- Hardcover: 320 pages
- Publisher: Hutchinson (4 Dec 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 009180003X
- ISBN-13: 978-0091800031
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.7 x 3.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,035,941 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Sleep Toward Heaven
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More About the Author
Product Description
Jennifer Weiner, the New York Times bestselling author of Good in Bed and In Her Shoes
It's funny and sad and redemptive. Read it now. Thank me later.
James Ellroy
Women's Death Row as you have never seen it; hauntingly rich, wise and sharply etched.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
On Wednesday, they begin to get ready for the Satan Killer, who is due to arrive after lunch. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
On Wednesday, they begin to get ready for the Satan Killer, who is due to arrive after lunch. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a truly magical read. Three different womens lives cross over in one way or another. A doctor, a woman on death row and a woman who's husband has just been murdered.
If you are looking for a cheerful read this isn't the book for you. If you are however looking for a beautifully written masterpiece that you really can't put down then order this book today.
It's hard to beleive this is a first novel for this author, her writing is stunning.
If you are looking for a cheerful read this isn't the book for you. If you are however looking for a beautifully written masterpiece that you really can't put down then order this book today.
It's hard to beleive this is a first novel for this author, her writing is stunning.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"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 09/08/07
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 09/08/07
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This startling novel is impossible to put down and raises questions about innocence, forgiveness and the human condition. Karen is a young woman waiting to be executed on Death Row for the murder of several men, including Celia's husband. Franny becomes her doctor. A brief encounter between the two latter women is a pivot upon which all three lives change irrevocably.
The story is delicately written and explores the fragility of human spirit and the way that we are altered and changed by our experiences - both for the better and for the worse. Don't be put off by the morbid sound of the plot; it is ultimately an uplifting read and will send you away asking "What would I do in that situation? What would I like to do?" and most importantly of all "why?"
This is definitely an author to look out for. Her story could be fleshed out a little more as I felt a couple of the characters were slightly frail but she has confidence and authority and writes from the heart. As a debut novel it is astounding in both its brutality and its sensitivity. One is never undermined by the other and the result is a perfectly balanced book full of gentle passion.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Great Characters
Published in 2004, this is Amanda Eyre Ward's first novel and my first experience of the author.
Essentially the story of three very different women who don't know each other... Read more
Essentially the story of three very different women who don't know each other... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Lincs Reader
Couldn't put it down!
this book is simple but brilliant, all I can say is it works for me - it kept me reading and when I wasn't reading it I was thinking about it which only happens rarely for me and... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Ms. Kelly E. M. Taylor
Disturbing, but fascinating
The story revolves around three very different women who the reader comes to know well. Karen is on death row having killed several men. Read more
Published 14 months ago by SusieH
Compulsively addictive reading- a gritty page turner for fans of...
After reading (and being disappointed) by Ward's novel `How to be Lost' I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy this one, but I'm pleased to say I was wrong- I absolutely couldn't put it down. Read more
Published on 22 Dec 2009 by Nicola F (Nic)
Disappointing
I'm sorry to disagree with everyone, but I didn't rate this at all. I bought it after reading the great reviews and was disappointed. Read more
Published on 16 May 2007 by Houdini
Fabulous!
Fabulously crafted, layer upon layer subtly built up - the material original too, highly highly recommended
Published on 21 Nov 2006 by Lala B
wonderful read
Three women, different lives, all destined to become one. A murderer, awaiting death row, the widow of one of the men she shot and a young doctor who, after realising she probably... Read more
Published on 26 May 2004 by J. Webber
If You Read ONE First Novel This Year
If you read one first novel this year, choose Sleep Toward Heaven. Set aside some time to sit with it, because you won't be able to stop reading once you turn to the first page. Read more
Published on 20 May 2003 by TM
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