In Dreams Begin
Too many Americans write; not enough write smartly; far fewer write what could be called "intellectual fiction" and among the living, I can only think of three: Gass, Cynthia Ozick, and Edmund White. Consider that on nearly every occasion a story's characters are said to be "thinking," they do nothing more than express their own feelings. Novels have become more and more w Camus once quipped that American writers are the only in the world who don't feel the need to be intellectuals.
Novels have become more and more where characters go to gush and gush about their emotions and wants and desires, but hardly anywhere is there an honest intellectual engagement with the world. These characters don't have ideas about life, much less about literature, philosophy, poetry, politics, film, food, wine, porn, whatever. This is incredible if you consider how much time writers are supposed to spend in books, gathering together an intellectual self with intellectuals tastes It's become so incredibly rare to come across any character anywhere with a brain, and equally rare, to find an author with one.
Delmore Schwartz is that rare example of an intellectual writer who wrote intellectual stories about intellectual characters. Her words descended into the marine world of his mind and were transformed there, even as swimmers and deep-sea divers seen in a film, moving underwater through new pressures and compulsions, and raising heavy arms to free themselves from the dim and dusky green weight of underseas. How perfect is that? From Schwartz's novella, The World is a Wedding , this clarification of an artist's purpose: This is the only justification.
This story, about a circle of artistic friends, reads like The Waves on a more miniature scale, with Jacob and Francis as clear respective analogs to Woolf's Bernard and Neville. The story ultimately turns into an argument for the necessity of artistic failures: Think of how competition is celebrated in games, in schools, in the professions, in every kind of activity.
Consequently, the ideas of success and failure are the two most important ideas in America. Yet it's obvious that most human beings are going to be failures, for such is the nature of competition. Perhaps the ideas of success and failure ought to be established as immoral. This strikes me as a revolutionary idea, although I suppose it has occurred to others.
It is a wedding, the most important kind of party, full of joy, fear, hope, and ignorance. And at this party there are enough places and parts for everyone, and if no one can play every part, yet everyone can come to the party, everyone can come to the wedding feast, and anyone who does not know that he is at a wedding feast just does not see what is in front of him. He might as well be dead if he does not know that the world is a wedding. Nearly the entire story is reported action—sure to annoy anyone who abides by that obnoxious rule "Show, Don't Tell. Aug 01, Matt rated it liked it Shelves: My obit for Lou Reed gives Delmore a shout-out and gives the title story some particular love: Title story was- and is- immortal.
The rest of it is kind of a slog. Very disappointing, since I love his poetry and there just seems to be more legend than masterpieces for poor Delmore. I've heard such extraordinary things about him secondhand: Did he drink his talent away? Did he rant it away? Is there less of his work for us to enjoy and appreciate as a result? Just read the startlingly contemporary title story and appreciate all there was to lose.
May 23, Stephen P rated it really liked it. Jan 30, Darran Mclaughlin rated it really liked it Shelves: A great collection of short stories. I first heard of Schwartz because I'm a big fan of the Velvet Underground. Lou Reed was taught by Schwartz in college and he was the biggest inspiration Reed had as a young man.
He's clearly a pretty serious cult writer. The stories are very good. Th A great collection of short stories.
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities
They are obviously Kafka influenced but they are more realistic and less fabulist. I felt there was some similarity to Katherine Mansfield, though I don't know if he was aware of her. Aug 02, Alex V. Both stories are about movies and the act of going to the movies and the act of action and a general theory of projections and a confounding of dreams and not-dreams and how the fabric of our self-understanding is a dense plaid woven of all these things. And in both stories I read, the fabric rips and no matter how good you think you might be at sewing, you can always see exactly where the seam broke.
Feb 27, Uday rated it it was amazing. Never, never, never be disappointed by what Nabokov recommends. Mar 02, Bob rated it it was amazing. What a belated discovery! Schwartz's characters and prose style are thoroughly compelling. More often spoken of as a poet, I think, his stories nonetheless have quite a reputation. They are quite narrowly focused; the children of the largely Eastern European Jewish immigrants who came over from have by the s set out to disappoint their parents' aspirations for them to become doctors and dentists and have instead embraced the life of penniless writers and intellectuals.
Eventual What a belated discovery! Eventually by the s they reach the probably still incomprehensible to their parents heights of The Partisan Review and attend hard-drinking, emotionally-fraught parties quite reminiscent of those chronicled by the equally amazing Dawn Powell in her tales of the same era. Mar 12, Alex rated it really liked it Shelves: We're used to the metaphor now that life can be like a movie: Schwartz came up with it before anyone else I know. Some of the other stories took longer to make an impression on me.
Jun 17, steve rated it it was amazing Shelves: The wickedness of delusion and pastoral dreamscapes intersect with the beating heart of the young person's desire to make yr own way, the spirit of seeing the world through two wide-open eyes and a dash of hope for a world more tolerant. I always come back to the stories contained herein. The world is a sordid match for money. The world is a misalliance. Every birthday is a funeral and every funeral is a great relief.
If you like J. How did these stories get lost in the shuffle? Jul 20, Rand is currently reading it. My father thinks of my mother. Mar 25, Ginnetta rated it it was amazing. So far burn full painful. Click here to read it if you haven't, it's marvellous. The other stories included in this collection are far less compelling and probably have more to offer to scholars of Depression-era Jewish American cultural life. There is frankly just too much tediously repetitive angst and hollow philosophizing.
Jul 03, Ryan McGinnis rated it it was ok. Jun 07, Jim rated it really liked it. Schwartz was a Professor and mentor to Reed and later a paranoid friend — he was a great poet. Feb 03, Elizabeth Brewster rated it it was amazing. Excellent depiction of the times, and the inner minds and thinking of his characters. Jul 20, Grier rated it it was amazing.
It was just kind of bland. Mar 08, Zach rated it liked it. The dashed dreams of second-generation Jewish immigrants during the Great Depression. Interesting parallels to and differences from today. I wanted to read this book because In Dreams Begin Responsibilities was recommended to me as the best short story ever written by an American. I read and loved that first story in this collection, but only returned to read the remaining stories after about six months.
This is a collection of very powerful stories written by a man with disturbingly sharp insight into human psychology and relationships. Schwartz is very keenly aware of when and why people are being dishonest, even with themselve I wanted to read this book because In Dreams Begin Responsibilities was recommended to me as the best short story ever written by an American. Schwartz is very keenly aware of when and why people are being dishonest, even with themselves. Usually it could be construed as a compliment to say that you would like to meet an author in person, but you wouldn't want to get near Schwartz with a ten-foot pole for fear of him dismantling all your defenses, leaving you a blubbering, snotty mess when he broke down your personality into mechanisms you depend on to deal with the ugly reality of your childhood with a family that was secretly completely dysfunctional and after which you aren't able to engage in any healthy adult relationships.
But why should anyone else have to pay for your childhood?
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Schwartz's characters ask this of themselves and each other, but there's no answer and there's no way out. Yet he still manages to be very funny! I laughed out loud more than a few times. Just a quick example, in the story New Year's Eve, about a party that was on the surface fairly dull but underneath a whole mess of awkward, self-conscious, pretentious humanity, he writes: Some felt that they were not wanted before they arrived, and when they arrived they saw that this view was incorrect, since no one seemed to care very much who was present.
Thus, corrected by incontestable perception, some of them felt that they would not have been invited if this had been an important party, the kind of a party they had supposed it to be when they felt the emotion of flattery upon being invited. There are details of the stories that reflect his heritage and I suspect that someone more familiar with that context, or with Schwartz's life story, or with New York in the s and 40s might be even more deeply engaged with these stories.
Actually, many details about life in that era, reflections about WWI, concerns about WWII, and the Great Depression, as well as the details about the households, family arrangements, shopping and entertainment habits of the people in the stories were all very interesting. A great book that I would like to read twice. Dec 29, Hiba Arrame rated it liked it Shelves: It was amusing, the twist in the devices, putting a scene inside another one, the fears of a young man that were really well presented, and how the parents can have quite a huge impact on our lives.
I really want to like this collection of short stories because I like Schwartz's poetry and so does Lou Reed. Even Reed's intro is about the man's poems and tragic biography, not really the stories. By the way, Lou, it is the "Heavy Bear Another intro and afterword try to point away from the misspent life Maybe a Schwartz biography including some of this best poems would be best and argue how impactful these stories were in the '30s. I will put this on the shelf I really want to like this collection of short stories because I like Schwartz's poetry and so does Lou Reed. I will put this on the shelf, maybe I am not yet of the right vintage and patience to appreciate the subtle values here.
Some forgotten pop culture trend celebrated with John Waters-esque damaged characters. It was almost that good. THere are some lines I really like: From "The World is a Wedding": They are interesting, spontaneous, and sincere. In Dreams Begin explores topics such as art, beauty, fidelity, and the nature of love. If you have, though, some moments will take on an extra layer of meaning.
For a poetry geek like me, In Dreams Begin is a seductive dream indeed. Review originally published at Fantasy Literature Oct 30, Torzilla rated it it was amazing Shelves: I read this book knowing that I might not enjoy the writing style. Due to so many people stating similar sentiments some came from a few I trust when it comes to books and my tastes , I figured I would wait to get a library copy. I wish more people could have enjoyed this book. Not only was it different in a good way! Normally, I do not enjoy reading poems, however, I thought the ones included at the start of each chapter enhanced what I read.
The premise of this story was unique and something that I have not seen done before. I loved that Skyler recreated a person's past. I loved reading the poems by Yeats, and I loved the story between him and Laura. I actually looked up who Maud Gonne was and checked to see what Yeats looked like. It was pretty cool and a great approach towards encouraging younger readers to investigate the history of these people further!
Some will probably dislike this book because of the first person to third person POV shifts. Personally, I thought it was great for the story line and definitely added another aspect to this story. I actually thought of a possible reason behind why Skyler did this aside from making the shifts easier on readers: Laura was in first person because she was the modern woman, while Ida was in third person because all the events in her life occurred in the past.
Could this have been Skyler's intention? Or maybe I'm just thinking about this book too much. Despite my enjoyment of the swaps, sometimes the start of Ida's scenes would confuse me, but I generally could adjust to the changes easily enough. There was a time or two where I grew slightly confused with what was happening in a scene. During these rare moments, I did end up having to reread a page or two, but it was nothing that lessened my enjoyment of this book. In fact, looking back, I don't think I have any complaints about this story. One of the first of many encounters happens to be right at the start, though it is only kissing and touching.
Likewise, if you do not enjoy lots of sex in your books, then you probably won't enjoy this either. Yes, this is a thinker book, and there are discussions within its pages such as: At least, it wasn't for me. I found the exploration of these themes to be fun and exciting. For those of you who enjoy light reads, I suggest you avoid this one. For the rest of you, I highly recommend picking it up! View all 8 comments. Oct 14, Anna rated it liked it Shelves: This act will take them on a journey of magic and passion that they never expected.
When the author asked me if I'd like to review In Dreams Begin, it wasn't a hard decision - she had me at Victorian Ireland. Just knowing that bit of information I knew the story would intrigue me, and it did. There is also a steampunk feel to it that I thought was great. In Dreams Begin is a darkly beautiful story. A poetic and passionate telling that spands dreams and centuries. White's writing is true and challenging.
This was an enjoyable read for me. I think those who enjoyed and Falling Fly, will like this new book. Oct 13, Misty rated it liked it Shelves: In Dreams Begin is such interesting for me, in concept and execution. Though I think there are a lot of people out there that are like "W B who? I'm not going to lie, I like me some poetry, Yeats included. And I also am a fan of stories that strive to recreate or even rewrite the life of a real person, not in a biographical way In Dreams Begin is such interesting for me, in concept and execution.
And I also am a fan of stories that strive to recreate or even rewrite the life of a real person, not in a biographical way, but as a work of fictitious art.
I also like stories that shift back and forth, so long as I don't feel like it's a cheap device used to build suspense and keep me on edge in an otherwise laaame story I'm talking to you , Dan Brown. Skyler White does it well. When the story shifts -- even frustratingly in the middle of something -- it feels natural and real, not gimmicky.
I liked both worlds that were created, and I like who Laura is in both. The romance, too, worked for me. Things come quick, and you know I'm normally not a fan of that, but in this, again, it felt right. It worked for the story and the fantastical aspects of it. All of this -- the time-shifting, the body-switching, the revolutionary ideals, all of it work together in this grand way to create a sense of destiny, in which case the romance between Laura and Yeats doesn't seem at all far-fetched: I feel a little differently about Ida, the little nutjob, and her 'romance' but the fact is, I liked her, too, and it worked on its own level.
And there was sexytime. Boy, was there sexytime. Occasionally in crypts, but who's counting? I talked a bit in my review for White's debut and Falling, Fly about her poetic style. There, it didn't always do the story justice, but here it almost always works very nicely. There are times when it's a little overwrought or confusing, but for the most part, White has a knack for phrasing something just so.
Things will be going along as normal and then she'll describe something in a certain way, or say such and such of the characters, and it just kind of stops you in your tracks. You can see it. As strange a turn of phrase as it may be, you absolute I do have similar warnings as I did in and Falling, Fly , though. This book is not for everybody. Because of the time- and body-switching, it probably could get very confusing for some people, and it definitely takes it out of the 'light read' category; you do have to pay attention. Also, the poetic prose will turn some off and confuse others, without a doubt.
White has found her niche and created something pretty compelling here. And she made me want to read about the real lives of Maud and Yeats. And that's saying something. If you just cringed, skip this. If you sat up straighter and said 'where? Oct 18, Kitt rated it really liked it Shelves: Skyler White is back with her second novel, In Dreams Begin , demanding more from her readers by asking harder questions through a provocative prose. In present day Portland, we meet Laura on her wedding night. Laura has married a man not for love, but for practicality.
As a straight forward, smart, independent woman she knows that crazy in love is still crazy and chooses the more safer option. As she falls asleep, her spirit floats up and back down in to the body of one Maud Gonne, Dublin's famou Skyler White is back with her second novel, In Dreams Begin , demanding more from her readers by asking harder questions through a provocative prose. As she falls asleep, her spirit floats up and back down in to the body of one Maud Gonne, Dublin's famous beauty, years in Ireland's past. Greeted by Ida Jameson, she's convinced that it's all only a dream and welcomes the idea of a love play between the crazy in love Ida with Maud believing in only the symbolism of the act.
Ida Jameson believes that everything she wants or loves turns sour at it's climax.
She wants her childhood friend, Maud and to be apart of the Theosophical Society in a way that borders obsession and driven by open opportunities. When she finds a chance meeting between Maud and William Yeats, she hopes to present Maud, in a mesmerism state again, as Laura to him for guaranteed acceptance in to their society. Though, like everything else, it slips from her grasp and as Maud, Laura falls for the hopeless dreamer and handsome poet Yeats and him with her.
Entrancing from page one, In Dreams Begin sets the reader off on a course of finding love, sexuality, security, infatuation, freedom, sacrifice and imagination though a wide scale array of emotions from pain to pleasure. Like and Falling, Fly , Skyler asks what's the difference between need and want? What do we accomplish by holding ourselves back or sacrificing our love? Is love really a sacrifice of freedom? Adding to her own more person quandaries: Is it mine to maintain, enhance, neglect or add horns to? Can I give myself to someone?
Do I own my child? The sacrifices he will endure for the love of Laura. How Laura finds her freedom, security and peace from the war raging inside her. Meanwhile, Ida has shifted obsessions once again, willing to travel to Hell and back to bring her one true love to her at any cost. Is Ida the devil or villain of this fairytale? Maybe, but I can't help but feel sorry for her plight. All she's looking for is love and freedom, however, life is cruel to her.
In a time where beauty is everything and woman are less than second class, she has nothing to hold on to. The tighter her fist clench to keep what she wants and needs close, the faster it falls from her grasp leading her down a path of rejection and failure, desperate. Is Laura, Maude and Yeats the victims of crazed actions?
Of course, but are they any less to blame? In Dreams Begin will leave you drunk on words of the beautiful poetic writings of Skyler White. However, also like and Falling, Fly , I found the first person past tense point of view of Laura a bit jarring mixed with Ida's third person present tense point of view. Again it took me longer than I would of liked to get into the story, but once I did, it flowed. By the end, you will learn the answers that plagues Laura's questions and Skyler's alike. Your going to have to work for this one, for it is not a simple read, but it will be worth it for what it provokes in you alone.
Oct 17, Raquel Vega-Grieder is currently reading it. Paperback , pp Sales Rank: Let me start off by saying how fabulous I think the book cover is. The way the girl is posed and the dress she is wearing makes her and this cover HOT. Also the way the light comes streaming in from the window is awesome. With that being said I have to admit I had a hard time getting into this book. It starts out with a lesbian make out scene which isn't the problem. To me the real problem is having the book start out with it when I barely know who the characters are and therefore I have no vested interest in this scene.
Also my taste in poetry tends to run on the dark side i. Edgar Allen Poe so the poetry at the beginning of each chapter, though it relates to the chapter, doesn't hold too much interest to me. I really wanted to love this book. I had wanted to read And Falling, Fly by Skyler so bad but never got the chance to so when the opportunity came to read In Dreams Begin I jumped all over it.
When I received the book and saw the cover I was like wow this book is going to rock but it just didn't for me. I did enjoy the fact that Skyler used real people like William Butler Yeats a. Yeats and Maud Gonne. When I found out she used the poet W. Yeats I had to Google him and Maud Gonne just to see what was really up with the two them. I enjoyed reading what really happened with them and comparing the two to how Skyler portrayed them.
Just because this book was not for me does not mean that somebody else will not love it, which I am hearing, a lot of people do. I still want to read And Falling, Fly so this book has in no way soured me from reading another book by Skyler White. On a scale of I give this book a 6. Like I said the cover was beautifully done and there were some parts to the book that I liked just not enough to keep me invested in the resolution.
Nov 02, Lady Rogue rated it really liked it. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. In Dreams Begin is a tale that moves back and forth in time from present day to Victorian Ireland. It is about the lives of three women whose lives are intertwinded, Laura, Ida, and Maud. Ida Jameson, an occultist accidently channeled present- day Laura through friend and medium Maud.
At first, Laura believed that the visits to the past were nothing more than dreams, as they only happened when she slept. So, while her new husband, Amit was physically in bed with her While on her dream trip, she met W. The attraction was instant and thus began a star cross love affair. She began to question what was real and what wasn't. Did she love the man in her bed, or the man in her dreams? As a reader, I couldn't help but wonder Did I judge Laura for it?
After being refused entrance into a theosophical society, her love for Maud, and her control of Laura, Ida's obsession consumed her and she inadvertantly opened the channel for something darker. I think Ida was an interesting character. In some ways, I sympathized with her fustration and kinda liked her for it.
Just when she thought her goals were about to be accomplished, they somehow failed to be acheived.. I can relate to that kind of fustration. I think anyone can. I couldn't stand her. I didn't like her piting herself and abusing her friendships.
I will say that this is a stronger book overall than the author's first novel, and I like the direction she's going. Eight stories portray the world of the New York intellectual during the 's and 's, probing the conflict between ambitious, educated youths and their immigrant parents. After being refused entrance into a theosophical society, her love for Maud, and her control of Laura, Ida's obsession consumed her and she inadvertantly opened the channel for something darker. She had a way of really getting under my skin. I haven't read the previous book in the series I didn't realize it was the 2nd in a series when I bought it.
I think her choices made her ugly and in some sense evil. The men of this tale added an interesting element. I couldn't help but feel sorry for Yeats. All the sacrifices he made for his love. I don't think I could be that generous or that patient. I don't know how I felt about Amit. At first, I felt sorry for him, but towards the end I just didn't know. Some things I didn't like In truth, I think his situation with Ida confused me.
From the moment, she revealed herself to him, to the end of the story Skyler White's artistic writing style flows off the pages and embeds into the mind and hearts of its reader.
"In Dreams Begin Responsibilities" is a short story by American poet and short story writer Delmore Schwartz. "In Dreams Begin Responsibilities" is widely. Start by marking “In Dreams Begin Responsibilities and Other Stories” as Want to Read: I was introduced to Delmore Schwartz's writing from two different perspectives in the mid's. Delmore Schwartz was born December 8, , in Brooklyn.
The story taunts them with those linger thoughts and questions. Is there really such thing as soul mates. Can a soul be possess? Does love cross all boundries? Like the previous book, and Falling fly, this book is a thinker. Nov 03, Melissa rated it liked it.
This is a story of love and all the aspects of love. Lost love, found love, marital love, true love, spiritual love, physical and mistaken love. Love that grows because of the attention it receives and not of some mystical aspect of a conjurer. It also touches on the concept of damnation but not fully. Perhaps this might be the author's concept of the opposite of love? The poetry of WB Yeats is followed throughout the book to make the path for the story and in fact, makes Yeats an important char This is a story of love and all the aspects of love.
The poetry of WB Yeats is followed throughout the book to make the path for the story and in fact, makes Yeats an important character. It also follows the lives and dreams of Laura, Ida, and Maud. All with differing agendas but motivated by their view of true love or redemption. This was a story you had to work at when reading. The connections did not come easily. The shifting POV, not only between characters but between time periods as well as either physical or spiritual settings could be quite jarring.
It brought me out of the book at times, but when settled into a specific time or person it became interesting. I appreciated the snippets of a diary page or letter inserted between chapters to fill in the blanks that would have otherwise left me wondering. I give this book 3 stars. It is interesting, but I don't think it is for everyone.
It makes you think and work at putting all the pieces together. It is far from a light quick read. It delves into philosophy and poetry and those are always things you must work to find a place in one's conscience. So, bear that in mind.
I was given this book by Skyler White for my honest review. No compensation was given. May 01, Christine rated it it was amazing Shelves: Gosh, where to start with this book. Victorian London and Ireland? Happiness spread across my face from this amazing book? However, Skyler weaves the strands of past and present so deftly in thi Gosh, where to start with this book. However, Skyler weaves the strands of past and present so deftly in this novel that it creates a stunning tapestry of love, magic, poetry, sacrifice and damnation that left me feeling breathless.
An interesting premise that showed great promise in the beginning. Past and present mix and collide as two Irish women attempt to save the "men" they love through any means possible. However, the over use of affected prose and verse, surrounded by multiple rapidly changing POV's and under developed characters, buries the premise and gave this reader a headache.
I found myself spending so much time trying to dig beneath the "fluff" to get to the storyline that I stayed lost and unable to connect. This particular book was just not for me. Mar 13, Mishel Forte rated it liked it Shelves: After reading and Falling, Fly read my review here last year I noticed how mind-consuming her words could be.
When I say that I mean her writing really engages a reader's mind. I've found some people don't like that quality while other's really seem to like it. So basically, you either like her style of writing or you don't. I enjoyed and Falling, Fly. It was entirely different than books I've read before and the My rating: It was entirely different than books I've read before and the plot line was so interesting and well-written. In Dreams Begin has the same lyrical quality that makes the writing flow like music or poetry I'm not too familiar with W.
Yeats, Maude Gonne, their lives or the history of Ireland The synopsis sounded pretty interesting so I didn't feel like their was anything to lose. And while I didn't fall in love with the book it still had a lot of great aspects that made me enjoy reading. The story is about Laura, a modern day woman, who wakes up on her wedding night in an Irish freedom fighter's body about one hundred years in the past. Ida Jameson is dreadfully plain and easily overlooked. She desperately wants to become apart of the occult world and be accepted as an equal if not master of the craft.
It is when she and her friend, Maud Gonne, start to experiment that she calls Laura's soul into Maud's body. After realizing her mistake, Ida sees a chance to gain acceptance and knowledge from the occult leaders. She sets out to use her newly acquired "friend" to prove her power. But when that doesn't work Ida quickly becomes somewhat unbalanced.
She is soon consumed by a dark need to have the very things she can never really possess: Maud's beauty, a place in the occult world, or the handsome daemon she falls in love with in Hell. I found I really became engrossed in Ida's story. She's entirely wicked but I almost felt pity for her. She is a cruel and desperate woman but really only wants to know things. I believe it is her passion for learning that destroys the kindness in her and drives her to the unhappy fate that awaits her.
While Ida spirals into the twisted path of the occult, Laura in Maud's body meets and falls in love with W. Thus begins a love affair that lasts decades in Yeats' time period but only days for Laura. The time-traveling aspect of the novel was entirely interesting. I mean I'm not too familiar with time-travel fiction but I thought it was such a great and unique addition to the story.
Although the love between Laura and Yeats was somewhat selfish in my opinion, I still found it heart-breaking that so much time separated the two. And I say selfish only because Laura's new husband is entirely wonderful. He is very much in love Laura and ends up displaying it in great lengths during the story. So I did find myself somewhat angry at Laura at times. But who am I to judge love?
No one can help who they fall in love with. And besides Laura does love her husband. She just happened to love two different men in two different time periods. Her body is used by Ida, Laura, and Yeats and while I didn't really love her personality I still think Maud got the crap end of the stick to put it bluntly. But like I said, Maud's character didn't really grab my attention anyway.
I did find it hard to grasp the concept that Yeats and Laura could look past the fact that it was really Maud's body Laura was in while the two were together. I just think I'd have a tough time overlooking that little detail if I were in Laura's or Yeats' position. I had much going on personally while reading In Dreams Begin so I think I didn't really come to appreciate the novel for what it was. I had trouble grasping certain things and found my brain just wouldn't quite connect with some of the passages.
But I still enjoyed it very much and I think a re-reading is in order sometime in the future. Skyler White delivers another uniquely written story that promises quite an experience. I have no problem recommending this along with her earlier novel and Falling, Fly. It will definitely be a journey for you. Jan 13, OpenBookSociety. Fantasy fiction remains one of the most popular contemporary genres. This is why fantasy novels get easily published and are widely read across the globe.
Skyler White is another author who chose to write in a similar vein, following the recent trends of popular vampire and gothic fiction, as well as a hybrid g Fantasy fiction remains one of the most popular contemporary genres. Both of her novels have a common strand: Her first novel dealt with a female vampire bored with life, yearning for love and an Irish neuroscientist tormented by visions. First of all, this is not a historical novel. This may appeal to a wide variety of readers because it is more linguistically accessible but it certainly does not add to the veracity of the whole plot.
It is clear that White did research but did not delve deeper into it to ensure historical accuracy and a level of realism. The plot deals with time travel and brings the modern reader back in time. Laura, a modern business woman who is about to get married, is summoned back in time into the body of Maud Gonne, an Irish feminist revolutionary with whom William Butler Yeats falls in love. Through Laura as the narrator, White tries to give us a modern perspective on the events that occur. Sex and sensuality play an important part in this fiction, for all the characters seem motivated by their desire and fall in love quickly and without much explanation or motivation.
White seems aware of certain linguistic formulas and repeats words and phrases to portray these powerful emotions, which may work for less demanding readers but those who expect novelty and variation might be disappointed.
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The basic concept of time travel is not successfully portrayed because of the lack of realistic and historically detailed information on that period, and the reader may have the feeling that something is lacking. This book is ambitious in its engagement with emotions and desire, sensuality and transgressive nature of eroticism, but fails to evoke the Irishness on which it insists while dealing with important figures like Yeats and Maud Gonne. This is an easy read for readers who enjoy a light romance time-travel fantasy and do not dwell on details or the veracity of certain historical details.
It is a work of fantasy which can relax and entertain, but does not engage with any deeper topics not brings originality to the popular genre of dark fiction. Apr 19, Sara rated it liked it Shelves: Plus, the time travel wasn't as science-fictiony as it could've been. Instead, it blended time travel with occult practices, astral projection, possession, curses and spells. It was a lot more than just time travel, and it was very interesting. The Irish setting was described so well; the author did a great job researching these historic places.
As weird as it sounds, the descriptive setti Plot: As weird as it sounds, the descriptive settings really made the time travel and occult practices seem more real. There were a few scenes that seemed a bit dragged out. But, the multiple points of view and differences in time passing Laura would go a day between seeing Will, but he would go years between each visit kept me on my toes.
As much as I enjoyed reading about both time periods, there seemed to be a bit too much description to get through in Ida's time. There were also some plot points that didn't quite come together in the end for me. Some of the crazy things Ida did seemed a bit arbitrary and didn't affect much of the conclusion of the story. You get to know each character quite intimately throughout the novel, and you really experience their emotions with them. Laura was my favorite character, so I wish her part had been a bit larger. It seemed like Ida overshadowed her at some points, but it's understandable given the intertwining of their lives.
I also really liked the relationships between Laura and Will, and Laura and Amit. I both loved and hated Ida throughout the novel. She had a way of really getting under my skin. Laura's co-workers were also a nice touch. Although they were much smaller characters, they weren't lacking in depth and seemed very real.