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Nancy Kress
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Beggars in Spain Mass Market Paperback – March 1, 1994

by Nancy Kress (Author)
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  1. Nebula AwardWinner, 1991
  2. Hugo AwardWinner, 1992
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Born in 2008, Leisha Camden is beautiful, extraordinarily intelligent . . . and one of an ever-growing number of human beings who have been genetically modified to never require sleep.

Once she and "her kind" were considered interesting anomalies. Now they are outcasts -- victims of blind hatred, political repression and shocking mob violence meant to drive the "Sleepless" from human society . . . and, ultimately, from the Earth itself.

But Leisha Camden has chosen to remain behind in a world that envies and fears her "gift" -- a world marked for destruction in a devastating conspiracy of freedom . . . and revenge.

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  1. Book 1 of 3
    Beggars Trilogy
  2. Print length
    448 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Avon
  5. Publication date
    March 1, 1994
  6. Dimensions
    4.19 x 1.12 x 6.75 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0380718774
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0380718771
  9. See all details
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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
439 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book premise interesting and beautiful. They also find the storyline compelling. Readers describe the writing style as gripping, well-written, and timely. They appreciate the good grasp of characters and evolving plot. Customers also appreciate the insightful, deep thought about genetic modifications. Overall, they find the questions entertaining, insightful, and challenging.

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Book premiseStorylineWriting styleCharacters and plotQuestions
32 customers mention "Book premise"32 positive0 negative

Customers find the book premise interesting, brilliant, and thought provoking. They also say it's worth their time, an enjoyable play, and a thoughtful yet entertaining look at the future of body design. Readers also describe it as intelligent, provocative, and original.

"Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress is the perfect book to read before or after Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand because it adds so beautifully to the basic..." Read more

"...you don’t care, and be taken away to a thoroughly fascinating and enjoyable play. The set is in the future... but then again may not so far away." Read more

"...in concept and execution, with a finale that is both open-ended and pleasing (a decidedly hard-to-achieve combination), and it won both the Hugo and..." Read more

"This is so intelligent, so provocative and original that I wholeheartedly endorse this wonderful story as a must read for those Sci fi bibliophiles..." Read more

25 customers mention "Storyline"22 positive3 negative

Customers find the storyline compelling, original, and classic. They also say the premise is social commentary at its best.

"Well written novel with a good grasp of characters and evolving plot." Read more

"...ignore that stuff if you don’t care, and be taken away to a thoroughly fascinating and enjoyable play...." Read more

"...so provocative and original that I wholeheartedly endorse this wonderful story as a must read for those Sci fi bibliophiles who are searching for..." Read more

"...The book makes for awkward reading. The plot is interesting but the pacing is uneven...." Read more

14 customers mention "Writing style"14 positive0 negative

Customers find the writing style gripping, well written, and quick. They also say the book is entertaining, engaging, and timely.

"Well written novel with a good grasp of characters and evolving plot." Read more

"...The kindle edition is well-formatted and free from noticeable errors or typos." Read more

"...social commentary with only the final 25 pages being gripping and well written. It just kept plodding along...." Read more

"...How would society as a whole change? The writing is mature and smooth, and concepts and characters well fleshed out and complete...." Read more

12 customers mention "Characters and plot"9 positive3 negative

Customers find the characters and plot in the book well-written, with a good grasp of characters and an evolving plot.

"Well written novel with a good grasp of characters and evolving plot." Read more

"...She writes characters that are layered and realistic...." Read more

"...Many of the major characters are cardboard cutouts, too. The normal sister of a genetically enhanced genius decides to drop out...." Read more

"...apparent, the dialogue becomes less preachy, and the characters do develop a little depth - especially the next generation of genemod children - the..." Read more

10 customers mention "Questions"10 positive0 negative

Customers find the questions in the book insightful, thought-provoking, and challenging. They also say the book is entertaining and different.

"...Kress also manages to convey all points of view - both the characters you are cheering for as well as the most dangerous, misguided ones." Read more

"...remaining three parts of the novel are exciting, intriguing, and challenging, but they can't help but suffer in comparison to the opening segment...." Read more

"...- the beginning of the story is very compelling and offers many questions right away that you'll want to keep reading to find the answers to...." Read more

"...This book was different: it asked new questions and found new answers...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

Sylvia Wadlington
5.0 out of 5 stars A Thinker's Classic
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2011
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Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress is the perfect book to read before or after Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand because it adds so beautifully to the basic arguments of the Haves and the Have-Nots. The best thing about this story is that instead of endlessly chasing the dream that leads to an easy life for the Have-Nots, the dream is realized. It's sort of like the dog finally catching the car. The little guy is in control and all his food, shelter, medical, and general needs are provided. He can go to the government warehouse, which is like a giant Walmart and pick up anything he desires and it's not only free, it's his right as a voting citizen. All the work is done by the Gene Enhanced, who are the Haves because they get to work. The Have-Nots don't work because they can't compete in the job market against those who are enhanced. The twist is the Gene Enhanced can't compete with the Sleepless, who in turn can't compete with the Super Brights. The story sorts through the basic primitive human emotions of tribe, family and self in a stunning portrayal of how accomplishing civilization's dream of prosperity for all only leads to more prejudice and inequity. An excellent read.
9 people found this helpful
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Jim H
4.0 out of 5 stars Beggers in Spain keeps you reading.
Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2023
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Well written novel with a good grasp of characters and evolving plot.
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K2Dadio
5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, Engaging and Timely
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2018
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I kept thinking about Charles Murray’s work while enjoying this imaginative ride... and If Ayn Rand where alive she would likely seek out Nancy Kress for coffee and a chat.

There is much brain food here... the story and plot cover some heady ground of meaningful social commentary without preaching any ideology. But you can ignore that stuff if you don’t care, and be taken away to a thoroughly fascinating and enjoyable play. The set is in the future... but then again may not so far away.
2 people found this helpful
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winterlongone
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant near-future human genetics impact
Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2023
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Nancy Kress is one of the best science fiction writers at analyzing the "what if" impact on everyday people who are intimately related to a new science fiction discovery. She writes characters that are layered and realistic.

Kress also manages to convey all points of view - both the characters you are cheering for as well as the most dangerous, misguided ones.
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D. Cloyce Smith
4.0 out of 5 stars The lure of independence against the demands of society
Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2009
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The first section of Nancy Kress's four-part novel, "Leisha," is a revision of the 1991 award-winning novella, which like the novel was entitled "Beggars of Spain." In spite of its brevity, the novella was nearly perfect in concept and execution, with a finale that is both open-ended and pleasing (a decidedly hard-to-achieve combination), and it won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for best novella.

But the author was unable to leave her original character and concept hanging. She (shrewdly, I think) expanded upon her novella about genetically mutated humans who don't need sleep and who live in a society that regards them as nightwalking freaks with unfair advantages: the extra hours they have each day, their ability to focus for extended periods, and (it turns out) the unexpected side effect of never growing old. The Sleepless have become Ageless.

The challenge Kress tackles in this extended remix, as she acknowledges in a foreword, is to address political and economic principles more explicitly, pitting "Ayn Rand's belief that no human being owes anything to any other except what is agreed to in a voluntary contract" against Ursula Le Guin's fictional utopia of a property-free (and thus government-free) society, as depicted in "The Dispossessed." This admission almost kept me from reading the book; I tend to become impatient with novels that bludgeon its readers with faux-academic sermons, rigging their fiction to support some metaphysical position or impossible ideal, but Kress eschews black-and-white worldviews and sees life in a rainbow of nuance. Her characters struggle between the lure of individual independence and the demands of social responsibility; Kress believes that neither extreme is all that human--or humane. She doesn't preach to us with a dogmatic answer but subtly suggests that the solution is to be found somewhere in the middle--an obvious point too often forgotten by extremists of every type.

As for the story itself: the remaining three parts of the novel are exciting, intriguing, and challenging, but they can't help but suffer in comparison to the opening segment. Part of the problem is their episodic nature; what we have here is less a cohesive novel than a tetralogy of novellas of variable quality (with the final two sections linked more strongly than the first two). Each succeeding chapter feels a bit tacked on. In addition, by the middle of the novel, several of the lead characters lose the very quality to be found in Kress's philosophical musings: nuance. All too often, the plot pits a veritable Dragon Lady (like Jennifer Sharifi) against a virtual saint (like Leisha or Miri). And the second generation of Sleepless mutant children, while they certainly provide one final (if far too predictable) plot twist, all suffer from a hyper-caffeinated stutter that is faithfully--and annoyingly--recorded on the page.

Yet, in spite of my quibbles about the last three sections, I must confess that I couldn't stop reading this book, not only because Kress ably enchants the reader with her bizarre and believable mutant dystopia, but especially because of the socio-political underpinnings that made me hesitate to read this book in the first place. In its full-length form, in spite of its disjointedness, "Beggars in Spain" is that rare novel that inspires both imagination and thought.
4 people found this helpful
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Steve
5.0 out of 5 stars glimmerings of our future
Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2014
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This is so intelligent, so provocative and original that I wholeheartedly endorse this wonderful story as a must read for those Sci fi bibliophiles who are searching for glimmerings into the future. I will catch up with myself after I finish the second book in the trilogy~ Beggars and Choosers but for now I wanted to express my thanks to Nancy Kress for writing this and encourage those who seek brilliance and insight and of course just a damn good read to pick this up and delve into a future that may not be too far away. The ending of book 1 is a nail biter and the beginning of book 2 is satisfying in that it picks up twelve years later with an exciting construct! Put it on your list!
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Top reviews from other countries

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Christian Passalacqua
5.0 out of 5 stars Beggars in Spain
Reviewed in Italy on December 1, 2018
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An excellent book, the first of a trilogy, wrote by a superb author Nancy Kress. I suggest it to everyone who is interested in sci-fi.
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Juan Carlos
5.0 out of 5 stars Una visión distinta de la ingeniería genética
Reviewed in Spain on September 5, 2017
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Todo bien salvo el título, poco afortunado. Una perspectiva diferente sobre las consecuencias de la ingeniería genética, imaginada desde la década de los 90.
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Jane Easton
5.0 out of 5 stars Mustard with Kress
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 25, 2011
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I came across the original long story by accident, in an anthology, and was really affected by both the premise and her beautiful writing - can't believe I've never heard of her before and am on a mission to catch up now, starting with the novel version of BIS. I take the other reviewers' point about the slightly muted ending but I think (hope) that's because she intended to write a sequel - indeed, I believe it's called 'Beggars and Choosers' and I want to get both.
One person found this helpful
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Kaya
5.0 out of 5 stars where it all started
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 20, 2014
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Who really cares about the beggars? In Spain If you have it all how much would you give away or want to even consider parting with. As genetic modification leads to the birth of people who never need to sleep the world is irrevocably changed
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TrentReznor
3.0 out of 5 stars Motiviert nicht, die Fortsetzungen zu lesen
Reviewed in Germany on October 22, 2010
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Ich hatte in einer Kurzgeschichtensammlung eine Story von Nancy Kress gelesen und wollte nun auch mal ein vollständiges Werk der Autorin lesen.
Die Wahl fiel auf Beggars in Spain, weil mich die Prämisse der Handlung ansprach und die Rezensionen ja insgesamt sehr positiv ausfallen. Ich habe mich da noch nicht weiter informiert und wusste nicht, dass es mittlerweile drei Teile in der Beggars-Serie gibt. Ich kann jedenfalls sagen, dass ich die Fortsetzungen auch nicht mehr lesen werde.
Das Buch fing interessant an, der Verlauf der Geschichte erschien mir aber einfach nicht glaubhaft.

Die Schlaflosen als eine Außenseiter-Elite darzustellen, erschien mir ziemlich seltsam. Hauptgrund für ihre Außenseiter-Position liegt ja in deren Philosophie des "Yagaismus" begründet, demnach die Stärkeren nicht verpflichtet sind, Schwächeren zu helfen. Es soll ein freier Austausch von Informationen und Gütern herrschen, aber nur zwischen denen, die auch was im Gegenzug leisten können. Die Schlafenden, die entsprechend weniger leisten können als die 24/7-Aktiven, haben demnach also kein Anrecht darauf, von den Leistungen der Schlaflosen mitzuprofitieren. Daraus entsteht entsprechend der Konflikt und Neid zwischen den beiden Gruppen. Da die Schlaflosen in der Minderheit sind, werden sie trotz ihrer Überlegenheit diskriminiert.

Der Yagaismus geht dabei auf einen japanischen Wissenschaftler zurück und zeigt ja klar sozialdarwinistische Tendenzen erkennen lässt. Dies wäre nun eine Möglichkeit, einen metaphorischen, sozialkritischen Roman aus dem Stoff zu weben, aber irgendwie fällt es doch ziemlich schwer, die Diskriminierung der Schlaflosen in irgendeiner Form als falsch anzusehen, da der Sozialegoismus ja von ihnen ausgeht. Als Leser denkt man sich da auch "das arrogante Pack verdients ja nicht anders".

Ich ziehe mal eine Parallele zum dritten Reich, aus denen man Spoiler ableiten kann. Also mit Vorsicht lesen, wenn man das Buch noch nicht kennt:
Da wäre es dann so, dass die jüdische Bevölkerung sich abkapselt und die eigenen wissenschaftlichen Erfolge nicht mehr mit dem Rest der Bevölkerung teilen will. Aus Neid will der Rest dann entsprechend auch nichts mehr mit den Juden zu tun haben. Diese ziehen sich dann freiwillig in gut bewaffnete und sichere Ghettos zurück und bauen sich da ihr eigenes Paradies auf, dass sie dann auch als unabhängig erklären. Da Deutschland das nicht akzeptieren will, drohen die Juden Deutschland mit totaler Vernichtung durch Massenvernichtungswaffen, sollte auch nur ein deutscher Soldat das Ghetto betreten.

Zu wem soll man da als Leser halten? Wer ist da Opfer und wer Täter?

Da ist einfach der Wurm drin. Die Schlaflosen können nicht viktimisiert werden, wenn sie die Stärkeren mit dem Finger auf dem roten Knopf sind. Die Schlafenden hingegen unternehmen auch nichts, was sie in irgendeiner Form sympathisch machen würde. Einerseits natürlich gut, dass keine reine Schwarz-Weiss-Malerei betrieben wird, wenn ich in einem Konflikt aber beide Seiten nicht ausstehen kann, ist mir der Ausgang der Auseinandersetzung aber auch ziemlich egal.

Daher ist mir gleich, was in den Fortsetzungen noch passiert und ich suche mir lieber anderen Lesestoff.
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