This novella drew me in right away as I kept finding myself saying, “just one more page, just one more page . . .” Is this story about Iðunn’s descent into insanity or is there something more nefarious going on? I have my opinions, but I believe one has to read The Night Guest and decide for one’s self.

It all starts out pretty normally but the next thing you know Iðunn is waking with inexplicable bruises and wounds, and she is completely exhausted. And the more she tries to figure it out and return to an even keel, the worse things get.

The next thing she knows, her beloved cats are disappearing. She is also dealing with the somewhat mysterious death of her sister. What’s going on?

Her friends and doctor seem to think she’s being a hypochondriac, a psychiatrist wants to institutionalize her, men are afraid of her as she continues to doggedly pursue the root cause of why she is sleep walking and blacking out every night with or without the help of alcohol.

It’s all very intriguing and creepy and weird.

Warning: there are animal deaths and some bodily violence.

Hildur Knútsdóttir

GoodReads says:

Hildur Knutsdottir’s The Night Guest is an eerie and ensnaring story set in contemporary Reykjavík that’s sure to keep you awake at night.

Iðunn is in yet another doctor’s office. She knows her constant fatigue is a sign that something’s not right, but practitioners dismiss her symptoms and blood tests haven’t revealed any cause.

When she talks to friends and family about it, the refrain is the same ― have you tried eating better? exercising more? establishing a nighttime routine? She tries to follow their advice, buying everything from vitamins to sleeping pills to a step-counting watch. Nothing helps.

Until one night Iðunn falls asleep with the watch on, and wakes up to find she’s walked over 40,000 steps in the night . . .

What is happening when she’s asleep? Why is she waking up with increasingly disturbing injuries? And why won’t anyone believe her?