Synopsis
Hildur Knutsdottir’s The Night Guest is an eerie and ensnaring story set in contemporary Reykjavík that’s sure to keep you awake at night.
Iðunn is in yet another doctor’s office. She knows her constant fatigue is a sign that something’s not right, but practitioners dismiss her symptoms and blood tests haven’t revealed any cause.
When she talks to friends and family about it, the refrain is the same ― have you tried eating better? exercising more? establishing a nighttime routine? She tries to follow their advice, buying everything from vitamins to sleeping pills to a step-counting watch. Nothing helps.
Until one night Iðunn falls asleep with the watch on, and wakes up to find she’s walked over 40,000 steps in the night . . .
What is happening when she’s asleep? Why is she waking up with increasingly disturbing injuries? And why won’t anyone believe her?
Review
A huge thank you to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for the eARC!
Sleepless night, forgotten memories, and an unknown illness. The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir taps into the deepest horrors of the subconscious during those precious hours of unawareness, sleep. Despite many trips to the doctor and leading a fairly healthy life, Iðunn is at a loss for what is causing her intense fatigue. That is until a pedometer reveals her nights are spent in motion, moving in a direction she cannot know. Combating this mobility proves to be detrimental, resulting in a downward spiral that is wrapped in suspense and darkness for Iðunn.
Horrors surrounding sleep are some of the most primal, relatable terrors imaginable. This has been explored through sleep paralysis, nightmares, and now the phenomena of sleepwalking. The premise of this story in and of itself is frightening before the details are made real. The loss of autonomy associated with sleepwalking, a journey that is made with the sole party wholly unaware, is incredibly unnerving. There’s a certain horror that thrives in the loss of control which is something that Knútsdóttir utilizes expertly.
While horrors surrounding sleep aren’t a new facet of horror, The Night Guest does explore this propulsive sense of suspense and mystery quite well. Iðunn’s mysterious illness eventually spins out into something much larger, much more personal for her. This is only compounded by the increasing atmosphere of dread created by Iðunn’s multiple unsuccessful attempts at seeking help from a medical professional. Women in particular know this dismissal, the feeling of knowing there’s a possibility that no cure exists, or that no one is listening. It’s dark material that expands into a volatile atmosphere of isolation with feelings of desperation and mistrust running awry.
The Night Guest is a story that capitalizes on the most primal aspects of the human experience. The need for rest, the possibility of insanity, and the looming question mark of your own actions combine to form a tale of immense mistrust and bleak dread. Hildur Knútsdóttir pens a propulsive, dark story following Iðunn that utilizes the characteristics that work best in the realm of sleep related terrors. It may just keep you up at night.
The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir releases on September 3rd from Tor Nightfire.
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