The Hazards of Sleeping Alone

The misleading title and cover art might suggest a shallow romance, but Juska's novel goes deeper to reveal profound truths about human relationships. Beautifully observed and elegantly written, 'Hazards' works as both a penetrating character study and a well-spun story. Juska's expertly rendered images--like a scene set inside the giant heart exhibit at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia--will linger in your mind long after you've finished the book.

Elise Juska's novels are just never what I quite expect them to be. Looking for a light read, I picked up The Hazards of Sleeping Alone. Little did I know that my reading lamp would burn late into the night with this heartwarming and surprisingly complex novel. Charlotte is a divorcee who has left her family home for the "simpler" condo life. Her "master of many causes" daughter lives with her boyfriend in New Hampshire, so she is left alone with her memories and her fears. Throughout the story, we see her complicated relationship with Emily (her daughter) progress and we see Charlotte begin to learn more about herself and her many neuroses. This novel is actually a rather in-depth character study of Charlotte. We learn enough about her past and present to truly understand her and care about what happens to her. As the novel evolves, we begin to care more and more about the secondary characters, as well. I loved this book. It was touching, biting at times, but ultimately, it was true. I highly recommend this one!

I don't know if I'm supposed to admit knowing the author here when I post a review...but it seems disingenuous not to.... So here goes. I've known Elise for a number of years and she's always surprising me with her writing. She has a number of powerful (dark yet elegant) short stories published in smaller literary journals-all of which probe the frailty of human connectedness. Her first novel, Getting Over Jack Wagner surprised me with its gentle, perceptive humor, and its ability to be entertaining, but never trivial. And her new novel, The Hazards of Sleeping Alone, surprises me with its delicacy, with its compassion for all its characters, and for the natural pace and rhythm of her prose. It has a frilly, purplish cover, but the book is serious without being stuffy, weighty without being leaden. The language is sharp, the characters definitive (and, at times, defiant). What I love most about her people is that Elise is able to get past the surface of her characters in ways a lot of authors are never able to do. Hazards' protagonist, Charlotte, for all her quirks and fears, is a character to be reckoned with-and a character to remember. Elise never cheats as a writer-she won't give way to sentimentalism, won't bend the story toward a happy ending if it isn't deserved, won't guide the story with an obvious authorial hand. I was privileged enough to be an early reader of this book about a year ago-and it is still fresh in my memory. I suppose if you think I'm just subjective because of our friendship, you might buy the book and put my comments to the test. I teach English at the University of New Hampshire, and have suggested Elise's books to my students for a semester long independent project we undertake-and my students invariably come back raving about the novels-and maybe more importantly, thinking deeply about the words. My wife and I highly recommend the book (and her first book too). You won't be disappointed. In fact, I think you'll find yourself wanting more-which is a good thing, because Elise will be around for a while, continually surprising her readers by inventing wise and perceptive stories. -Clark Knowles

I picked up this book to read because I loved Juska's first book, Getting Over Jack Wagner, and a friend said this one was just as strong. This book, although entirely different in tone, proves Juska's talent at creating fully-realized and richly complicated characters. While the strength of Getting Over... was the exacting humor and dead-on hip factor, Hazards' power comes from the honest portrait of her lead character and the diverse "family" that surounds her. The reader feels like a voyeur in the mind of a woman struggling with the hard things we all struggle with - insecurity, anxiety, longing, and most importantly, love. It is well-written, full of truths, imaginative and it handles tough issues with honesty and care, without judgement, without comment. I highly recommend this read, even for those who may not be a mother or a daughter.

This book tells the heartwarming, intriguing story of Charlotte, a divorced woman who has lived alone in New Jersey every since her free-spirited and passionate daughter went off to college. With her ex husband living in Seattle, Charlotte is just fine going about her life on her own. Although Charlotte misses her daughter Emily and is always wondering what she is doing, things are okay in her life. After all, she has her routines to occupy her time. However Emily, who now lives in New Hampshire with her boyfriend and two eccentric roommates, pays her a visit one day and both of their lives are never quite the same again. Some rather shocking news gets revealed during her visit, and both Emily and Charlotte are faced with some difficult decisions and times. What with Emily's caring boyfriend Walter, Charlotte's ex-husband Joe, the uncertain feelings between them all, and Charlotte's paranoia, things hover quickly on the edge of disaster. Will they be able to work it all out? Find out in this wonderful and moving story. I immensely enjoyed this novel for several reasons. The main thing about it was how well the author let the reader into the head of the main character. Charlotte comes across as a real, four-dimensional mother figure that you will instantly care about and root for. She has real flaws and issues, but is just so likeable somehow. This story is also very well-written with a splash of imagery thrown in. From the small condo that Charlotte occupies in New Jersey, to the woodsy house that Emily and Walter live in New Hampshire, the reader will be immersed in details so rich and real, they will be there themselves. There were some delicate subjects tackled in this book, such as abortion issues, mother-daughter angst, love, and loneliness. Elise Juska did an absolutely amazing job with it - I couldn't have asked for a better story that captured real family emotions. Overall, I highly recommend "The Hazards of Sleeping Alone" for anyone's reading collection, especially if you are a mother or a daughter!