PositiveThe Milwaukee Journal SentinelBohjalian creates enough suspicion that even up until the last few pages we accuse nearly every character of being responsible for Annalee’s disappearance. Along the way, Bohjalian educates us about the scientific explanations for sleepwalking. At first they seem merely interesting. Then Bohjalian leads us into a darker topic, sexual behavior in sleep (SBS). At that point, we realize that by his offering the matter-of-fact scientific evidence behind sleep disorders, Bohjalian has been slowly conditioning us to willingly enter a somewhat alarming and deviant place ... The story moves swiftly, with only a couple of wrinkles that challenge our willingness to believe this fiction ... Eventually, Bohjalian reveals the family’s secrets. And because we want to keep them hidden, he succeeds in making us accomplices in a dark world we never knew existed.
Charles Foster
PositiveThe Milwaukee Journal SentinelFoster nearly convinces us that such shape-shifting is possible in the way he lyrically tells his stories — uncensored, intensely descriptive and often hysterical — and by referencing literary works and undisputed physiological facts ... While empathy plays a notable role in the book, the overall question that Foster raises has more to do with how we as humans are anchored to our planet and how we can better understand the man-beast-earth interrelatedness. He offers an answer, too. He admits that no man can be a beast. No matter how hard we try to be something else, we're human. Achingly human.
