However, when Mei returns to the dorm room in the afternoon, she finds Kara in the same position she was in when she left. The following morning, her roommate, Mei, a first year college student, dismisses her sleeping figure for tiredness. The story begins with a college student, Kara Sanders, who after a night out, returns to her college dorm room with symptoms of drowsiness. Map of Southern California, the general region where Karen Thompson Walker sets her novel. Out of this idea came the question of how an individual's sleeping schedule might radically change. Her first novel explores the various ways humans would suffer from the sudden halt of Earth during orbit. Īdditionally, Walker claims that the premise for The Dreamers grew out of her debut novel, The Age of Miracles. Walker also noted that what she loves most in literary fiction are, 'the characters, beautiful sentences, and the language,' which comprises the structural focus of her novel. Ann Patchett’s novel Bel Canto, was another creative influence that helped her manage a plentiful cast of characters. Moreover, Walker claims that Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel Never Let Me Go, was a major inspiration that had an immense impact on the way she combined aspects of psychological and emotional realism with speculation. Walker noted that one of her inspirations for the storyline came as a result of this intense process, as it made her realize how humans 'haven't figured out why we sleep and dream.' Walker claims that what interests her as a writer is how individuals react in situations of extreme disaster, a fascination that allowed her to consider what would happen if sleep became a contagious virus. Walker spent five years thinking about the plot of her novel and conducting research into the logistics of sleep. Walker uses writing as a way to combat anxiety and fear for possible future disasters, which influenced her decision to write her first novel, The Dreamers as a psychological realism story. Walker has also been commended for the sentimental value that is embedded in her story. However, it has also been praised for its lyrical prose and unique storyline.

The novel has been critiqued for its lack of characterisation and dramatic tension. The Dreamers has received mixed reviews from critics. The story follows a group of college students and families, and explores their experiences with everlasting sleep and heightened dreams. Walker's second novel details an ominous sleeping virus that sweeps over the fictional town, Santa Lora, in Southern California. The Dreamers is a science-fiction novel by the American writer Karen Thompson Walker, published on Januby Random House.

The dreamers karen thompson walker