Sleeping Patterns

J.R. Crook grew up in a small town in South Devon, before moving to London in 2002 to undertake a degree at The University of the Arts. In 2005, shortly after graduating, he moved into a series of bedsits in North London to begin writing what would eventually become his debut novel, Sleeping Patterns. The novel went on to win the Luke Bitmead Writers' Bursary in December 2011 and was published the following summer. He is 29 and currently living in Ealing, London, where he is working on his second novel.

Unlike anything I've read before. A beautifully crafted, beguiling and cerebral novel. Sam Mills The language is beautiful and there are some interesting questions raised about age, the stuff of dreams, and, most intriguingly, the relationship between writers, their work and their readers. The Bookbag 'J.R. Crook's beguiling novella, Sleeping Patterns, is one of the most original little experiments in fiction that I've come across in a while and the strangest hopscotch of a love story.' -- Tales from the Reading Room The nonlinear structure and Crook's ability as a writer (which, for a debut novel, is impressively refined) make this (necessarily) brief story a joy to read. Ideas presented in this book do not come across as gimmicky, but rather a necessity utilised to further the ideas and themes being explored. They have a purpose. -- Sam Rennie Book Blogger ...This book is presented so uniquely and artistically, it would be hard to give this book less than a full five stars out of five. While not everyone will appreciate it, J. R. Crook is an author whose first novel is a piece of true literary fiction which will establish him immediately as outstandingly skillful writer. With Sleeping Patterns, Crook proves he has both the imagination and the bravery to give us something out of the ordinary... -- Curious Book Fans Many novels have been called unique and powerful, and described as containing incredible depths. If such a number of novels is categorised as a group then Crook's short work is destined to join it. And yet it can't, because what Crook has written here is truly different; it is the structure of the plot, the layers of meaning that aren't contained in the pages and that must be experienced afterwards, that are so individual. -- The Worm Hole Sleeping Patterns is the kind of book that lingers in the mind, revealing itself slowly and would benefit from many readings to appreciate it fully. It is either a work of genius or a triumph of form over substance. If pushed to decide either way I would incline towards the former... -- Book Munch The language is beautiful and there are some interesting questions raised about age, the stuff of dreams, and, most intriguingly, the relationship between writers, their work and their readers. -- The Book Bag Sleeping Patterns is one of those books that packs a lot into its small number of pages... The fact that the novel is award-winning is no real surprise, and there is a lot here for a reading group to discuss. -- Newbooks Magazine