The Sleep of Apples

Set in a gentrifying Montreal neighbourhood , The Sleep of Apples is a novel-in-stories, told in the voices of nine, closely-linked narrators, sharing crises that confront madness, illness, loss, and gender identity. The book's title, inspired by Federico Garcia Lorca's powerful poem "Gacela of the Dark Death", informs how these stories seamlessly sail on the boundaries of life, sleep, and immortality. Characters hail from a variety of cultures and backgrounds, and stories plumb a variety of identities and how they intersect. These interconnected tales and lives are urgent and timely, and the reader lives side-by-side with them. In one chapter, the protagonist will tell their story, while in the next, they will be seen through a different character's point of view. Readers will see and understand the principal characters from many vantage points, as these tales form a richly layered ring, circling back to where they began. Ultimately, The Sleep of Apples dramatizes how we all live imperfect lives. We love what we have and mourn what we've lost in the community of life, death, and the liminal in-between.