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A review by justinkhchen
Dream Sequence by Adam Foulds
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.