seth has an eclectic taste in music and, for me, sets a soundtrack that runs through the book. It is the music that plays in the clubs and cafes that he visits along with his own listening choices that gives tone to the tale.
The scene setting in this book is good. The clubs, his friends family restaurant and favourite cafe were very real. I also think I know the smell of Seth’s flat! The story gets darker as it moves forward.
TRIGGER WARNING: For suicide, early death and childhood death.
Insomnia will be published on 26th January by Cranthorpe Milner
Review by Carolyn Batcheler
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