Mister Sandman: A Novel: Amazon.ca: Barbara Gowdy: Books

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First Sentence
JOAN CANARY was the Reincarnation Baby. Read the first page

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Concordance

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

23 Reviews

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.6 out of 5 stars (23 customer reviews)

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3.0 out of 5 stars Strange and dysfunctional family, but good characters, Dec 31 2002

By

Deanne Kelley (Bridgewater, Nova Scotia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mister Sandman (Paperback)

Gowdy has quite an imagination. This is the most dysfunctional family I've read about (right up there with "Fall on Your Knees"). There is homosexuality, promiscuity, lies, secrets, and the silent Joan, who is the youngest daughter, thought to be brain damaged but extremely intelligent, and aware of her families betrayals in her own way.

I am still trying to decide if I liked this book. The characters were interesting and they did draw my interest. But the story is way out there...certainly not a mainstream read. Gowdy's style confused me a bit at first by changing timelines often, and once that settled down I could follow the plot much easier.

An interesting and somewhat shocking read...not sure that I would recommend it to others.

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3.0 out of 5 stars Sometimes funny, possibly disturbing, Oct 23 2001

By

Shane Tiernan (St. Petersburg, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Mister Sandman (Paperback)

I was suggested this book by Amazon's recommendations engine and then was convinced by all the 5 star reviews to add it to my wish-list. So then I got if for Christmas and finally got to it a couple weeks ago.

I wouldn't call it a waste of time. There are some very funny parts (mostly in the beginning and the end) and it's definitely unique. But... the story didn't really hold together well for me. It was more like a bunch of short stories set in the same place, as Gowdy takes one character at a time and exposes their strange (though I'm sure more common than most people think) lives. I wasn't disturbed by the amount of sexual material in the book but anyone that thinks this book is about some cute, angelic child should definitely beware.

Another reviewer mentioned purpose and resolution. I would have to agree, the ending didn't really explain much or give you any idea about the future of the family members. I don't think there really was a point Gowdy was trying to get across, unless it was "life is stranger than it looks at a glance".

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4.0 out of 5 stars Marvelous Work from a Wonderful Canadian Author, May 14 2001

By

Ricky Hunter (New York City, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Mister Sandman (Paperback)

Barbara Gowdy's Mister Sandman is a wonderful find. It is amazing to discover how much fun and quirky the book and the characters are and, yet, somehow the writing always reaches deeper just when the reader does not expect it. The book creates emotion out of chaos and pieces together a novel of the heart that a lesser writer would have made straight forward and senimental. The author has simply made it strange turning into unusual turning into delightful turning into moving and then coming back again. These are characters that are hard to forget, particulary the baby Joan, a truly unique creation. It is great to find a Canadian author of such talent.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars I must agree with the rest
This is definitely one of those books you really can't put down. (I also couldn't get the song Mister Sandman out of my head. Read more

Published on April 19 2000 by Jen

5.0 out of 5 stars Mister Sandman
This is an amazing book! I have read it at least six times. The characters are so strange and bizare but yet so real and human. I could not put this book down. Read more

Published on April 12 2000 by Heather R Sabian