Sleep Toward Heaven : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Could not put it down
Review: This is the first book in a long time that I could not put down. I was immediately drawn into the lives of the women Amanda Ward has created. Their lives are tragic, but they are so human, so honest, and there is a touch of humor in the descriptions. The characters are woven into a plot that is realistically presented yet completely unpredictable. The book touches on deep themes of forgiveness and redemption. I cannot wait for more from Amanda Ward, as I already miss the characters in Sleep Toward Heaven. This is a novel that I have recommended to all my friends.

Rating:
Summary: Finest Kind Novel
Review: This marvelously readable novel is a rare gift -- mordantly funny, intimately affecting, compassionately intense and true every step of the way. Davis must have summoned up creative devils for this, her first, novel. Fabulously fine book. No pressure, of course, but I can't wait for #2.

Rating:
Summary: Best Women in Prison Novel Ever!
Review: This novel is that notable exception--a literary nail-biter with a heart as big as the barren plains of Texas in which it is set. Ward's story of three women connected only by a murder is smart, ambitious, and just plain riveting. In Gatestown, Texas, twenty-nine year old Karen passes time on Death Row, counting the days til her execution. In New York, a young doctor named Franny receives an unexpected phone call while she tries to figure out how to escape the tragic loss of a patient and the clutching arms of the man soon to be her husband. In Austin, Texas, another young woman named Celia attempts to recover from her husband's untimely death. As promised, this one did, indeed, keep me up all night reading both in order to find out what happens and in awe of Amanda Eyre Ward's talent--masterful.

Rating:
Summary: Get on Death Row but with a round trip ticket!!
Review: This novel is written beautifully. It flows between characters who are each facing death or its consequences. The narrative is spellbinding. Observations are the result of a unique vision and the details of life on death row are chilling. This novel was entertaining but at the same time made me think.

Rating:
Summary: Provocative and brilliant
Review: Three very different women --one who is on death row, one who is the wife of one of the victim's, and one who is coming to work at the prison--come to terms with each other--and themselves--during one long, hot, steamy summer in Ward's haunting novel. How do you forgive another? How do you forgive yourself for the choices you made? Beautifully written and just a spell-binding read.

Rating:
Summary: Funny and Touching!
Review: Throw away your preconceptions about reading about death row inmates and pick up this book! Sleep Toward heaven is a funny and touching novel in which inmates with nicknames like "Satan Killer" and "The Hairdresser of Death" become real women with real names: Sharleen, Veronica, Samantha, Karen. The intersection of the lives and sorrows of the three main characters-- inmate Karen; Celia, the widowed wife of one of Karen's victims; and Dr. Franny, the prison doctor--will make you laugh and will make you cry.

Rating:
Summary: Honest & intense - a really great read!
Review: What a great novel! I got sucked in quickly and then couldn't put it down - read the whole thing in one sitting... I was particularly blown away by the incredible honesty of the characters and straighforward style. A truly beautiful book.

Rating:
Summary: Sleep toward heaven
Review: Wonderful characters, quirky, sad and true to life. I can't wait to see what else Amanda writes. It's books like this that make you remember that no matter how bad things get, you are never alone, sometimes you just need to open your eyes and feel.

Rating:
Summary: Simply...A Beautiful Book
Review: Words fail me, unlike Amanda Eyre Ward. This is a tightly woven, simply beautiful book that resists description. This is the best book I have read...no, inhaled...in years. A work of art that will change and rearrange you if you let it in. Thank you, Amanda Eyre Ward. Please keep writing and feeling and telling the story of the human condition.