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anni3008's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
laurieb9's review against another edition
2.0
Meh.
This didn't do it for me.
A female characters with no dept, obsessed with a shallow male up and coming celebrity?
I didn't know what there was to this story, but there was nothing for me.
This didn't do it for me.
A female characters with no dept, obsessed with a shallow male up and coming celebrity?
I didn't know what there was to this story, but there was nothing for me.
eleanorfranzen's review against another edition
I requested this because, you know, Adam Foulds, but I wasn't expecting to like it nearly as much as I did. It's the story of two people: one, Henry, is an up-and-coming actor who's about to break out of the TV period drama circuit with a starring role in a film by a major director; the other, Kirstin, is an American divorcée who bumped into him at an airport a year ago, and who has since been consumed by the delusion that they are meant to be together. It's not anything like the last Foulds novel I read (The Quickening Maze, about the institutionalization of the poet John Clare in the same asylum as Tennyson's brother Septimus). Foulds is exceptionally talented at putting us inside Henry's and Kirstin's heads; his insights into the acting industry, particularly into the world of cinema and celebrity, auditioning and waiting to hear back, are brilliant and convincing. Henry's permanent semi-conscious awareness of his body—hunger, muscle, fasting, lightness, the unusually beautiful structure of the bones of his face—is especially well rendered. In the sections involving Kirstin, meanwhile, Foulds climbs into her head such that we not only see her madness, but understand it, intimately; her divorce has cost her a young stepson and the loss of his small, innocent love is something that she keeps coming back to, a hole in her heart that her obsession with Henry cannot fill. The story clearly can't end well, but Foulds shows tremendous restraint right up to the finish line. Dream Sequence is very good, and very hard to pigeonhole.
sizzledbacon13's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
blyttgh's review against another edition
2.0
09/24/24 Siiiiiiigh this could have been so much more. The narrative structure of having two halves felt pointless, the writing for the most part was a giant wall of text which felt indecipherable at times, and probably the most saddening, the characters somehow managed to fall flat. I want obsession!! Mania!! Passion!!! Too detached for me to believe in this (you mean to tell me she didn’t already know his address?? Some stalker….).
amberguenette's review against another edition
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
lxcy's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
justinkhchen's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars
A slice-of-life narrative about two individuals who long for an idealized future, the next best thing, without ever truly live the present.
At a 3.02 average score, Dream Sequence is currently the lowest rated book I've read; however I ended up thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes, there is only the slightest resemblance of a 'plot', but the objective here is really about becoming intimate with the protagonists, and through their unique (aka flawed) moral and outlook, experience our world with new lens.
The book is evenly divided between its two protagonists, an up-and-coming British actor Henry Banks, and the recently divorced American female, Kristin. Due to Henry's occupation, his narrative is by far the more nuanced and layered one; his character traverses a diverse range of scenarios (audition, premiere, on set, etc.), and we the reader get to witness his emotional trajectory, from his impostor syndrome, envy, desperation, to his tepid attitude on relationship of all kind. As an aside, while irrelevant to the core story, it is evident Adam Foulds modeled Henry Banks after currently-active actor (Michael Fassbender came to mind), which I think further assists readers to mentally materialize this character.
In contrast, the character Kristin remains as an enigma throughout; while I understand the intention, instead of the dual-protagonist setup, the book would've been stronger devoting solely on Henry, with Kristin as a secondary character.
Dream Sequence is beautifully written, has one engrossing character, and a potent sense of modern melancholy. I can see myself revisiting this from time to time, perhaps not as another full read through, but like dreaming, indulge in snippets.
A slice-of-life narrative about two individuals who long for an idealized future, the next best thing, without ever truly live the present.
At a 3.02 average score, Dream Sequence is currently the lowest rated book I've read; however I ended up thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes, there is only the slightest resemblance of a 'plot', but the objective here is really about becoming intimate with the protagonists, and through their unique (aka flawed) moral and outlook, experience our world with new lens.
The book is evenly divided between its two protagonists, an up-and-coming British actor Henry Banks, and the recently divorced American female, Kristin. Due to Henry's occupation, his narrative is by far the more nuanced and layered one; his character traverses a diverse range of scenarios (audition, premiere, on set, etc.), and we the reader get to witness his emotional trajectory, from his impostor syndrome, envy, desperation, to his tepid attitude on relationship of all kind. As an aside, while irrelevant to the core story, it is evident Adam Foulds modeled Henry Banks after currently-active actor (Michael Fassbender came to mind), which I think further assists readers to mentally materialize this character.
In contrast, the character Kristin remains as an enigma throughout; while I understand the intention, instead of the dual-protagonist setup, the book would've been stronger devoting solely on Henry, with Kristin as a secondary character.
Dream Sequence is beautifully written, has one engrossing character, and a potent sense of modern melancholy. I can see myself revisiting this from time to time, perhaps not as another full read through, but like dreaming, indulge in snippets.
sfoulkrod's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
julieh46's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0