Title: Sleep Toward Heaven
Author: Amanda Eyre Ward
First published March 1, 2003
295 pages, Paperback
ISBN: 9780060582296 (ISBN10: 0060582294)
Rating: 3.84
Overview
From the author of the bestselling novel The Jetsetters, comes a gripping tale of three women whose lives intersect on Death Row in Texas. Karen, a convicted murderer, awaits her execution while Franny, a successful doctor in Manhattan, questions her seemingly perfect life.
Meanwhile, Celia, a young librarian in Austin, struggles to find meaning after the tragic murder of her husband. As their stories intertwine, they are forced to face their deepest fears and desires, ultimately leading them to question the very fabric of their existence.
A hauntingly beautiful story of love, loss, and redemption, Sleep Toward Heaven is a must-read for fans of Amanda Eyre Ward.
About the Author
Amanda Eyre Ward was born in New York City in 1972 and moved to Rye, New York, at the age of four. During her time at Kent School in Kent, CT, she wrote for the Kent News.
Amanda majored in English and American Studies at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where she studied fiction writing with Jim Shepard. She spent her junior fall in coastal Kenya and worked part-time at the Williamstown Public Library.
After her graduation, Amanda taught at Athens College in Greece for a year before moving to Missoula, Montana, where she pursued her MFA in fiction writing at the University of Montana with Bill Kittredge, Dierdre McNamer, Debra Earling, and Kevin Canty. She received her MFA and afterward took a job at the University of Montana Mansfield Library, working in Inter Library Loan.
In 1998, Amanda moved to Austin, Texas and began working on her first novel, Sleep Toward Heaven, which was published in 2003. Sleep Toward Heaven won the Violet Crown Book Award and was optioned for film by Sandra Bullock and Fox Searchlight.
To promote the book, Amanda and her family traveled to London and Paris.
Amanda’s second novel, How to Be Lost, was published in 2004 and was selected as a Target Bookmarked pick. Her third novel, Forgive Me, was published in 2007.
Amanda traveled with her sister, Liza Ward Bennigson, to Cape Town, South Africa to research for the book. Love Stories in This Town, Amanda’s short story collection, was published in April 2009.
Close Your Eyes, Amanda’s fourth novel, was published in July 2011, received a four-star review in People Magazine, and won the Elle Lettres Readers’ Prize for September. It was named in Kirkus’ Best Books of 2011 and won the Elle Magazine Fiction Book of the Year.
Amanda’s fifth novel, The Same Sky, was published on January 20, 2015, and was named one of the most anticipated books for 2015 by BookPeople and Book of the Week by People Magazine.
Amanda’s new novel, The Nearness of You, was published on Valentine’s Day 2017, and her latest novel, The Jetsetters, will be published on February 4, 2020.
Editoral Review
Amanda Eyre Ward’s Sleep Toward Heaven is a haunting and unforgettable tale about grief, redemption, and forgiveness. Ward, whose debut novel, “Sleep Toward Heaven,” was released in 2003, has become an author of critical acclaim and her skills are evident in this work.
The novel tells the story of three women whose lives intersect following a tragedy at an execution in a Texas prison. Karen, June, and Celia are brought together under unusual circumstances, as they battle their personal demons and strive to find meaning in their lives.
Karen, a doctor whose pregnant sister was killed in a drunk driving accident, is both deeply affected by the loss of her sister and desperate for closure. June, the wife of the executed man, is struggling to come to terms with her grief and anger, and Celia, the prison warden, is grappling with the consequences of her job and the toll it has taken on her mental health.
The central themes of the novel are those of redemption and the search for inner peace. This is done through the interweaving of the three women’s narratives, each of which is nuanced and complex, and all three characters are given equal attention in terms of development and depth.
Ward’s writing is compelling, quietly emotional, and beautiful, and it is clear that she wants her readers to feel the same poignancy that the characters do. Ward’s knowledge of the healthcare field is evident through her portrayal of Karen’s profession and the way it affects her personal life, and her portrayal of the prison system is equally impressive in its reality and detail.
The strengths of the book are the depth of the characters and the way their stories interconnect, making clear their shared experience. The weaknesses of Sleep Toward Heaven are few; at times, the pace may seem too slow, and the ending can be unsatisfying for some.
It is important to note that Sleep Toward Heaven is not for those who want a light read, and the book is not without its emotional burdens. However, it is a literary achievement, and Amanda Eyre Ward’s debut novel is worth reading for those who crave a thought-provoking and timeless story.
In conclusion, Sleep Toward Heaven is a brilliant achievement by Amanda Eyre Ward. Her writing is nuanced, poetic, and elegant, and sharing the same realities as her characters makes the novel powerful and unforgettable.
This novel is recommended for readers who enjoy literary fiction, and who are interested in psychological drama and character development. With no hesitation, Sleep Toward Heaven receives high marks and a perfect score.
