“The Society of Reluctant Dreamers” by José Eduardo Agualusa (Angola)

Review

Readers enjoyed this book a lot finding it intriguing and an easy read. They liked the different styles, such as magical realism and diary entries, which they said held their attention. They found all the characters interesting and warmed to the narrator. Readers liked the contrast between his withdrawn personality and his contentious former schoolmate turned guerrilla fighter. They liked the different settings and felt transported easily between them, and also into the dream realm. One reader particularly enjoyed the many descriptions of dreams and their visual depiction as paintings and movies. Finally, readers felt the political context was well handled without an excessive amount of violence. They liked the feel-good ending which they agreed confirmed the narrator’s character. Overall, it averaged an 8.75 out of 10.

Synopsis

While swimming in the clear blue waters of the Rainbow Hotel, Daniel Benchimol finds a waterproof camera, floating seemingly lost in the sea. He goes on to discover that the camera belongs to Moira, a Mozambican artist famous for a series of photos depicting her own dreams. On seeing the images, Daniel realises that Moira is also the mysterious woman whom he has been dreaming about repeatedly. The two meet, and Daniel becomes involved in a unusual dream experiment with a Brazilian neuroscientist, who’s working with Moira on a machine to film and photograph people’s dreams.

Nicola’s Book Club reading list

Season 23 – “Myth and the Magical” (Dec 2022 – May 2023)

“Ceremony” by Leslie Marmon Silko (USA) *
“Man Tiger” by Eka Kurniawan (Indonesia)
“The Island” by Ana María Matute (Spain)
“The Society of Reluctant Dreamers” by José Eduardo Agualusa (Angola)

* The book club favourite
In italics, Nicola’s Coup de Cœur