Sleep Before Evening

by Magdalena Ball

Marianne is teetering at the edge of reason. A death in the family sends her brilliant academic career and promising future spiraling out of control until resentment towards those who shaped her past leads her on a wild and desperate search for the truth about herself. On the seedy side of New York, she meets Miles, a hip musician busking the streets and playing low-rent venues in a muddled bid to make his own dreams come true. In her new life, she finds anarchic squalor, home grown music and poetry, booze, drugs, sex, violence, love, loss, and, above all, exhilarating freedom on her troubled journey from sleep to awakening. This gritty, relentless story unfolds with the same cool detachment that motivates the central character to peel back the layers of her life and expose the painful scalding within. Finalist in the Regional Fiction category of the 2008 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. "...as the drama coils tighter and tighter, it is the exquisite quality of writing that keeps the reader utterly glued. As Marianne struggles with her demons and we almost hold our breath as she nears her eighteenth birthday, Magdalena Ball's Sleep Before Evening shows us that in order to find yourself, you sometimes have to lose yourself first." Cathy Biribauer, The Rose and Thorn

Paperback

First published July 1, 2007

About the author

Magdalena Ball runs Compulsive Reader http://www.compulsivereader.com. Her stories, poetry, reviews and articles have appeared in many printed anthologies and journals, and have won several awards. She is the author of Bobish, The Density of Compact Bone, Unmaking Atoms, Black Cow, Repulsion Thrust, The Art of Assessment, Quark Soup, Sleep Before Evening and many other collaborations. Find out more at http://www.magdalenaball.com

Reviews

[Jessica Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so excited to have found another author to fall in love with. I'm really picky with what I read, and I tend to lean toward more character-driven works, than driving plots. This is one of those kinds of books. But what I am in love with here is not only the story, it is the WAY in which it is written: with utter musical and poetic genius. A blend of story-telling and musical prose is what I want to achieve in my own writing. I guess that's why I love this book so much. It represents how I strive to be. My only hope is that my books are half as brilliant as this. If so, then I'm a happy camper. :o)

A couple of my favorite prose moments are:

Pg. 44

"Russell's skin was gunmetal grey. He held his hands over his ears while his mouth opened into an elongated O, becoming the perfect example of German Expressionism. Striated oranges and blacks flickered on the wall above his head and, for a moment, she saw the world through her mother's eyes - in lights and colors rather than sound and words."

And Pg. 50

"Flowers were strewn over the floor, bright lilies and carnations lying like war carnage, mocking their original purpose as a peace offering."

Buy this book. And relish every moment of it.

[The Pen & Muse]

Magdalena Ball says in this drug fiction slice-of-life drama, you can find good and bad in everything that happened which meant there is no such thing as luck only perception. She obviously loves writing and has mastered quantum jumping from a poet to a brilliant novelist. Her narration whispers, never intrudes. Her metaphors sing like most good poetry; and her scenes leave you wanting more. The reader can not only feel but hear and see each emotion change from page to page, being more like an opera than a novel.

I’ve often wondered if it was wise for a poet to try novel writing. Obviously Magdalene has a talent for both. It amazes me that this is her first novel. It is that good. To be obscurely clearly is a real talent. When something can be read without effort like her scenes, you can be sure great effort has gone into its writing.

One of my favorite metaphors and there are many, she describes Marianne, the young protagonist, as swimming in an ocean of amniotic fluid, cradling and nourishing her. Another metaphor I enjoyed was…feeling Miles’ arms like long tendrils of a parasitic vein, snaking around her body, taking her breath and her life away. Later, she says…There is no heaven, no hell, but there is music…sounds, smells, taste, touch, there is always music.

I recommend this story to all families, teenagers and college students. This is not a typical drug fiction book but a classic work of art.

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sleep Before Evening (Magdalena Ball)

Marianne is taking the death of her grandfather very hard. Her mother seems to have gotten over the death too fast for Marianne, it appears all she cares about is the current man in her life.

Soon Marianne finds her life spiraling out of control. As she faces the unthinkable she ends up in a situation that no straight A (good) student should ever have to face. And she must face reality and her Mother.

Fantastic read. Sleep Before Evening kept me up late into the night. There is so much more I would like to say, but I never write spoilers. I am quickly becoming a fan of Magdalena Ball!

[Georgiann Hennelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Marianne,s grandfather dies,she takes his death very hard. In her eyes her mom seems to have gotten over his death to fast. All her mom cares about is the current man in her life.Marianne soon finds her life is spiraling out of control. Soon she is is facing the unthinkable. She ends up in a situation that no straight A student should have to face. She needs to face her mother and reality. A fantastic read couldn't stop till i was finished. I look forward to more books by Magdalena Ball

[Roger Cottrell]

I havn't read this book yet but it looks intriguing - especially as my latest (graphic) novel is about a young, female graphic artist who is spiralling into insanity - or is she? SLEEP BEFORE EVENING is definitely on my list of next novels to read
ROGER.

[Roberta (Always Behind) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compelling coming of age story that is full of vivid images and serious issues.

[Gerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chick lit, it’s not, convenient as that would have been for the sake of contrast to the boychik variety. No, what we have here is a full-on rush of ambitious literary fiction. That it largely succeeds as such is no consolation to horny but bookish males hoping for a bit of fluff or a few chuckles while killing time in the airport departure lounge.

Her central character, seventeen-year-old Marianne Cotton, doesn’t have a problem—she has onion-like layers of them—each drawing its quota of weeping as it is rudely stripped off to reveal more of the same beneath. And she seemed like such a nice, bright girl from the burbs, most likely to succeed, even if she’s headed for the success-starved achievements of the liberal arts.

It all starts when Marianne’s godlike grandfather, who is her chess master and father-substitute, croaks. No clean death, this. He suffers a devastating stroke (as she watches) and lingers on painlessly (for him) until his tormented daughter (Marianne’s mother Lily) decides to pull the plug. Except she doesn’t bother to ask Marianne. That’s major life crisis number one (unless you count the time her natural father took a hike when she was three).

To this point, Marianne has been an A-student out on politely competitive Long Island, bound for NYU with a scholarship and earnest plans to major in music. (Grandpa was fond of quoting Wittgenstein to her, so we guess she will also minor in philosophy with no strain.)

Propelled by her grief over the loss of the only sane man in her life, Marianne goes into socioeconomic free-fall. It seems all she has to do is set foot on the Long Island Railroad and inevitably she’s spiraling down into the rock music and drug culture of lower Manhattan. A creepy-sexy harmonica player named Miles is her undoing, and he does a helluva job, deflowering her and getting her hooked on horse, not necessarily in that order (or maybe simultaneously—she doesn’t seem to notice or care).

Life as a junkie and a wannabe groupie isn’t glamorous or fun, although at times Marianne seems to think it’s all she deserves. She delights in high-life sex with Miles, although unfortunately for voyeuristic male readers, we have to take her word for it—there’s no graphic content here.

What follows for much of the book is a whipsawing of agony and ecstasy as Marianne struggles to scrape up enough cash to cop and occasionally also eat. Bukowski comes to mind—no glamorous existence there, either. (Some practitioners of fratire don’t seem to grasp this, fascinated as they seem to be with the puke on their own shoes. Ah, well.)

Oh, it’s an artful whipsawing, in that the narrative respects the rhythms of the reader’s expectations. Just when we think Marianne will get smart and win back some self respect, she gets knocked down, someone dies, she gets a bad dose, she catches her boyfriend in flagrante with the band hag, and so on. (Fiction isn’t life. In its contrived worlds, as in the movies, people rise, suffer, and die on cue, even to a beat. It has to be that way—art is artifice, after all.)

Just when Marianne has been beaten to a bloody pulp, she winds up in rehab, and there begins the arduous climb back toward reconciliation with her mother and the middle class. Late in the book as she starts to spill it in psychotherapy, we begin to appreciate (as she does) what precipitated her fall. Up until now, she’s blamed the inept other men in her life—her father and her mother’s subsequent string of loser lovers, along with the infamous Miles and an all-male cast of criminals, dope dealers, and sleazy employers.

But here comes the epiphany: All along she’s been disappointed by the lack of love and attention from her mother, a self-absorbed painter with a manic-depressive lifestyle. Marianne’s image of herself has been reflected through her mother’s neuroses, and they both have to get through, and past, that core issue.

So, relax, guys. You may be crass, sleazy, opportunistic, and inept. But you’re not at fault.

This time, you'll have to let the women work it out.

[Joyce White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sleep Before Evening [Paperback]
Magdalena Ball Print & Kindle
(Kindle Edition - Oct 8, 2010) - Kindle eBook
Sleep Before Evening by Magdalena Ball
$17.99
• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Bewrite Books (July 24, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1904492967
• ISBN-13: 978-1904492962
• www.compulsivereader.com/html

Magdalena Ball says in this drug fiction slice-of-life drama, you can find good and bad in everything that happened which meant there is no such thing as luck only perception. She obviously loves writing and has mastered quantum jumping from a poet to a brilliant novelist. Her narration whispers, never intrudes. Her metaphors sing like most good poetry; and her scenes leave you wanting more. The reader can not only feel but hear and see each emotion change from page to page, being more like an opera than a novel.
I’ve often wondered if it was wise for a poet to try novel writing. Obviously Magdalene has a talent for both. It amazes me that this is her first novel. It is that good. To be obscurely clearly is a real talent. When something can be read without effort like her scenes, you can be sure great effort has gone into its writing.
One of my favorite metaphors and there are many, she describes Marianne, the young protagonist, as swimming in an ocean of amniotic fluid, cradling and nourishing her. Another metaphor I enjoyed was…feeling Miles’ arms like long tendrils of a parasitic vein, snaking around her body, taking her breath and her life away. Later, she says…There is no heaven, no hell, but there is music…sounds, smells, taste, touch, there is always music.
I recommend this story to all families, teenagers and college students. This is not a typical drug fiction book but a classic work of art.
by Joyce White
Sculpting the Heart Book Reviews
www.wingedforhealing.com
www.wingedforhealing.com

[Mark Logie · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Sleep Before Evening” tells the tale of 17-year-old Marianne’s slide into drug addiction following the death of her beloved grandfather, Eric. It is an exhilarating ride through bereavement, family breakdown and teenage angst, which in the main is expertly handled. Magdalena Ball has the rare ability to chronicle sad or harrowing events without producing a grim, depressing or bleak novel.

However, there are some stylistic hiccups and even, on occasion, outright mistakes (eg, “It had just starting raining”, p116), and three places where scene breaks were missing. This last jolted me out of the spell created by this compelling novel and was momentarily confusing. This book needs a little more attention to technical details, including improved proofreading.

Having said that, Ball is excellent at using everyday details to increase the power of her words, but without sounding banal or contrived. For instance: “the fingers on her left hand squeezing Eric’s in time to the ambulance’s flashing light” (p.12) and, on p.24, “What a sad fate is yours, imprisoned in your shell”. The latter is particularly effective -- poignant even --since, although those were Eric’s own words from years before, they now apply to Eric himself, trapped in a persistent vegetative state.

With so much to praise, it is difficult to know what to leave out of this review. Suffice it to say that it was with a genuine sense of regret that I finished the last page and closed the paperback. I think I’ll be drawn back to this book again and again.

[Update (20th March 2014): the mistakes referred to above will be corrected in a forthcoming edition.]

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the book. I liked the descriptions of the people, landscapes, and little things that go on during a conversation, that gives it flavor. And the way the daughter experienced things musically, and the mother as visual art. I felt the drugged scenes, and even the "rationalization" behind them. I found the ending very satisfying.