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Sleepless

A Memoir of Insomnia
By Marie Darrieussecq
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Sleepless by Marie Darrieussecq is a memoir that delves into the author’s personal experiences with insomnia, weaving her introspective journey with scientific exploration and literary references. Through her narrative, she reflects on the broader implications of sleeplessness in modern life, capturing the nuances of an existence affected by a lack of sleep. The book presents an insightful blend of personal anecdotes and cultural observations, offering an engaging perspective on a universal yet deeply personal struggle.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're fascinated by introspective explorations of personal experiences with insomnia. Marie Darrieussecq delves deeply into the psychological and emotional impacts of sleeplessness, blending personal memoir with philosophical musings to offer a unique perspective that can resonate with anyone interested in the intricacies of the human condition.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Sleepless is both a personal account of the author's inability to sleep and a poetic survey of a range of artists and others who have suffered from chronic insomnia—a book for everyone who has found sleep elusive.

The world is divided into those who can sleep and those who can't.

What is it like to live with chronic insomnia? For Marie Darrieussecq, not sleeping began after the birth of her first child and continues more than twenty years later.

In Sleepless, she recounts her own experiences alongside those of fellow insomniacs, mostly writers, some of whom claim a connection between not sleeping and creativity. With her inimitable humour, she describes her countless attempts to find a remedy, including consulting a somnologist.

Darrieussecq discusses bedrooms, beds, the homeless, refugees, trauma, our wakefulness online, and how our relationship with animals is connected to whether we can sleep. Sleepless will awaken you to the otherness of our world.

Insomnia feeds off this bewildering feeling—there is something else.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Reviews of Sleepless by Marie Darrieussecq highlight its deep exploration of insomnia through personal narrative and cultural reflections. The book is praised for its intellectual depth, humour, and poetic style, weaving personal anecdotes with broader cultural insights. Critics commend Darrieussecq's insightful writing and the superb English translation for capturing the essence of the sleepless experience, making the work both relatable and thought-provoking.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781922790088

Publisher: Text Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 August 2023

Country: Australia

Imprint: The Text Publishing Company

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 17.0mm

Width: 154.0mm

Height: 232.0mm

Weight: 298g

Pages: 224

Collections

Biography & Memoir Education & Reference Marie Darrieussecq Non-Fiction Penguin Books

About the Author

Marie Darrieussecq was born in Bayonne in 1969 and is recognised as one of the leading voices of contemporary French literature. Her first novel, Pig Tales, was translated into thirty-five languages. She has written more than twenty books. Text has published Tom Is Dead, All the Way, Men, Being Here- The Life of Paula Modersohn-Becker, Our Life in the Forest, The Baby, Crossed Lines and Sleepless. In 2013 Marie Darrieussecq was awarded the Prix Medicis and the Prix des Prix for her novel Men. She has written art criticism and journalism for a number of publications, including Liberation and Charlie Hebdo, is a translator from English and has practised as a psychoanalyst. Sleepless is her third non-fiction title published by Text. Marie lives in Paris. mariedarrieussecq.com Penny Hueston's translations from French include novels by Patrick Modiano (Little Jewel), Emmanuelle Pagano (One Day I'll Tell You Everything), Sarah Cohen-Scali (Max) and Raphael Jerusalmy (Evacuation). She has translated seven books by Marie Darrieussecq and has been shortlisted for the JQ-Wingate Prize, the Scott Moncrief Prize, and twice for the New South Wales Premier's Translation Prize. She was the winner of the 2020 Medal for Excellence in Translation.

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