Warm, wise, and magical—the latest novel by the bestselling author of THE LITTLE PARIS BOOKSHOP and THE LITTLE FRENCH BISTRO is an astonishing exploration of the thresholds between life and death Henri Skinner is a hardened ex-war reporter on the run from his past. On his way to see his son, Sam, for the first time in years, Henri steps into the road without looking and collides with oncoming … with oncoming traffic. He is rushed to a nearby hospital where he floats, comatose, between dreams, reliving the fairytales of his childhood and the secrets that made him run away in the first place.
After the accident, Sam—a thirteen-year old synesthete with an IQ of 144 and an appetite for science fiction—waits by his father’s bedside every day. There he meets Eddie Tomlin, a woman forced to confront her love for Henri after all these years, and twelve-year old Madelyn Zeidler, a coma patient like Henri and the sole survivor of a traffic accident that killed her family. As these four very different individuals fight—for hope, for patience, for life—they are bound together inextricably, facing the ravages of loss and first love side by side.
A revelatory, urgently human story that examines what we consider serious and painful alongside light and whimsy, THE BOOK OF DREAMS is a tender meditation on memory, liminality, and empathy, asking with grace and gravitas what we will truly find meaningful in our lives once we are gone.
more
I loved and hated this book. Ms. George’s writing is lovely. Her prose is beautifully descriptive, and she has an incredibly enticing way of setting a scene that incorporates all of the reader’s senses. The author pours her love and grief for her late father into every page of her novel.
The opening scene is gripping, but it then took me awhile to get into the rhythm of the story and figure out the intersecting players. Once I read the author’s postscript, everything clicked and I easily fell into the story’s cadence. As the story progressed, I found myself embroiled in the wants, wishes and regrets of each of the primary characters.
Henri Malo Skinner is a man filled with regret and remorse. At most junctures in his life, his fear and self-loathing lead him to decisions that leave him alone and lonely. In his coma state, Henri relives some of these scenes on a continuous loop, but each time he makes different decisions which leads to different outcomes (to me, this had a repetitive feel that reminded me of the movie Groundhog Day). As he revisits these critical moments, his ex-lover, Edwina, and his son’s bedside presence permeate these dreams.
I loved the organic development of Edwina and Henri’s son’s, Sam, friendship. Both are interesting characters. Edwina is one of those female characters that you wish you knew in person. Sam is a synesthete; he feels everything deeply, he sees numbers as colors, he sees auras, and he can sense the space between living and death when he opens his mind to it. This makes for some interesting and eye-opening scenes in the story.
“How could I fritter away my life in such fear and on so many refusals, saying “no” at the wrong forks in the road and “I don’t know” at important ones?”
The Book of Dreams is a sad story of hope in the face of regrets and loss. At times I felt hopeful, and at other times I felt exhausted by the characters seemingly futile efforts. Ms. George embeds messages of the fragility of life and choosing happiness into this story of love and family. This beautifully written book was hard to read at times, and it has left me thinking of the many forks in the road of my own journey. The Book of Dreams is a thought-provoking, literary gem.
The Book of Dreams was originally released in Germany in 2015. The translation is flawless.
I love this author, her books are always so interesting.
Henri Skinner, a man in a coma, after saving a young girl and then having been hit by a car.
Eddie, a love from the past, who could never forget Henri.
thirteen year old Sam, who is Henri’s son and who is a synesthete and who never really knew his father.
Maddie ,a twelve year old girl who is unresponsive after an accident where she lost the rest of her family.
These are the main characters in this story.
The books deals with a lot of emotions and points of view, when all of these people come together at the hospital.
Eddie and Sam try and get through to Henri, hoping to wake him from his coma and Sam also finds out about Maddie and tries to also bring her out of her self imposed oblivion.
It is a story about what goes on between life and deaf, beautifully written showing us all of the different possibilities that could exist. It is a trip through the characters pasts and a look at the present and hopeful futures. It transcends mind barriers.
I highly recommend this book.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Crown Publishing for the ARC of this book.
Loved this book. Words carried beautiful visuals.
Great read by the author of The Little Paris Bookshop.
I couldn’t put it down. Nina writes like a dream. She holds you spell bound from page 1. The story and the characters are profound. I can’t say enough good things about this writer and this book. It leaves me wanting to read more of her books
What a beautiful, strong novel on love, relationships, and what may happen when patients are caught in the coma world.
Nina George writes in a way that is completely relatable because she addresses in such a compassionate and thoughtful way those deeper fears and emotions that we all share but might not always acknowledge. This, and her other books are hope-filled. I’ve read them all and would read them again!!
I love this author and look forward to reading more from her in the future. She gets into the heart and minds of her characters. I found this to be a fascinating story about how our brains and bodies work after a traumatic injury. It was most enjoyable as an audiobook, as I think some of the repetitive dreams would have been tedious to read.
Being a huge fan of Nina George, I was extremely excited to get this advanced review copy. Yet here I am, just not reviewing it, months and months after I initially downloaded it. I love this author’s writing and have loved her previous novels, but this one was just a long struggle for me.
As always, the writing was beautiful including her descriptions and word choice, typically just whisking me away into the story and making me want to stay in that happy place. However, The Book of Dreams alternated between slow at times to moments where my brain felt that it would explode as I processed everything that was happening. I wasn’t sure whether I found it fascinating or laughable. Typically, when it comes to somewhat metaphysical-themed novels, I either love them or hate them. There’s not really an in-between. Although I didn’t love this, I can’t say that I hated it either. I was certainly moved by some of the relationships and each of the characters – Henri, Sam, Eddie, and so on – were wonderful in their own unique ways. But something about the overall themes regarding love, relationships, life, and death – just didn’t come together for me as I would have liked. And some of the secondary stories told along the way just felt tedious, almost like a filler.
Many people have loved this novel so I am not going to recommend or not recommend this one either way. I just don’t think it was for me personally. When it takes me months and months of starting and stopping a novel, it’s obvious that I am just not connecting, however, I wanted to see this one through to the end.
*Thanks to NetGalley for providing an advance review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
As Henri Skinner was on his way to meet his thirteen-year-old son, he was hit by a car, and now lies in a coma. Sam, eager to know his estranged dad, visits him every day, hoping he will wake up. While he is there, Sam is drawn to the orphan, Madelyn, a twelve-year-old dancer, who was in an automobile accident with her parents and lies in a coma, as well. While visiting his dad, Sam also meets Eddie Tomlin, the woman who had always loved his father. The four of them create an unusual and amazing bond.
Sam is a synesthete, a person who experiences sensory stimulation to one sense through the stimulation of other senses. For example, he sees numbers and words in color. He also can feel what people are like. In this story, Sam can feel the presence of the people in a coma.
This is an unusual and emotional story in which Nina George explores what may be happening in the lives of those in a coma. In this story, she also explores what may happen to people who have died.
The characters are so human and real, and Ms. George presents them in such a realistic manner that the reader cannot help but be dragged along as if actually experiencing the events. This book is a truly emotional and unforgettable experience that I would not have missed for the world. It got me to think and feel about the magic of the human spirit and the power of love. This one cannot be missed.
The dreams of youth for life ahead, dreams of the past, dreams of loves and lovers, and even dreams of those in a coma, all crossing and intertwining with love and the future..