When Henri ends up in a coma after rescuing a young girl from the Thames, his ex-girlfriend, Eddie, discovers that she is listed as Henri's next-of-kin in his living will. While Henri lies in a hospital bed, he fitfully revisits the boyhood he spent with his beloved grandfather, who fed him a steady diet of Breton fish and fairy tales.

Meanwhile, Sam, Henri's sensitive teenage son with whom Henri never had a relationship--Henri was in love with his mother, but too afraid of love to make the relationship work--has never seen his father alive, other than in Henri's reportages or the video of him heroically saving a girl from drowning. Yet, Sam has a more profound connection with his father than most children of his age. Sam and Eddie, each previously unaware of the other, slowly begin to carve out an unexpected and powerful friendship. But when Sam is on his way to meet his father for the first time, tragedy strikes.

I was instantly captivated by the blurb of this one and I've loved everything else Nina George has written, but this didn't do it for me. I was hoping for more than I got.

What are people in comas able to experience? The world immediately around them? Other worlds? Other versions of their lives? And—can lives lived between death and life change life as it is lived? The Book of Dreams explores these questions using an interesting, engaging cast: a former war correspondent; his brilliant son, who hasn't seen his father in years; a young ballerina, the only survivor of a car accident that killed her family; and a publisher of alternative-worlds fiction. Their stories proceed in overlapping circles that leave many possibilities open. George carefully "grows" the relationships among the characters, which makes for engaging reading. This is a book that keeps readers engaged until the very end.

In the most beautiful prose, we are introduced to two souls who are dying and two people who want them to live.

Sam is 13 with an IQ of 144, and he is a synesthete -- for him, ordinary people and things, even letters of the alphabet, have their own color.

"Lies have a particular sound; they're whiter than someone's normal voice."

"I see sounds, voices, and music as colors. The London Underground sounds steel gray, like a bagful of knives. My mother's voice is soft, like soft gauze on a frozen lake. And purple. My voice is currently colorless, but when I'm scared, it turns bright yellow. When I speak, it's light blue, like a baby's playsuit. People who know who they are and what they're capable of have green voices. Dark-green voices, serene and majestic like a wise old forest. For me, numbers also have colors. The future eight is green, four is yellow and five is blue. Letters have personalities: R is aggressive, S is sly and K is a covert racist. Z is cooperative and F is a diva. G is upright and strong."

He has come to the hospital to see his father, Henri Skinner, who was hit by a car and is now in a coma. Sam has never met or seen Henri. "The intensive care unit on the second floor is for patients wrapped in silence and loneliness. That's why they're sent here, to the Wellington Hospital's neurology department. The London Brain Centre -- the NASA of brain departments." "If Henri were weather, he would be an Atlantic storm."

At the end of another hallway resides an 11-year-old girl called Maddie, Madeline Zeidler, who used to be a ballet dancer. She was getting ready to dance Marie in the Nutcracker when it happened, when life as she knew it was taken away. She, too, is in a coma. "If Maddie were a form of weather, then she'd be a summer breeze."

The lives of Henri and Maddie are filled with dreams and memories, which are shared with each other and with Sam throughout the course of their wonderfully idyllic journey through the fifth dimension: "the sphere between heaven and earth. You know, strange coincidences. Somebody dies and a child is born. You're thinking about a friend you last saw thirty years ago, when the phone rings and he's on the line. Odd sensations that take hold."

Into their lives comes Eddie [Edwina] who knew Henri years ago, and agrees in his Living Will to be responsible for him. Night Nurse Marion who has worked with comatose patients for a long time and understands them well. The two Doctors, John Saul and Foss.

The sadness of dreams. The lightness of dreams. The hopes of dreams. The futility of dreams. The essence of dreams. The sharing of dreams. The love in dreams. All of these are in *The Book of Dreams*.

I read this EARC courtesy of Edelweiss, Net Galley and Crown Publishing. pub date 04/09/19

Although I loved her previous, this book was not for me. I felt it was slow and barely trudged along. This book was received as an ARC from NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own

In The Book of Dreams, we meet Henri on his way to an event at his son’s school. Henri never makes it though, as he is derailed by an accident that put his life in jeopardy. The book flows between Henri’s situation as he lays in a coma, his son Sam’s perspective, and a woman - Edie, who used to date Henri and now has been pulled back into his world as a result of the accident.

The prose is heavy as is the subject matter, so this book may be not a light summer read per se. It is however a love story without being stereotypical in any way. I found the story compelling as I wanted to learn what would happen to Henri the longer he was in the coma. There are some significant side stories as well, which the author deftly managers and intertwines, so they all come together at the end.

I received an advance copy of the book from Net Galley and have provided an objective review.

A heart-tugging story of devotion and hope. Nina George has created beautiful characters and compelling relational dynamics. I especially loved Sam, an extraordinary boy who is astute beyond his years. I wanted to give him a giant bear hug and make his dreams come true.

George excelled at putting her thoughts to paper, especially as they relate to Sam’s journey to find peace and love and Henri’s alternating states of awareness as he remained trapped between two worlds. A profound and thought-provoking read.

I had never heard of Nina George, but after this book I am a fan! It took me by surprise how much I enjoyed this and how quickly I became invested in the story. Very well written!

The Book of Dreams is the third book written by Nina George following the death of her father. In each book, the author ponders existential questions such as 'being and no longer being.' The books have the potential to take the reader along on this journey of healing. The Book of Dreams is no exception. The writing is beautiful and the premise of the book is intriguing. The author clearly did a good deal of research on the brain and I feel like I learned a lot.

That being said, I found the narrative to be slow going and sometimes confusing. I started and stopped the book several times, not finding my rhythm. This surprised me, as I was a big fan of the author's previous book, The Little Paris Bookshop.

I was very much looking forward to reading the book and I wish to thank the author and NetGalley for the opportunity

Henri Skinner is on his way to see his son, Sam, for the first time since he was a child. Henri is injured in a horrible accident and is taken to a hospital and survives, but is in a coma and is not showing any signs of waking up.

Sam, who so desperately wants to know more about his father, awaits by his side at the hospital. He meets Eddie (Edwina) who is (or was) romantically involved with Henri. The relationship between Eddie and Henri is complicated, however Eddie, named as Henri’s Power of Attorney, is going through an emotional battle as she chooses to keep her long lost love alive and not back down from the pressure to let him go. After meeting Sam, she is even more determined to be a part of reuniting them together at last.

As Sam visits the hospital regularly, he stumbles upon Madelyn, a young coma patient, who was the only survivor in a tragic accident that killed her entire family. Sam becomes emotionally attached to Madelyn, and visits her regularly. The book connects the stories of each of their lives, past, present, and beyond.

The journey each character goes through as they endure the anguish of their own regrets, memories, and hope is described with beautiful imagery and multiple point of views. I was drawn to this book because of the description of exploring the thresholds between life and death. The book describes this dreamlike state heavily, and I felt compelled to find out if Henri would ever wake up again.

While the writing is beautiful and the science of how the brain works was interesting, I was losing interest fast, hoping the book would soon end. I loved the theme of hope and overcoming loss, and the writing was powerful, however it was possibly too drawn out.

Thank you, Crown Publishing and #netgalley for an advanced e-book version in exchange for an honest review.

The Book of Dreams was a difficult read for me. It was quite complicated, as the points of view and timings were changing rapidly and the lines between fantasy and reality were a little too fluid. That made the pacing uneven for me. I did find the characters intriguing, as they were multi dimensional and complex. I had to work way too hard to finish this one. I think I would have liked a bit more reality and was looking for a less heavy book. I do think it would make a good book discussion selection, lots to discuss and debate.
I received my copy through NetGalley under no obligation.

****Warning May Contain Spoilers****

Thank you to Crown Publishing for providing a copy of this book for an honest review. Copy provided on NetGalley.com

This book is told from the perspective of three people: Sam, Eddie, and Henri. As the book’s description mentions, Henri is Sam’s father and they have never met before. Eddie is someone who loves Henri dearly and Henri loves her too, but never told her and instead broke her heart years ago.

When Henri goes to meet his son for the first time an accident happens and Henri ends up in a coma. We bounce between what’s going on in Henri’s head to what’s going on in reality from Eddie and Sam’s perspective.

I believe Nina George does a great job giving the reader a sense of what it’s like for family members of coma patients, but also what could possibly be going through the minds of those in a coma. Nobody really knows what goes on in someone’s head while in a coma or where their minds could possibly be, but the way Nina George described what’s going on in Henri’s head made me believe that it could be what truly happens.

I did get a little confused in the middle when it would be from Henri’s perspective and then eventually it was revealed that his mind was going over events in his life in several different ways. It was to show all the possible scenarios that could have happened and only one of them was what really happened. So there were times I thought I was reading the same page over and over again, but really it was the same story with slightly different choices that led to different end results. Eventually I liked the idea, but in the moment I seriously thought I was going crazy (haha).

Another element of the book is Madelyn, another coma patient, who turns out to be the love interest of Sam. He sees this girl in the hospital and instantly has a connection with her. He’s determined to help her and his father come out of their comas. With this aspect of the book, Nina George creates an even deeper idea of a coma patient’s mind and that potentially it’s a place where all coma patients are. I don’t want to reveal too much, but Henri does encounter Madelyn in the world his mind is in.

Overall, I thought it was a good book. I really wanted to know what would happen so continued to read even during the confusing middle part of the book. I’m glad I kept reading because it got me thinking about how precious life is and how you should tell the people you love how much you love them…tell them all the time because you never know when you won’t be able to.

This was the worst time to read this book and yet I couldn’t put it down. The writing is powerful. The choices offered are myriad. The doors that open, close and remain open defy final choice. This could happen, or this did happen, or this should have happened, Did this happen? Did I imagine this happening? Did I embrace this as my decision? Did I let time and circumstance make the decision for me?

Life now ALIVE, walking, talking, running, expressing love.
Life in hiatus and never knowing the truth or the ending.

Extraordinary thoughts and writing

Thank you NetGalley and Crown Publishing for a copy

How thought provoking this book was! This is the book that remains in your thoughts long after you are finished reading. It is a very emotional story about love, loss, tragedy, and hope. I came to love the characters and felt their emotions genuinely.
Many thanks to Crown Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Although I sometimes found it hard to figure out what was real and what was imagined or dreamed, I enjoyed this book very much. It is beautifully written and evoked so many emotions.

Once again, Nine George offers an exquisitely beautiful and utterly touching tale. .A look at where our choices in life take us, how things might be different, and how deeply connected we all are. Nina George masterfully creates her characters and lets us follow them through a beautifully set journey.

This is a quiet book with a lot of the “action” occurring in dream states, hence the name. It’s told in four voices: Sam; Henri, Sam’s father; Eddie, Henri’s former lover; and Maddie, a hospital patient and sole survivor of her family’s car crash. Sam and his best friend Scott are both Mensa students and also my favorite characters. They’re 13-years-old and trying to make sense of life. Scott complains that they teach you academic subjects in school but they don’t teach you what’s important - How to be happy. Sam was frustrated - he said he was neither a boy or a man and felt powerless.

Honesty was one of the central theme of the book, the high cost of deception and of things left unsaid. Another theme was the quest for love, for reciprocated feelings, to be cared for and to care about someone. Eddie tells Sam, “Sometimes it’s the other way around and the other person thinks of you more often than you think of them, or loves you more. Love’s such a stupid cow!” Sam laughed at that. Our four narrators were four lonely people. When Sam visits Maddie’s house to pick up some of her personal items, Sam notes the helpful neighbor comments: “They were a team, Samuel. They were all different, but for all their differences they fit together and they watched out for one another.”

It’s a beautifully written book and I won’t ruin it by trying to explain it, other than to say it’s unusual and thought provoking. In the end Sam acknowledges, “I realize at that moment that you can always decide: nothing simply happens. It’s always possible to decide whether to lie or tell the truth, whether to be an arsehole or not be an arsehole.” Pretty smart for a 13-year-old. I think it was clever that the author started with Henri saving a drowning blonde girl and ended with him saving another drowning blonde girl. The story came full circle.

Is the body responsive to voices when in a coma? Are you able to communicate without words just feelings, colors, senses, dreams? This book of dreams is told through the three voices: Henri, in coma, Sam, his son who Henri hasn't met, and Eddie, his former lover. What connects them all? How do they relate? A fascinating premise of communications. Read, discuss, and learn.

I will start by saying this book is not for everyone. I am seldom at a loss for an opinion about a book, but I have been thinking about this over the past several days since I completed it, and I still don't quite know what to say about it. In Nina George's own words, "Imagine you found a door that would let you go back into your past and change some of the decisions you’ve made—would you enter it? Knowing that there would be consequences, and not necessarily good ones?"
The premise is relatively simple. Henri, after rescuing a young child from the Thames, is in the hospital in a coma. Henri was on his way to his son's school; he has not seen Sam for at least ten years. Sam finds out that Henri is in the hospital and in a coma. Sam is a synesthete, who knows and feels things by colors. Eddie, a long-lost love of Henri, also finds him in the hospital, and together, she and Sam resolve to bring Henri back from the coma.
There are chapters that explore the great "What If?" What if Henri had done this in a previous situation? What if Henri had done that? How would it have played out differently? The book is an exploration of the main questions of life: What is the meaning of our existence? Where do we go in our dreams? What does it mean to live a life in full?
Thank you to Crown Publishing and Net Galley for providing me with the ARC for this book.

Thank you Crown Publishing and NetGalley for the free review copy!
I recently finished this new title and needed to think on it a bit. It was different from what I’ve ever read before, but I enjoyed it. 3.5 stars for me. The best way to describe it is with single words: surreal, descriptive, ethereal, poignant, existential. The story of dreams, both conscious and unconscious, is told through 3 POV’s, Henri, Sam (Henri’s son) , and Eddie (Henri’s previous girlfriend). The author uses rich, vivid imagery to describe the dreams of two coma patients, Henri and Madelyn, with whom Sam becomes infatuated. Sam is a young teen who is struggling to find himself, know who he is, and what life is all about. Henri’s story is a beautiful story of love and loss. The alternate realities of Henri’s dreams were at times confusing to me, but became clear as a showing of what his life could have been with different choices made. The Game of Thrones references were perfect timing with the beginning of the season.

In a sea of memories and surreal alternative experiences, two coma patients and the people who love them explore, life, death and unfinished relationships. At first, the sometimes misty and evocative quality of the storytelling can make the characters a little difficult to follow, but it also draws the reader into the bending twists and turns of memories that aren't always clear and the complexities of the mind. It's a captivating journey worth traveling.