Bedtime Story

Article first published as Book Review: Bedtime Story by Alim Kanoukoev on Blogcritics.

Reaching back into the past, we find a tale about a man who has no face. This Faceless Man appears at times to help those in need.  Does he help them emotionally or financially? No he helps them by appearing in human form and slaughtering those who threaten or harm the innocent ones.  In some cases, the deaths are immediate, in others he leaves people behind screaming for days until they finally die.

Stories within this tale take us to different moments in time when this Faceless Man has appeared to help others.  One of the oldest stories takes us back time when it appears that the creature from darkness might have first appeared.  While it is possible this being was around long before then, the reader learns about how this creature came into existence in the life of a young man whose family was raped and murdered.  Taking off from this story, the Faceless Man has appeared throughout time in the image of others.  At each appearance he has brought death to the guilty ones by either slaughtering them or terrifying them to death.

Going forward into our modern times, a young man is intent on investigating as much information as he can about this Faceless Man.  While he recognizes that the world is a better place because of this being, he also tries to find a way to understand the darkness that he carries within his own self.  Seeking redemption by trying to help others it appears that suffering a great loss helps him to make a connection with this darkness.

I really enjoyed reading “Bedtime Story.”  For such a short novel, the plot is very complex.  I appreciated how well the author transitioned between the different time periods, and also the incredible uniqueness of the story.  On the other hand, I also found this story to be full of grammatical and punctuation errors that I felt detracted my attention away from what was happening.  I found myself having to go back and read various parts to make sure that I had the correct meaning. Having this novel edited would definitely give it a 5-star review.   Still, in spite of this, I believe that this is one book which will truly hook readers into trying to read it in one sitting.


Bedtime Story
Alim Kanoukoev
Elbrus Publishing (2010)
ISBN 9780646562858
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (11/11)