Quando Dormo by Edward Izzi

Horrific moral fantasies come to life in Quando Dormo: When I Sleep by Edward Izzi, a chilling mystery that initially seems clear, but reveals more twists than any reader expects.

When Dr. David Fazio’s waking life and moral compass is knocked askew by his employers’ demands, his unconscious appears to take over his pro-life passion, and all signs point to the good doctor’s guilt in a string of violent arsons. Wrestling with his own beliefs, along with his uncontrollable body in the dead of night, David must define the shape of his own morality and reclaim his sanity before going over the ultimate edge. With Chicago as a gritty backdrop for this truly disturbing tale, Izzi masterfully pulls readers into the web of this untrustworthy narrator.

Although the novel touches on abstract themes of moral ambiguity and righteousness, the specific subject matter keeps the book contemporary and timely. The psychological development of Dr. Fazio is a delicate tightrope walk of revelation and narration; readers often see the big picture (and the truth) before the protagonist, which is a difficult strategy to pull off, but one that is very satisfying. Izzi wields tension like a knife, armed with manicured language that hints and suggests with subtlety, but also inexorably drives the pace forward.

Navigating a subject that always elicits heated debate, Quando Dormo is a thought-provoking thriller that is unique in its scope and sense of tension.

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