6 Comments
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Jacob Riley's avatar

This had me gripped right from the start - for the first few paragraphs I felt like I was reading a Donald Barthelme or Lydia Davis story. Also, as a fellow insomniac with loud neighbours, I sympathise with your plight.

Jon Repetti's avatar

Thank you! It’s an extremely kind comparison and “Barthelmean” was the word in my mind as I wrote it

PartTimeLady's avatar

Just saw Nosferatu last night, and the question of nightmares (and what constitutes 'horror') is on my mind -- your neighbor's unidentifiable task sounds horrific. Is it still going on?? I hope you've gotten some sleep since this post!

Michael Vegas Mussman's avatar

I wish more essays on Substack were like this one.