Why, it would all be so much simpler if we could only live our lives out in our dreams, where our wishes come to pass in the blink of an eye and we are the sole masters of all destinies. Many have understood the temptation of isolating themselves in the unreal, and perhaps on some level, it is a desire we wrestle with every day.
As it happens in the case of Kitty Miller in The Bookseller, Cynthia Swanson's first novel, the struggle is a lot more real and engulfing than she ever imagined it would be.
Kitty Miller's day-to-day life is nothing to write home about, nor is it anything worth crying over either. She runs a bookstore, is her own boss, and has a failed romance behind her. A stable, if a bit boring life, but one where she is the master.
Needless to say though, it is far from being the ideal existence she came to imagine for herself, but that is a conditioned she soon finds remedied in a most unexpected manner... through her own dreams.
When the night comes down and Kitty slips into dreamland, she becomes Katharyn Andersson, happily married to Lars, mother to splendid children, friend to nothing but the best of people, and inhabitant of a most luxurious home.
Each night she returns to that world to live the life of a stranger, and each time it gets more and more tempting to remain there. As the lines between the two worlds blur (and what seems like a hardcore form of schizophrenia sets in), the question as to what distinguishes the many realities we hold dear to us arises.
How exactly ought this book be classified? Well, the best way I could explain it is a relatively light and yet still slightly sad and tragic story that is unflinchingly real in its portrayal of the kind of life many people are leading: a life of yearning for what they will never have.
There are most certainly laughs and heartwarming moments to be found in this, but the general feeling you get at the end is something akin to accepting reality and making peace with what is given.
It can be very inspiring in its own way, but it surely isn't a barrel of laughs and, I believe, must be taken with a certain degree of seriousness to really be enjoyed. The story won't leave you indifferent, that much is certain.
When looking at The Bookseller from a technical perspective, one can only be pleasantly surprised by Cynthia Swanson's mastery of the pen, especially considering that this is her first fully-fledged novel.
The two narratives are seamlessly developed side by side, with the author having no problem comparing and contrasting the two in the right places at the right moments.
She truly succeeds in making the dream world feel as palpable and acceptable as the real one, and effectively does give a worthy study of the question as to what separates our realities, and how sure we can be that the world in front of us is indeed real and not a mere description. Don't expect any mind-shattering conclusions, just some rather interesting lines of thinking.
If you are the kind of reader who enjoys inquisitive books with a slower pace, I'd most certainly recommend you check it out.
 | Cynthia SwansonPersonal site Cynthia Swanson is a writer and modern designer hailing from Denver, Colorado. She has already penned numerous short fiction stories in various periodicals including 13th Moon, Sojourner and Kalliope. The first novel she ever penned is titled The Bookseller, and it certainly shows promise for her as a future force in the world of literature. |
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