Earlier this month, I finished Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King and Owen King. I listened to it via Audible and I personally loved every minute of the audiobook. The one and only narrator for all 25+ hours was Marin Ireland, and let me tell you, she is incredible!
However, there are an overwhelming number of negative reviews, like horrible 1 and 2 stars claiming this is Stephen Kings worst novel. Reviews along the lines of: boring, disappointing, terrible, couldn’t finish, I want my money back, etc. etc. So what’s the deal with Sleeping Beauties?!
THE PLOT | Sleeping Beauties
What might happen if women disappeared from the world of men?
In the small Appalachian town of Dooling, West Virginia something begins to happen to women when they go to sleep: they become covered in a cocoon-like gauze. If they are awakened, if the gauze wrapping their bodies is disturbed or violated, the women become feral and spectacularly violent; and while they sleep they go to another place….
The men of our world are abandoned, left to their increasingly primal devices. One woman, however, the mysterious Evie, is immune to the blessing or curse of the sleeping disease. Is Evie a medical anomaly to be studied? Or is she a demon who must be slain?
WHY I LOVED LISTENING & WHY OTHERS MAY HAVE HATED IT
I’m a firm believer that an audiobook narrator can make or break a book. In this case, I thought Marin Ireland truly brought this story to life and gave so much color and magic to the world The Kings created. Not only that, but this novel was chalk full of at least 50+ characters, Ireland brought a bit of flair to each and every one of them, truly spectacular.
OK, so with that said, let’s dive deeper into the plot and all things related. Was Sleeping Beauties actually a great book or was it just A+ narration? It’s hard to say. One could argue the novel didn’t have any of the Stephen King flair to it. It was somewhat of a feminism love letter. Each character was so stereotyped it was comical. It was a bit dragged out, perhaps 1/3 of this book could have been cut (read: Mr. King desperately needs an editor). The premise wasn’t totally explored. Etc. etc. etc.
I’m actually a bit surprised this novel has plummeted to a 3.76 rating on Goodreads, as it was the Choice 2017 Winner under the horror section. All I can say is that I very much enjoyed listening to it while commuting and while I was at work. Perhaps if you’re going to give this one a go, make it an audiobook rather than eBook or a physical copy. If it makes a difference, Sleeping Beauties holds a 4.3 on Audible!