Customer Reviews

Sleep Toward Heaven

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"There is something catty about the women. I don't know. With the men it's very straightforward, but with the women there`s the............you might say the cunning."

The title of the book alone was what drew me to it "Sleep Towards Heaven".

It is a work well done for this first novelist Amanda Eyre Ward. Set in Gatestown, Texas, we are invited into the lives of four women on Death Row.

The story centres too around two totally different individuals whose lives will be affected by one of these women sentenced to death by lethal injection. We meet Celia a widow who has lost her husband to murder, and Franny a doctor and caregiver, who spends her time with the incarcerated, and of course Karen, who is at the core of the tale.

As these lives intertwine, we see harshness without forgiveness, severe love, stubbornness and also grace and love. It shows us what people would do for the sake of love; how far one would go to have one's love returned, or just to satisfy the one loved.

These women live their last days out watching TV, doing handicraft, praying and deciding what their last meals will be before their deaths, when they will be sentenced, and some of them become changed in spiritual ways, relying on God's forgiveness and going to a better place after death.

It is sad but it is well told and it is a good first effort.

Reviewed by Heather Marshall Negahdar (SUGAR-CANE 14/10/06

I fully agree with the reviewers who gave this wonderful book 5 stars. I began reading this book in the afternoon, read off and on the rest of the day, and couldn't go to sleep until I finished it. The way the author weaves together the three women and their places in the story is engrossing. If this is Ms. Ward's first novel, I can't wait for more.

For a first book by an author,this is very good.The only
objection I had,was the style of the linked characters
each telling their story.I thought it jumped around in the
beginning and I had to go back and check their status,with
each chapter.
That said,the story draws you into the failed romance of
Dr. Fran Wren,a New York City physician,and her failed
medical mistakes.Franny decides to leave her fiance,and
return to her roots in Waco,Texas.
Outside of Waco,is a women's prison where Franny's
Uncle,Dr. Wren,spent some of his time attending to
the patients.Dr. Jack Wren,dies suddenly and Franny
is asked to temporarily take his place.
Reluctantly,Fran agrees to treat the women,some who
are on Death Row.The women she finds herself assigned
to are distinguished by names like Satan Killer,The
Black Widow,(a serial bride who poisoned her husbands),
and Karen,who is HIV-positive,and sentenced to die.
Karen was terribly abused by men all her life-but she
also took innocent life and that is debated in this
book,along with Capital punishment.
It ends with almost an O.Henry ending,impossible
to guess.
I hope Ms. Ward writes more books.I am waiting

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.

I have been preoccupied with pregnancy and a new baby. When I started this book, my attention span was at it's worst. I picked this book up and I could not put it down. Please write more!!!!! Incredible and beautiful story!

I've just completed the incredibly moving Sleep Toward Heaven . What a beautiful book it is. This will be on my year's best list. The author has rendered society's most loathesome people in a way that is sympathetic without sentimentality. The characters and their crimes are believable and comprehensible even as the crimes themselves are repugnant. This is a novel full of insight and compassion, wrapped in a story that is compelling and suspenseful. A great read with an important theme; Dickens would have loved this book.

Sleep Toward Heaven is a must read! Amanda Eyre Ward has done a brilliant job at stepping into the of lives of 3 *empty* women and making them *whole* again!!

I can't say enough good things about this book. It was just amazing. I had very strong opinions on death sentences before reading this book ~ never in a million years would I think a novel could *open me up* some and make me see things through new eyes. Things went through my mind and heart, that I never thought could.. Amanda wrote this book with such dignity and grace ~ that all bled right through to each of the 3 women this book was based around. I, honestly, forgot this was fiction. I felt so wrapped up in it ~ like I was living right along with the story. With such tough subjects touched upon ~ such as murder, AIDS, lethal injection, end of a relationship, death of a child.... and so on ~ you would think the book would be *dark*. It was far from dark! It started out with a chill but ended up warm and cozy.

Thank you, Amanda, for showing that everyone has a bit of grace within. Whether it's deep down or right on the surface ~ it can be found!

I read so many books, spend a majority of my time on amazon.com or in bookstores, probably way too much time. This book completely exceeded my expections. It's so cliche to say "you can't put it down", but it's true. The characters are heart-wrenching and I was up until 3AM last night - I could not go to sleep without knowing how the book ended. Highly recommended - this is one of those books you will never forget.

A long time ago, I promised myself that I would not read any more novels or see any more movies that touched on the subject of capital punishment; the topic was simply too important to me to see it as "entertainment." But the reviews of Amanda Eyre Ward's book were so strong that I couldn't help myself and oh am I glad I read this book. It is an even-handed, thought-provoking look at an incredibly difficult subject. Her characters, coming at the issue from all different angles, pop off the page in stark relief. It is that most rare of books: not just a well-told story, but an important book as well.

This is a beautifully-written book: imaginative, distinct, the author's portrayals of her women characters are as unflinching as they are empathetic. Highly recommended!