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Sleeping Alone: Stories
In this collection of rich and textured stories about crossing borders, both real and imagined, Sleeping Alone asks one of the fundamental questions of our What is the toll of feeling foreign in one’s land, to others, or even to oneself? A cast of misfits, young and old, single and coupled, even entire family units, confront startling changes wrought by difficult circumstances or harrowing choices.
These stories span the world, moving from Maine to Sri Lanka, from Dublin to Philadelphia, paying exquisite attention to the dance between the intimate details of our lives and our public selves.
Whether Ru Freeman, author of the novel On Sal Mal Lane , is capturing secrets kept by siblings in Sri Lanka, or the life of itinerants in New York City, she renders the nuances of her characters’ lives with real sensitivity, and imbues them with surprising dignity and grace.
These stories span the world, moving from Maine to Sri Lanka, from Dublin to Philadelphia, paying exquisite attention to the dance between the intimate details of our lives and our public selves.
Whether Ru Freeman, author of the novel On Sal Mal Lane , is capturing secrets kept by siblings in Sri Lanka, or the life of itinerants in New York City, she renders the nuances of her characters’ lives with real sensitivity, and imbues them with surprising dignity and grace.
240 pages, Paperback
Published June 7, 2022
8 people are currently reading
193 people want to read
About the author
Ru Freeman
15 books82 followersRu Freeman (b. 1967) is a Sri Lankan born writer and activist whose creative and political work has appeared internationally.
She is the author of the novels A Disobedient Girl (Atria/Simon & Schuster, 2009), and On Sal Mal Lane (Graywolf Press), a NYT Editor’s Choice Book. Both novels have been translated into multiple languages including Italian, French, Turkish, Dutch, and Chinese.
She is editor of the anthology, Extraordinary Rendition: (American) Writers on Palestine (OR Books, 2015), a collection of the voices of 65 American poets and writers speaking about America’s dis/engagement with Palestine.
Freeman holds a graduate degree in labor studies, researching female migrant labor in the countries of Kuwait, the U.A.E, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and has worked at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, DC, in the South Asia office of the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL/CIO), and the American Friends Service Committee in their humanitarian and disaster relief programs.
She is a contributing editorial board member of the Asian American Literary Review, and a fellow of the Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference, Yaddo, Hedgebrook, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She is the 2014 winner of the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize for Fiction by an American Woman.
Freeman writes for the Huffington Post on books and politics.
She is the author of the novels A Disobedient Girl (Atria/Simon & Schuster, 2009), and On Sal Mal Lane (Graywolf Press), a NYT Editor’s Choice Book. Both novels have been translated into multiple languages including Italian, French, Turkish, Dutch, and Chinese.
She is editor of the anthology, Extraordinary Rendition: (American) Writers on Palestine (OR Books, 2015), a collection of the voices of 65 American poets and writers speaking about America’s dis/engagement with Palestine.
Freeman holds a graduate degree in labor studies, researching female migrant labor in the countries of Kuwait, the U.A.E, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and has worked at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, DC, in the South Asia office of the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL/CIO), and the American Friends Service Committee in their humanitarian and disaster relief programs.
She is a contributing editorial board member of the Asian American Literary Review, and a fellow of the Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference, Yaddo, Hedgebrook, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She is the 2014 winner of the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize for Fiction by an American Woman.
Freeman writes for the Huffington Post on books and politics.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 12, 2023
(4) Freeman’s writing is always so beautiful. She has an excellent way of bringing characters to life and making them real. No matter what it is, I will always pick up anything written by her.
December 18, 2022
If you love stories that give you glimpses of whole worlds and read more like novellas than short stories, Ru Freeman’s Sleeping Alone will give you plenty to unpack.
Freeman crafts her short stories like mini-novels, jam-packed with both intimate and expansive details of time, location, character, and culture. I loved that she wasn’t afraid to make her stories sprawling. I also appreciated how, while often connected by the themes of family, grief and loss, her stories were varied as she tackled everything from an insular cult in NYC, to teens on the Mainline, to kids growing up on rice patty plantations.
My favorites from the collection are "Retaining Walls" and "Kobe Loves Me" both of which operate at the highest echelons of the craft.
Freeman crafts her short stories like mini-novels, jam-packed with both intimate and expansive details of time, location, character, and culture. I loved that she wasn’t afraid to make her stories sprawling. I also appreciated how, while often connected by the themes of family, grief and loss, her stories were varied as she tackled everything from an insular cult in NYC, to teens on the Mainline, to kids growing up on rice patty plantations.
My favorites from the collection are "Retaining Walls" and "Kobe Loves Me" both of which operate at the highest echelons of the craft.
September 13, 2023
A really incredible and unexpected set of short stories, with narrators who are usually not seen as protagonists in western literature. Each story is brilliantly and uniquely told. There is some very deep social commentary about systemic, structural, and imperialist racism in this book, so I suspect many westerners will find it an uncomfortable read.
December 16, 2022
Really liked these stories that look deep into the rich cultures of families. I would call Freeman a literary writer with a deep political and cultural understanding of customs and the impacts of poverty and wealth around the world.
March 27, 2022
3.5 stars. Like many story collections, I liked some better than others. What I liked through is Freeman’s unexpected turns of phrases and varying perspectives.
September 17, 2022
This book had some interesting stories but felt too disjointed and the writing was tedious to get through at certain points.
February 8, 2024
These stories are poignant glimpses into the lives of characters. Some are difficult to read and require some re-reading. I know I will return to these stories in the future.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews