The Sleeping World: A Novel [Paperback]

In this “astonishing and haunting debut” (Publishers Weekly), a young woman searching for her lost brother is willing to risk everything amidst the riots, protests, and uprisings of post-Franco Spain.

Spain, 1977. Military rule is over. Bootleg punk music oozes out of illegal basement bars, uprisings spread across towns, fascists fight anarchists for political control, and students perform protest art in the city center, rioting against the old government, the undecided new order, against the universities, against themselves…

Mosca is an intelligent, disillusioned university student, whose younger brother is among the “disappeared,” taken by the police two years ago, now presumed dead. Spurred by the turmoil around them, Mosca and her friends commit an act that carries their rebellion too far and sends them spiraling out of their provincial hometown. But the further they go, the more Mosca believes her brother is alive and the more she is willing to do to find him.

The Sleeping Worldis a “searing, beautifully written” (Cristina Garcia, author ofDreaming in Cuban) and daring novel about youth, freedom, and our most visceral need: to keep our loved ones safe.This reading group guide forThe Sleeping Worldincludes discussion questions, ideas for enhancing your book club, and a Q&A with authorGabrielle Lucille Fuentes. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book.

Topics & Questions for Discussion

1. Discuss your theories about the significance of the title,The Sleeping World.Why do you think the author chose it?

2. Mosca and her friends love punk music such as Patti Smith and the Ramones. Why do you think they are drawn to punk?

3. Reflecting ols!