Sleepers - by Lorenzo Carcaterra

Review by Jennifer Reno

I bought the book Sleepers by Lorenzo Carcaterra without even reading the back to see what it was about. I figured that if the book was good enough to be made into a movie, it was worth buying. My husband and I traveled to Toronto by train, which is four hours away. I brought Sleepers with me, thinking it would be a pleasant way to pass the long train ride.

I was wrong. This is not a pleasant book. It is disturbing. An excellently written book, it is simply not the kind of book to read on a nice relaxing vacation. It left me with a bad taste in my mouth. The author paints a vivid picture of the depravity of some of those with power, and it is because of his skillful story telling that this is one of the best books I have read.

Sleepers is the story of a boyhood prank gone terribly wrong. The four involved pay dearly for their mistake. They are sent to a home for boys, where they are brutalized and raped daily by the guards.

The boys are not all released at the same time, and only two of them remain friends. When those two have a chance encounter with one of the guards from the home, the other two join them in exacting sweet revenge on all the guards who brutalized them.

Sleepers is an excellent book, albeit quite disturbing. While reading, I would find myself disbelieving that it is non-fiction; only because of the ghastly way the guards treat the boys. Unfortunately, it is a true story.

This is definitely a good read, but not for a relaxing trip!

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