by Lauryn (link)
Genre drama/angst
Pairings Taylor/OFC
Length prologue, 23 chapters and epilogue
Status Completed
Close Your Eyes But Don’t Sleep is one of those fics I have seen recommended over and over again for years, but I couldn’t quite bring myself to read. Realizing it was written by the same author who gave the world The Moffson Tapes encouraged me a bit, but the two fics couldn’t possibly be any more different.
The readers learn at the very start that Taylor has lost his best friend, presumably to suicide, nearly two years before the story’s opening. Her mental struggles are revealed in short order, as flashbacks interspersed within the story reveal both that and how she and Taylor met and became friends. The format is a bit difficult at times; even when I thought I was paying close attention to the dates, I still couldn’t figure out how certain scenes fit into the larger plot, or they seemed as though their dates might have been wrong.
The truth about Rhiannon’s death isn’t quite what it seems. When it appears to have been revealed, it turns out that isn’t the end at all, and she somehow recovers–for a certain definition of recovers. Even though the truth is horrible, Taylor’s way of coping with it (or not) is still a bit frustrating to read, not the least of which because his family doesn’t understand at all. Compared to how Rhiannon’s family deals with her mental illness, it’s a pretty stark and frustrating contrast.
Speaking of Rhiannon’s family, the focus on their Welshness is rather odd. It’s so strangely fetishistic that I can’t even assume Lauryn based it on her own family, unlike the Australianisms that sneak into the story on numerous occasions. I won’t say that Rhiannon is the first manic pixie dream girl of hanfic, mostly because this isn’t even a love story, but her new age style and overwrought journal writing don’t help. Close Your Eyes But Don’t Sleep might have been rather touching otherwise, but it just feels overdone to me.
Review by Bethany (website)