July/1998
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THE LITERARY INSOMNIAC
Edited by Elyse Cheney and Wendy Hubbert New York: Doubleday, 1996 291 pages, hardback, $21.95
Reviewed by Lynne Lamberg
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"Insomnia is so widespread among writers that it seems
almost a prerequisite for literary success," assert editors Elyse
Cheney and Wendy Hubbert in their introduction to a collection of 23
works on troubled sleep by 20th century writers.
In Ameena Meer's story, "Mannequin" a wealthy young Indian
woman, an editorial assistant in New York, develops nightmares
after agreeing to an arranged marriage. A passionate summer affair
with a male model makes it possible for her to look beyond the
surface of the life that lies ahead and calms her sleep.
In Lynne Sharon Schwartz's story "Acquainted with the
Night," Alexander Smith awakens at 2:47 a.m. He imagines that a
floater in his eye signifies impending fatal illness. Unable to sleep,
he agonizes over sins from his past. Dawn comes, and the floater
disappears. He-and perhaps his resolve to become a better
person--drift off.
Since only one entry in The Literary Insomniac also
appears in Bedlam, both of these books would be good
bedside companions.
Warning: you may end up like the narrator of Tim Cahill's
story, "Dreams:"
"What I was looking for was unattainable," the narrator
relates. "I wanted to sleep. I wanted to get into bed, turn off the light,
and go to sleep. I don't sleep. I can't sleep, I've never been able to
sleep.
"It started, I think," he says, "as soon as I learned to read for
pleasure."
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