Very early into my reading of Tremblay's novel The Pallbearers Club, I became really fascinated with his writing style and wanted to explore more of his work. I went ahead and acquired several of his novels, including this one, his debut, so I decided I might as well start from the beginning. I know that many of his later novels fall under the horror genre, so it was intriguing for me to get started on this story that's more of a quirky neo-noir novella.

The tone is just right. There is a whiff of the old, classic noir novels – even the title, The Little Sleep, seems to be a clever nod to Raymond Chandler – but it's set in the present, giving the overall story a touch of anachronism.

Despite the change in genre, Paul Tremblay's writing style is unmistakable. Everything that charmed me in The Pallbearers Club was still present in The Little Sleep, it just came in a different wrapping. The common denominator is the author's own brand of uncomfortable, nervous, and deadpan humor. There's almost something a little neurodivergent about it. Tremblay has a remarkable knack for portraying characters that are socially awkward, struggle to find the proper wording in conversations, feeling like they are making a fool of themselves, and so on, and he writes it in a way that makes it all highly relatable thus hilarious for those of us who have experiences with such.

I also love his use of metaphors both when describing scenarios and emotions. They are as clever as they can be funny, often from the main character's self-deprecatory perspective. Even the few suspenseful, action-filled moments along the way can make you chuckle, as they are a further study of Detective Genevich's clumsiness and lack of elegance.

However, beneath the humor, one can also sense a certain desperation. Genevich is narcoleptic and sometimes struggles not only with staying awake when it's needed, but also with separating dreams from reality, and you can tell this is a man that feels lost and frustrated. It's interesting to see the symbiotic relationship of these two elements throughout the novel; the dark backstories are depicted with a little humor to them, and even underneath some of the funnier descriptions there is that slight aftertaste of melancholy. The lines between the horrific and the absurd are blurred, which in and of itself is an attestation to Tremblay's talent.

Now, as for the actual mystery in and of itself, it's not really anything extremely original nor ground-breaking, but I honestly don't think that's the point either. As clichéd as it sounds, this is a novel where the journey itself is the main point, as we see how Genevich stumbles his way towards solving the case despite his own struggles and confusion. I'm half inclined to say that the story could have been captivating enough even without the crime mystery, but the mystery adds incentive and drives the plot forward, and with Genevich given something to strive for, this is the plot device that helps us map out his personality and challenges.

It's short, funny, one of those books you don't really want to put down, and a pretty impressive debut that has only strengthened my belief that I'll enjoy most of Tremblay's work, if not all. And I'll get started on the follow-up to this debut novel next.