Book Review: Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress

Beggars in Spain (Sleepless, #1) by Nancy Kress
Narrator: Cassandra Campbell
Series: Sleepless #1
Published by Blackstone Audio on 02-25-09
Genres: Dystopia, Science-Fiction
Pages: 400
Length: 16 hrs and 10 mins
Format: Audiobook
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Overal Rating:

In this future, some people need no sleep at all. Leisha Camden was genetically modified at birth to require no sleep, and her normal twin Alice is the control. Problems and envy between the sisters mirror those in the larger world, as society struggles to adjust to a growing pool of people who not only have 30 percent more time to work and study than normal humans, but are also highly intelligent and in perfect health.
The Sleepless gradually outgrow their welcome on Earth, and their children escape to an orbiting space station to set up their own society. But Leisha and a few others remain behind, preaching acceptance for all humans, Sleepless and Sleeper alike. With the conspiracy and revenge that unwinds, the world needs a little preaching on tolerance.

This is the kind of book that’s right up my alley: In the near future, thanks to advances in genetic engineering, parents can choose from a variety of possibilities, genetic modifications for their children. One of these new mods, still in experimental stages, allows individuals to not need sleep.

Based on these premises, I expected a specific price for these sleepless individuals to pay for not needing sleep, much like Anton’s for Bean in Ender’s Game. This was not so here. The Sleepless didn’t need sleep, but they were also more intelligent than average people. Once I accepted Kress’s rules for this book, it was easy to know where she wanted to go with it. Leisha Camdem is one of these Sleepless children, daughter to a man who believes in a new philosophy that dictates that a person’s value is directly tied to their personal excellence and effort. Soon, the society suffers a division between Sleepless and Sleepers, similar to and more drastic than those we can see nowadays in our societies. If, for instance, capitalism sets a person’s value in how much a person can produce, what about disabled people? Aren’t disabled people still owed dignity for being human beings? And what if an abled person becomes disabled later in life? A sure destiny for a significant majority of people who reach an old age. Another possible parallelism would be the top 1% rich, although this group may not be at the top solely due to personal effort. What does it say about a society if we can’t take care of each other and protect each other because nobody knows how low one can fall? But I digress.

As mentioned, this book has similar paralelisms to the ones we can see nowadays, but multiplied by ten. It was an interesting exercise of sociology and politics, with the added bonus of super cool genetic modifications, powerful ideas of what could be possible, communication differences, and human greed.

I’m only giving the book four stars because the character execution failed somehow for me. None of the characters is fully developed; they don’t seem alive. Leisha, the main character, feels quite passive throughout the book, and I couldn’t help but feel a certain detachment from her and the rest of the characters. The writing was beautiful but it felt a bit ornate at times, which accentuated the detachment I was feeling for characters and events.

I listened to the audiobook version, narrated by Cassandra Campbell, who did a wonderful job. The ethereal narration style perfectly matched the elaborate writing and was perfect to give voice to Leisha.

On to book two!

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