Nick Carraway―paper soldier and novelist―has found a life and a living watching the mad magical spectacle of New York high society in the late thirties. He’s good at watching, and he’s even better at pretending: pretending to be straight, pretending to be human, pretending he’s forgotten the events of that summer in 1922.

On the eve of the second World War, however, Nick learns that someone’s been watching him pretend and that memory goes both ways. When he sees a familiar face one very dark night, it quickly becomes clear that dead or not, damned or not, Jay Gatsby isn’t done with him.

In all paper there is memory, and Nick’s ghost has come home.

In Don’t Sleep with the Dead, Nghi Vo has catapulted the reader into a haunting and queer story that explores identity and longing in this reimagining to the Great Gatsby. From the very moment you begin this story, you will find yourself captivated by Nick, whether you are familiar with Vo’s original novella The Chosen and the Beautiful or the Great Gatsby. With it’s exploration of whether we have souls, what price we will pay for immortality and how the dead so often haunt us, this novella will keep you absorbed.

I love the little nuances of the story, the way Nick is made of paper, the reinvention of the world to allow magic, devils from hell, and the dead rising. I also like how it tackles the idea of resolution with the dead, are we able to let go or will the dead haunt us forever?  And part of what makes this story so engaging is that Nick is somewhat an unreliable narrator, one who abruptly leaves at the end leaving the reader with more questions than answers. The story will stick with you long after you finish it.

If you like paranormal stories, with compelling characters and a reference to the Great Gatsby, you will enjoy this novella, especially if you have read The Chosen and the Beautiful or the Great Gatsby. I like the themes of identity, the way the story is haunting and queer at the same time. I hope the words in this story haunt you the way they did me.

5 out of 5 devils. 

MacMillan Publishing

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