The Anatomy of Dreams - (Award-Winning Fiction) by Chloe Benjamin (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

When Sylvie Patterson, a bookish student at a Northern California boarding school, falls in love with a spirited, elusive classmate named Gabe, they embark on an experiment that changes their lives. Their headmaster, Dr. Adrian Keller, is a charismatic medical researcher who has staked his career on the therapeutic potential of lucid dreaming: by teaching his patients to become conscious during sleep, he believes he can relieve stress and trauma. Over the next six years, Sylvie and Gabe become consumed by Keller's work, following him across the country.

But when an opportunity brings the trio to the Midwest, Sylvie and Gabe stumble into a tangled relationship with their mysterious neighbors--and Sylvie begins to doubt the ethics of Keller's research. As she navigates the hazy, permeable boundaries between what is real and what isn't, who can be trusted and who cannot, Sylvie also faces surprising developments in herself--an unexpected infatuation, growing paranoia, and a new sense of rebellion.

With stirring, elegant prose, "Chloe Benjamin has crafted an eerie, compelling first novel which, like the lingering effects of a vivid dream, resonates long past its finish" (Karen Brown, The Longings of Wayward Girls).

Review Quotes

"A sly, promising, and ambitious debut." -Publishers Weekly

"Matches the subtle surrealism of a dream with the underpinnings of a thriller." -Emma Straub, New York Times bestselling author of Modern Lovers

"A riveting tale that will instantly transfix readers, like a dream you're not quite ready to wake up from." -Bustle

"Wrestles with the big complexities of early adulthood--the impossibility of fully knowing a partner, the quixotic desire for meaningful work, and the surprisingly sudden nature of obsession...Shimmers and surprises." -Dean Bakopoulos

"Mounting tension and [an] atmosphere of secrecy will definitely keep the pages of this taut psychological exploration turning right up until the tense, satisfying denouement." -Booklist