Beggars in Spain

Nancy Kress
Completed 8/24/2025, Reviewed 8/24/2025
4 stars

I had mixed feelings about this book.  The first chapter was originally an award-winning novella, and I thought it was amazing.  The next three chapters are snapshot stories that take place several decades later.  These three chapters have a different feel, tending more towards the melodramatic.  They also felt a little forced, with fascinating premises that were spread out over too many pages.   But overall, the book works as a satisfying whole, presenting a scenario which almost resembles some of the ruptures in society today.  This book was nominated for the Hugo, Nebula and Campbell awards when it was first released as a complete novel in 1993. 

Leisha was a genetically modified embryo.  She was made so that she wouldn’t need sleep.  It had been discovered that sleep was not necessary for humans and may be the cause of many mental and emotional maladies.  As a child, Leisha became mentally superior to her unmodified fraternal twin sister, Alice.  Eventually, it is discovered that the sleepless really are far superior to the sleepers, excelling in all the top fields like law, business, and science.  They also discover their bodies have self-healing properties, making them virtually immortal.  The sleepers develop a deep animosity toward the sleepless, creating a world of terrible bigotry, with violence regularly perpetrated toward them.  Leisha, however, believes that people can overcome the prejudice and integrate into society.  Others, like Jennifer, believe that the sleepless must find a sanctuary to escape the violence and hatred.  Jennifer becomes the leader of the sleepless and they emigrate to an orbiting sanctuary, preparing for the invasion that clearly will come to destroy them. 

As I mentioned above, the first chapter, the original novella, was very compelling.  The subsequent chapters are mixed.  The part that I did really like was how the sleepless created a new genetic modification which affected how quickly the brain processes information.  The resulting children could make connections far faster than normal, although they had a severe stutter as a side effect.  This created another superior class, causing conflict within the sleepless community.  This becomes very relevant towards the end of the book.  

I thought the characters were a mix of well developed and wooden.  Leisha was the best character, the easiest to empathize with.  Jennifer, the head of the Sanctuary orbital, was ruthless and less empathetic.  Granted, she became more maniacal as the book progressed, but I thought she lost all semblance of humanity by the end.  Miri, Jennifer’s granddaughter and one of the first of the supers, was a great character.  I thought she saved the end of the book by being very human while at the same time fighting Jennifer with her own stoic coldness.  

I give this book four stars out of five because the first chapter and the buildup of the super sleepless was so good.  I forgave the middle part feeling like filler because of the messages about prejudice it conveyed.  Overall, a worthwhile read, but not enough to continue through the rest of the trilogy.  I was satisfied with the ending but felt it was enough for me.