Tree Riesener’s Sleepers Awake offers a wry, mordant and insightful examination of what faith means in an increasingly secular, doubting society. Her tales are as original as the best of Flannery O’Connor and her wit reminiscent of James Thurber at his most irascible. Yet what sets these stories apart is the author’s abiding compassion for her quirky, beset characters; we sense that she is on their side, so we are too. Sleepers Awake is a necessary collection for our times and a darn pleasurable read.
Jacob M. Appel, The Biology of Luck, Einstein’s Beach House and Scouting for the Reaper
In this sometimes comic, sometimes disquieting, always engaging story collection, Tree Riesener blends a wild narrative drive with a poet’s precision with language. These stories view the sacred, the profane, and the seemingly ordinary through a wonderfully warped lens. The result is both delightful and discomforting – an impressive achievement through and through.
David Hallock Sanders, founding director of Writing Aloud, Philadelphia
David Hallock Sanders, founding director of Writing Aloud, Philadelphia
Eccentric, touching, delightfully unique, Sleepers Awake kept me awake long past my bedtime, engrossed as I was in these characters as they grappled with their demons and their dreams. This is a wonderful debut fiction by Tree Riesener. Not to be missed!
Susan Tepper, The Merrill Diaries and From the Umberplatzen
