The science of dreams is an exciting and largely unmapped territory.
According to Freud, dreams are coded desires or symbols, while for Jung, they are a bridge towards the unconscious. Other scholars consider them to be a mental procedure, while some, such as Hartman see them as a kind of therapy. All views have a common element: they view dreams as a kind of “language” from ourselves to ourselves.
And as their mystery has not yet been revealed, literature, cinema and music use them to create beautiful and enchanting stories 🙂
The same is true with Dreamology, by Lucy Keating, which, however, has a very original and fascinating twist:
For as long as Alice can remember, she has dreamed of Max. Together, they have traveled the world and fallen deliriously, hopelessly in love. Max is the boy of her dreams—and only her dreams. Because he doesn’t exist.
But when Alice walks into class on her first day at a new school, there he is. Real Max is nothing like Dream Max. He’s stubborn and complicated. And he has a whole life Alice isn’t a part of. Getting to know each other in reality isn’t as perfect as Alice always hoped.
Alarmingly, when their dreams start to bleed into their waking hours, the pair realize that they might have to put an end to a lifetime of dreaming about each other. But when you fall in love in your dreams, can reality ever be enough?
Dreamology is a beautiful book with drama and romance, featuring the need to hold on and the necessity to let go. And when those two conflict, well, things are about to get ugly…
The book is also full of music and I totally believe books, dreams and memories should have soundtracks the author has shared a Spotify list with songs that inspired her or kept her company while writing. She also answers some more of our questions (she is fab that way):
Which was your favorite dream in the book?
Lucy Keating: My favorite dream in the book is probably the first, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Not only do I love the romance and the setting, but once I put those words on the page I really understood the tone I was going for…a heightened world with a little whimsy and weirdness. As I continued to write, I would sometimes return to that first dream to remind myself of what I wanted to create.
What inspired you to use dreams to tell Alice’s and Max’s story?
Lucy Keating: Dreams to me are kind of a metaphor for love. In both we sometimes act crazy, or behave in ways we never imagined. And in both we sometimes look back and say “did that really happen?” Like, “Did I really dream I was swimming in a giant bowl of cereal last night?” or “Was I really so in love with that person once?”
How important is music for your writing and in your book?
Lucy Keating: As you might be able to tell, I LOVE music. I don’t know if you have Spotify, but I have a playlist that I’ve been adding to for the past year and listening to while writing. Here is the link: DREAMOLOGY Most of the songs are ones that have “Dream” in the title, album name, band name, or somewhere in the song. But there are some others I would listen to and just think “This is the kind of romance or tone I am going for in the book.”
What if you could choose a song to play at the book launch party?
Lucy Keating: “Pictures of You” By The Cure was a big one for me creating this. “I’ve been living so long with these pictures of you, that I almost believe that they’re real. I’ve been living so long my these pictures of you that I almost believe that the pictures are all I can feel” reminded me of Alice as she dreamed of Max and loved him but wasn’t sure if he existed. And even when she meets him and he’s not like the Max she once knew, she looks back on those dreams like memories/pictures in her head.
You can also listen the songs (without registering for Spotify) here and you can read some comments about specific tracks.
What do you think? Would you want to see in reality something from your dreams? I think I’d rather not! I prefer those to to be separate!
[Pictures are from the author’s tumblr page and some are my own]
