The Shapes of Sleep - A Novel

A journalist gets tangled up with a shadowy plot—and a dangerous new technology—in this twisty Cold War thriller from one of the twentieth century’s great, underappreciated masters.

When Ben Sterndale, underemployed journalist, is called into the offices of London advertising agency Madison-Mayfair by his old friend Tony Privett, he’s not sure what to expect. Tony has a job for him, he says—something that could use Sterndale’s skills for sniffing out a story, and something strange enough that he couldn’t explain it over the phone. Tony’s boss, Blackshaw, has become obsessed with an unassuming sheet of green paper covered with weird typewritten symbols. Now the sheet of paper is missing—stolen from Blackshaw’s office. Could Sterndale do a little digging to try and find it? 

What at first seems like a wild goose chase puts Sterndale on the trail of a hospitalized stamp collector who may be the victim of attempted murder, reduced to muttering about the “shapes of sleep.” Sterndale soon finds himself in the crosshairs of other actors in search of this green piece of paper—men who aren’t afraid to ask their questions at gunpoint, as well as a young American woman with tricks up her own sleeve. As Sterndale’s investigation takes him from the backroom of a London nightclub all the way to West Germany, it becomes increasingly urgent to find out exactly what these shapes of sleep are, how they can be used—and what they can make people do. 

First published in 1962, J. B. Priestley’s take on the Cold War spy novel combines espionage, witty repartee, and a touch of science fiction for a fast-paced thrill ride in his signature style.