Insomnia is the story of Ralph, an old man who starts suffering with insomnia after the death of his wife.
Each morning Ralph wakes up earlier and earlier. Then he starts seeing the world in more vivid colour than he ever thought was possible – as he begins to see auras. For Ralph seeing auras can be beautiful and enlightening, but it can be awful and even grotesque.
Ralph thinks he is alone in his suffering with insomnia and his sensing of auras. That is until he confides in his friend Lois. Lois discloses that she has been experiencing the same. Ralph and Lois work out that when they see the auras they are going up to a higher plane of existence.
While Ralph is on this higher plane he sees a little odd alien-looking man wearing a white coat and with a scalpel in his hand. The man is after street dog. Ralph interferes and the man calls Ralph a short-timer and threatens him. This man turns out to be working for the higher power of Random.
Ralph and Lois then meet two other little odd alien-looking men wearing white coats, one carrying a pair of scissors in his hand. These men are working for the higher power of Purpose. The men recruit Ralph and Lois to save the life of a child, as the child will be important in the future. Ralph and Lois agree to help the men, as they maybe able to save the lives of thousands of people, including that of their friend Helen and her daughter Natalie.
But Random have recruited Helen’s husband Ed, well before Ralph and Lois became involved.
Both of the higher powers of Random and Purpose are fighting for their own causes, with their own bigger pictures in mind and the stakes are high. But these reasons are unknown and perhaps incomprehensible to Ralph and Lois as short-timers.
The description in Insomnia is exquisitely and perfectly crafted. It allows the reader imagine everything that Ralph and Lois sees, hears, touches, tastes and smells (in all senses of the words).
The plot is endlessly inventive, expertly executed, riveting and dealing with life and death and everything in-between.
The pacing is much slower than any of King’s books that I have previously read. At times during the reading it felt as though the pacing slowed to a belly crawl. But the slower pace did suit main character Ralph, an Old Age Pensioner (OAP) and one that is severely deprived of sleep.
Insomnia is available to buy on Amazon and at all good book shops.
I’ve had a lot going on in my head recently, so much so that I decided to write my thoughts out as a mind map. The idea was to offload my thoughts on to the paper. I’ve written this blog post for the same reason. So this blog post is about me and mainly written for me.
Here is the mind map:
A mind map of thoughts to show what’s going on in my head.
As you can see I quickly ran out of room on the paper. So here’s the list of just some of the thoughts going on in my head:
My Brother after his recent spinal surgery – He is now in recovery. I am relieved that his surgery went well. But I worry that he’ll push himself too hard, as sometimes he thinks he’s indestructible.
My friend whose mum recently passed away – It was an expected death. His mum was 87 years old and had been in ill health for the last few months. She’d had a long and happy life and been in good health for most of her life. But it was still his mum. I have thought about my friend and his family often since I heard the news earlier this week.
How good my new Dorothy Morrison candles & oils smell – For several months I’ve been putting in small orders with The Angry Cauldron, ordering a few Dorothy Morrison candles and oils each month. A few weeks ago, I paid combined shipping and my orders arrived earlier on in the week:
Photo above is of my candle collection.
Photo above is of my oils chest. Included are Dorothy Morrison limited edition oils and other essential oils.
Need eyes testing –
I’ve not had an eye test by an Optician for a while. The Optician has sent two letters. Need to sort this out.
Vodafone letters wrongly stating I owe money – Vodafone have apparently sold a £100 debt of mine to another company. The problem is that I don’t owe Vodafone any money. I left Vodafone two years ago (in May) and everything was paid in full by Direct Debit. I have the bank statements to prove it.
The good time had at Grandma’s 57th Birthday meal – The family met up for my Grandma’s 75th birthday. We went for a meal in one of my favourite restaurants. I had a great time and have found myself frequently thinking of the family and the meal.
Week Off Work – I’ve got a week of annual leave coming up. I can’t wait. I’ve been thinking a lot about how to spend my time during that week off.
My friend’s Wedding in May – I’ve been thinking about what to wear, what to buy as gifts and what to take with me to the hotel (I’ve booked a 2 night stay in the hotel where the wedding is taking place).
What I’d do if I won the euromillions jackpot – The euromillions jackpot has been won quite a few times by UK winners this year. At the moment it keeps rolling over, making the jackpot prize bigger and bigger. So for the last few weeks I’ve been buying tickets and fantasising about what I’d do if I won the euromillions jackpot.
Electricity Final Bill – I misread my final electricity bill from SSE. I saw a credit on my account and not the debt balance that was in green. Easily done. But has meant that I have to find over £200 to pay the final bill.
I’ve left SSE via uSwitch for two reasons. Firstly because they didn’t take enough money by Direct Debt, so I was always in debt with them. I had repeatedly asked them to increase the Direct Debit, but they never did. The second reason was to save £50 per year.
Need to get rid of old sofa – My mum is kindly giving me her old sofa when she gets a new one. This is great because my sofa is on its last legs.
Man with a Van for new sofa – See above.
My Depressive Episode (December 2016 to now) – In December I started having some difficulties with my mood. I put it down to Christmas and being busy. My mood problems continued in January, with me noticing more symptoms. Again I put it down to busyness. In February I started talking to my GP about it. Fast forward to this week and my GP has referred me to my local Community Mental Health Team to review my medication.
The result of this depressive episode is that I’ve been working, eating, bathing, sleeping (terribly) and doing nothing else. Very little reading. Practically no creative output including no writing, no blog posts and even no thinking about them. Depression makes you feel empty, no ideas, no inspiration, no motivation, no energy and no drive.
I have been mediating more often, taking more time to relax and tried to do more of the things that I like.
My car needs a clean – The inside of my car looks like a shanty town. This is one my signs and symptoms of depression.
Candle Making: Pumpkin Spice orange candles – I really want to make a batch of Pumpkin Spice scented orange candles for Samhain (Halloween). I have the perfect jars to put the candles in. But I need supplies and that means I need money. Despite not having the money or energy/motivation to make them now, I like to think about them. How good they would look. How good they would smell.
John Smith from The Dead Zone by Stephen King – I’ve been slowly reading The Dead Zone by Stephen King. It’s about a guy called John Smith who recovers from a coma and can see the future by touching people or things. What I can’t get over is the main character’s name. John Smith. The story makes clear from the outset that he is an average guy. So using such a common place name to represent that he’s an average guy is not required. It strikes me as lazy on King’s behalf. It’s a great story, but is let down by John Smith’s name.
My New Hoover bought on Amazon: VYTRONIX VTBC01 1400w Compact Cyclonic Bagless Cylinder Vacuum Cleaner HEPA Hoover
Microwave needs replacing – At home things generally break in threes.
First the hoover started making noises like it was about to explode and take out half of the apartment block with it, so I bought a new one (pictured left) for a bargain price on Amazon. If you’re looking for a new hoover, then this is the one. It’s compact and the suction is powerful. I’ve been really impressed with it and didn’t realise how bad the old hoover actually was.
Since then the mop has snapped and the microwave has stopped heating up food properly and is rusting. So I now need to buy a new mop and microwave.
I wants –
We all have an ego that demands things like a two year old child. On my list of wants right now are the following:
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A Street Cat Named Bob is the uplifting and inspirational story about James, a man who is vulnerably housed and a recovering drug addict who discovers a rather remarkable cat.
The ginger tom, which James names Bob, is in a sorry state when he finds him. Bob has bald patches, is thin and has an infected abscess on his back leg.
As James nurses Bob back to health (with a little help) they develop a close relationship, becoming dependent upon one another. Readers will fall in love with Bob and James in equal measure.
James assumes that once Bob is well, he will leave. But Bob doesn’t. In fact he does quite the opposite.
James is working the streets of London. First busking and later selling The Big Issue magazines. Bob starts following him to work in the mornings, crossing busy roads and jumping on buses. So James ends up buying him a lead. But Bob often prefers to travel on James’ shoulder.
Bob is smart, inquisitive and a good judge of people. Many people take a liking to Bob and that helps to humanise James to them. James also learns to trust other people because of Bob. But the streets of London can be tough at times and not everyone acts out of kindness or compassion. In A Street Cat Named Bob Bowen tells the story of the tribulations and triumphs Bob and he face on the streets.
Astute readers will be left with some concern for Bowen when they finish reading A Street Cat Named Bob. Bowen values his friendship with Bob greatly. It comes across as the only significant relationship Bowen has. But the average indoor cat only lives for around 15 years (human years). So how is Bowen going to respond to the eventual death of his close friend? And will he be at risk of relapsing on to drugs or alcohol to manage his feelings of grief? I sincerely hope not.
A Street Cat Named Bob is a easy and enjoyable read, made so by Bowen’s warm and friendly tone. It’s a relatively short book at just 279 pages. It will leave readers feeling all warm and fuzzy on the inside. It is a must read for any animal lovers or anyone into sociology.
In The Wonder by Emma Donoghue, Lib, a Nightingale trained Nurse accepts a job in Ireland. Her job is to observe Anna, a child whom claims not to have eaten in months. Anna and her family claim that she is being maintained by manor from heaven. Lib’s job is to prove or disprove these claims with the help of a Roman Catholic Nun.
Sounds simple enough? Well nothing about this cleverly woven story is simple. Each of the characters is complex, felt completely real and has their own secrets that are revealed over the course of the story.
Lib and the Nun agree watch shifts, ensuring that Anna is watched at all times. Lib immediately sets to stripping down the room to search for food.
Visitors flock to see The Wonder, the child who can survive without food. Lib immediately puts a stop to the visitors. Lib even limits the contact Anna has with her mother and other family members. All to prevent any food from being slipped covertly to the child. Throughout Lib’s watches she keeps a memorandum book noting down anything observed.
Whilst off-duty Lib meets Byrne, a Correspondent for the Irish Times. At first she wont say much about Anna, Anna’s family or the situation because she is concerned about confidentiality. But as Lib notices subtle deterioration in Anna’s health, Lib confides in Byrne.
The plot starts at a crawl, to slow for me. But pacing does increase to the equivalent of brisk walk from the middle to the end of the book. The ending is inventive, imaginative and overall pleasing.
The Wonder was a Christmas I requested off my mum. The description online didn’t tell me much about the story. If I’d known it was historical fiction, I probably wouldn’t have asked for it. I’m really not into historical fiction. With that said, it was an enjoyable read. But not a story that I would read again.
If you like historical fiction or stories set in Ireland then The Wonder is worth picking up. The Wonder is available to buy on Amazon and at all good book shops.
Review soon,
Antony
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Tuesday 21 February 2017
About
Antony Simpson - Author, Blogger, Nurse & Witch.
Author of eight books.
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