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In Between Dreams
Growing up in a sleepy town with a beautiful mother and a father who seems to adore her, it’s difficult to understand why Frances is the way she is. Strange, manipulating, and at times cruel, she is a mystery to Marienne, her bewildered mother. But, on closer inspection, hiding beyond the white picket fence and cherry-blossom tree that umbrellas their cozy life, something dark lies heavy on both Frances and her father. Following a disastrous 16th birthday party and a grandmother found dead in the bathtub, Frances is sent away to boarding school. The Academy is a place rife with teenage rivalry, secret rendezvous, and budding friendships. And it’s here — alone for the first time — that Frances is forced to confront the true nature of her life. Intertwined with Frances’ narrative is that of her father James. Between them we discover a story of a young girl entering adulthood under the smoky weight of a terrible secret, of a life stolen and rediscovered, and, above all, of a tainted love affair and the fluid, easily traversed boundary between perversity and normality.
376 pages, Hardcover
First published March 6, 2014
10 people are currently reading
832 people want to read
About the author
Iman Verjee
2 books31 followersIman Verjee won the 2012 Peters Fraser & Dunlop/City University Prize for Fiction for her debut novel In Between Dreams, which she wrote whilst completing an MA in Creative Writing at City University. Prior to studying in London she studied psychology at the University of Alberta in Canada, where she lived for six years. She now lives in Nairobi, Kenya.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
June 3, 2014
As sad as this is for me to say, this is by far the best book I have ever read that I will never suggest to a friend to read. An extremely sensitive subject written in the most beautiful and compassionate way.
November 18, 2015
A difficult topic, sensitively handled. Bit tough to read but beautifully written.
October 29, 2014
Compelling and rather disturbing, it seems weaker in retrospect than it did while I was reading it.
Within a few pages you know that it's about an incestuous relationship, so that's not really a spoiler (although the description and jacket copy are oddly coy about that). They key is that it is presented as a relationship - a darkly unhealthy one, but one with great importance to its ... participants? not sure what word would be the right one. That's what makes it brave - the roles of victim and abuser are less defined, less rigid than the rules of the genre usually allow.
The great strength here is how the character of Frances develops and comes to realize that everything in her life and her self is deeply wrong and needs to change.
The great weakness is the strange alternate universe the author has Frances inhabit. A kid in 1990s North America that somehow missed all the very special episodes, health classes and tv movies that might have clued her in to the Not Good-ness of her relationship with her father.
That air of unreality runs throughout the writing, which is often lyrical but usually detrimentally spacey and unbelievable.
Within a few pages you know that it's about an incestuous relationship, so that's not really a spoiler (although the description and jacket copy are oddly coy about that). They key is that it is presented as a relationship - a darkly unhealthy one, but one with great importance to its ... participants? not sure what word would be the right one. That's what makes it brave - the roles of victim and abuser are less defined, less rigid than the rules of the genre usually allow.
The great strength here is how the character of Frances develops and comes to realize that everything in her life and her self is deeply wrong and needs to change.
The great weakness is the strange alternate universe the author has Frances inhabit. A kid in 1990s North America that somehow missed all the very special episodes, health classes and tv movies that might have clued her in to the Not Good-ness of her relationship with her father.
That air of unreality runs throughout the writing, which is often lyrical but usually detrimentally spacey and unbelievable.
April 28, 2015
Beautifully tragic and impossible to put down. This book is wonderfully written and I finished it feeling satisfied and a bit sad. Difficult one to recommend but I'll do it anyway.
February 18, 2024
Trigger warning
The book jacket talks about a family with secrets; the secret is child molesting/incest. While the book was an interesting read, I had a big problem with the chapters from the father’s POV. He is presented as trying unsuccessfully to resist urges, but we never hear what led him to these unnatural urges. At times it feels he is rationalizing and downplaying his behavior.
While the ending is optimistic, this book left me feeling repulsed.
The book jacket talks about a family with secrets; the secret is child molesting/incest. While the book was an interesting read, I had a big problem with the chapters from the father’s POV. He is presented as trying unsuccessfully to resist urges, but we never hear what led him to these unnatural urges. At times it feels he is rationalizing and downplaying his behavior.
While the ending is optimistic, this book left me feeling repulsed.
August 12, 2022
Well. How utterly disturbing and sad. I feel like maybe the incest theme needs to make it onto the cover blurb just for fair warning? A strange story, quite compelling (otherwise I would have tossed it aside earlier based on the subject matter) and heartbreaking. Frances is groomed and abused by her father from a young age, so young that she grows up completely unaware and it's only in his absence that she starts to feel the devastating effects. A little window into the trauma of domestic abuse. Unfortunately the plot was weak and unbelievable in parts, getting worse towards the ending. Three stars for the gripping story but I can't say I liked this one.
April 30, 2015
I can only mirror what many other reviews mention - a very sensitively written novel about a terrifying experience that would not be wished upon anyone. I wasn't sure I wanted to continue reading when, very early on, the central issue was revealed. The author does an admirable job of making the circumstances seem natural and of giving Frances' father a voice that somehow balances the acts of sexual desire he has for her. Yet, because of this I found myself wanting to step away from the novel: it's so easy to accept Frances' situation in the same way she does and begin to understand her father's need and the need he has created in her. Yet, this is part of the disturbing nature of the novel and while it is written beautifully and I respect Verjee's hard work and bravery for this debut, like other readers, I'm not sure I could recommend this book wholeheartedly. It's almost as if the very nature of the issue at it's heart and the acceptance of it throughout spoils it: though it would not be the same book without it.
I found the ending unsatisfactory. It made me uncomfortable that Frances was so easily able to compartmentalise her life, and I suspect that one of the final scenes (with a boy called Darren) was inserted to try and demonstrate the scars she will forever have, but it was underwhelming and ineffective.
I admire the author and enjoyed her writing - the novel is well structured and other than the contentious subject I cannot think of anything I truly disliked (on a very small scale the constant biting of lips by characters was distracting). This is why I'm rating it 4 stars. I'll be looking out for future novels by this writer, but I doubt I'll be sharing this offering with my book loving friends.
I found the ending unsatisfactory. It made me uncomfortable that Frances was so easily able to compartmentalise her life, and I suspect that one of the final scenes (with a boy called Darren) was inserted to try and demonstrate the scars she will forever have, but it was underwhelming and ineffective.
I admire the author and enjoyed her writing - the novel is well structured and other than the contentious subject I cannot think of anything I truly disliked (on a very small scale the constant biting of lips by characters was distracting). This is why I'm rating it 4 stars. I'll be looking out for future novels by this writer, but I doubt I'll be sharing this offering with my book loving friends.
August 15, 2016
I won this book through the Goodreads First Reads program.
This book is...tough. It has some squeamish subject matter to it. But also extremely well written. We are introduced to Frances and her family. Quite frankly Frances seems like a bitch and I had a hard time not only relating to her, but liking her. Then as the book progresses we learn some more about Frances and her life and your feelings on her change. You feel empathy and are interested in her journey. This book tells a story by jumping between time frames. We hear some of Frances and her journey, and then it jumps to her parents journey through her father's eyes. You definitely get caught up in the storylines and characters. The only reason this didn't get 5 stars is that I felt the ending was a little too neat. It seemed Frances just processed the big thing (don't want to give the ending away) and moved on. That wouldn't happen in real life, especially for a girl her age. But, it was a great read and I'd recommend it, but with a disclaimer first. It involves a storyline that could be a trigger for some.
This book is...tough. It has some squeamish subject matter to it. But also extremely well written. We are introduced to Frances and her family. Quite frankly Frances seems like a bitch and I had a hard time not only relating to her, but liking her. Then as the book progresses we learn some more about Frances and her life and your feelings on her change. You feel empathy and are interested in her journey. This book tells a story by jumping between time frames. We hear some of Frances and her journey, and then it jumps to her parents journey through her father's eyes. You definitely get caught up in the storylines and characters. The only reason this didn't get 5 stars is that I felt the ending was a little too neat. It seemed Frances just processed the big thing (don't want to give the ending away) and moved on. That wouldn't happen in real life, especially for a girl her age. But, it was a great read and I'd recommend it, but with a disclaimer first. It involves a storyline that could be a trigger for some.
November 22, 2014
I kept thinking, "Wow, this author really got it right." Much of what the main character goes through is the same kind of thing that gets reported, processed, and explored in therapy sessions -- admissions of a feeling of love and attachment for the perpetrator, a feeling of complicity, an almost "de-programming from a cult of 2" type of emergence into a new understanding of how unhealthy the dynamic was...
I think there's plenty here to discuss and the writing held my attention. My only concern is that this book could create some discussions that book clubs aren't quite ready for -- the kind of thing that might need extra help along the way... But then again, there's value in opening the conversation.
Well-written and absorbing.
I think there's plenty here to discuss and the writing held my attention. My only concern is that this book could create some discussions that book clubs aren't quite ready for -- the kind of thing that might need extra help along the way... But then again, there's value in opening the conversation.
Well-written and absorbing.
September 24, 2014
Yes this is the story of a paedophile abusing his daughter but it's so delicately written with their two stories intertwined that I was completely hooked. The author takes us through the history of the father developing a character you want to understand at the same time showing the present life of his daughter as she comes to her own understanding.
If you can handle the subject matter then this book is worth reading for the fantastic portrayal of the characters. Very much a modern day Lolita.
If you can handle the subject matter then this book is worth reading for the fantastic portrayal of the characters. Very much a modern day Lolita.
April 5, 2014
I'm not really sure what to say about this book. The subject matter is obviously very sensitive and this is a novel I would not recommend some people read. But I felt that the author handled the subject beautifully and with great sensitivity, which is why I feel it deserves the four stars that I have given it. I do think though that the author was very kind to the father,whom I thought was evil and narcissistic (even though I admit to nearly feeling sorry for him) .
April 1, 2015
There is no easy way to write about this topic, but Iman Verjee does it with such beautiful prose that I was able to get to the end of the book. I almost felt like calling for a trigger warning at certain points, and I got a little angry when the narrative made me almost feel sympathy for an abuser. But that was probably the author's goal, to tell two sides of a really bad story.
April 10, 2020
It’s beautifully written but wow, that’s a difficult subject matter. This book at times compelled and at times repulsed me.
Frances’s journey is flawlessly portrayed and as she comes to understand the truth of her childhood, it’s reflected in her behaviour and understanding.
It’s not a comfortable read, but it’s worth the discomfort.
Frances’s journey is flawlessly portrayed and as she comes to understand the truth of her childhood, it’s reflected in her behaviour and understanding.
It’s not a comfortable read, but it’s worth the discomfort.
October 27, 2014
As another review states: 'The best book I have ever read, that I would never recommend anyone read'.
Heart-breaking and perspective changing.
Heart-breaking and perspective changing.
April 22, 2017
... I smelled the central conflict before it hit but it still knocked the air out of me. Such a hard, ugly story told really beautifully.
Still a little dazed. Just... wow.
Still a little dazed. Just... wow.
Read
April 2, 2021Couldn't get past the subject matter. Am I alone in finding it peculiar to dedicate a book about incest to your parents
August 19, 2022
This is a tough book to review, and in all honesty, I didn't know what I was getting into when I picked it up. Because while the inside cover-copy hints at what the book actually contains, it doesn't offer up the secret clearly enough that a reader will clearly get the warning. And, full disclosure, I'm not sure how to write this review without mostly giving away that secret, but it's worth noting that reading the book gives away the same secret within a chapter or so pretty clearly. I can only suspect they didn't put it more clearly in the blurb because they knew how many readers it would scare off if offered bluntly.
BUT...to not offer it does a disservice to readers. Because, gorgeous as the writing is, the topic this book confronts is difficult, and although Verjee's treatment of the story and characters is nuanced, smart, and beautifully accomplished, that doesn't change the facts that a content/trigger warning should absolutely have been placed in the book if they weren't going to make the blurb far more clear.
So, to be clear: what lies at the center of this book is akin to what you find in Lolita, but darker and built of a deeper, more intimate betrayal. It is also more explicit in terms of emotion and background, while being less explicit in terms of lust. Either way, however, this book isn't an easy read.
That said...Verjee's writing is utterly gorgeous, and the psychology is so carefully presented that even as I was disgusted by elements of the characters and story, I simply couldn't stop reading. I didn't necessarily *want* to keep reading, but I couldn't put the book down. The story has an inertia that builds more and more with each chapter if not each page, and the subtlety to the characters and various moments in the story bring it to life in a way that is not just utterly realistic and terrifying, but insidious--you realize exactly how what happens does happen, and how easily, which makes it all the more terrifying. You also understand why society's checks and balances don't stop it from happening, and just how the secret is kept. There's a terror to that, and to slowly the secrets unfold and build in the story, which makes it far more difficult to read even as it becomes easier to accept (which is, itself, part of the cumulative effect and also part of the horror).
It's difficult to read this book, and it's difficult to write about this book. I'm not surprised there are so few reviews. But if you love gorgeous writing, painfully realistic stories, and can deal with the subject matter, it is a book worth reading.
Recommended.
BUT...to not offer it does a disservice to readers. Because, gorgeous as the writing is, the topic this book confronts is difficult, and although Verjee's treatment of the story and characters is nuanced, smart, and beautifully accomplished, that doesn't change the facts that a content/trigger warning should absolutely have been placed in the book if they weren't going to make the blurb far more clear.
So, to be clear: what lies at the center of this book is akin to what you find in Lolita, but darker and built of a deeper, more intimate betrayal. It is also more explicit in terms of emotion and background, while being less explicit in terms of lust. Either way, however, this book isn't an easy read.
That said...Verjee's writing is utterly gorgeous, and the psychology is so carefully presented that even as I was disgusted by elements of the characters and story, I simply couldn't stop reading. I didn't necessarily *want* to keep reading, but I couldn't put the book down. The story has an inertia that builds more and more with each chapter if not each page, and the subtlety to the characters and various moments in the story bring it to life in a way that is not just utterly realistic and terrifying, but insidious--you realize exactly how what happens does happen, and how easily, which makes it all the more terrifying. You also understand why society's checks and balances don't stop it from happening, and just how the secret is kept. There's a terror to that, and to slowly the secrets unfold and build in the story, which makes it far more difficult to read even as it becomes easier to accept (which is, itself, part of the cumulative effect and also part of the horror).
It's difficult to read this book, and it's difficult to write about this book. I'm not surprised there are so few reviews. But if you love gorgeous writing, painfully realistic stories, and can deal with the subject matter, it is a book worth reading.
Recommended.
October 26, 2024
When I started this book I did not thought I would have this much plot or twist in it specially the story of James that legit got me...when I started this book at first i was really disgusted wid James and frances too but then I started feeling sympathy for James (thought he just need help and consult )but when he had sex wid Gina I was sooo angryyyy at him I just couldn't believe and biggest plot twisted u got was when he got a call from Gina saying she is pregnant wid his child (which was frances) that thing legit gave me a shock that whyyy6y did that happen whyyy after he and Annie had started become normal couple and Annie was finally recovering and ufff Joseph i loved him he's just soo good mahn i loved the part where frances spent time wid Josephand his familyy ,that was one of the bestest park of the book....thank god iman ended the story wid gud ending but she could have ended the story by putting James in jail bcz he deserves that he don't deserve forgiveness after whatever things he had done!!
I am just soo gladd I read this bookkkk ....I loved it!!!
I am just soo gladd I read this bookkkk ....I loved it!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 21, 2021
"There is such goodness in him, such kindness that I cant bear to ruin it. I dont want to do something that will compromise him, that he will end up feeling guilty for"
This should have been made into a movie. To reach a wider audience.
But then it wouldn't give justice to how beautifully written the author arranged her words.
A really tough and sensitive subject. I didnt pick up on the incest theme based from the summary and was disgusted over the realization through the first few chapters. I almost threw the book away across the room, if not for how gripping the way it was written.
Somehow reminds me of My Dark Vanessa through the first half of the book. It is sad knowing that there's a lot of bad things happening in the world and most of them go unreported.
This should have been made into a movie. To reach a wider audience.
But then it wouldn't give justice to how beautifully written the author arranged her words.
A really tough and sensitive subject. I didnt pick up on the incest theme based from the summary and was disgusted over the realization through the first few chapters. I almost threw the book away across the room, if not for how gripping the way it was written.
Somehow reminds me of My Dark Vanessa through the first half of the book. It is sad knowing that there's a lot of bad things happening in the world and most of them go unreported.
August 8, 2024
A very beautiful cover and the title is just so appealing. These two things made me buy this book. It was like a connection at first sight for me and after trying so much not to take it I ended up buying it. Coming to the story part as the title suggests it felt like an in between dreams life from a 16 year old girl's perspective and the way the story unfolds. I would really appreciate it if the people left the book unread if they felt the story is unsettling at the beginning chapters but if you find yourself keep going then it will end up to a beautiful bold brave 14 year old girl who dares to know believe and take decisions for the best of her interest while being thoughtful and thoughtless together.
March 15, 2025
A very disturbing book... it would have helped if the blurb or the cover had a trigger warning for incest and pedophilia, as other commenters mentioned. The author has depicted a pedophilic father-daughter relationship, through both the abuser's and victim's perspective. However, paedopholia is a disgusting thing, and I don't think we need to "understand" (using the word understand here instead of sympathise, because it's too strong a word) an abuser's perspective. Not sure if this was a story that needed to be written so gently, and with the abuser suffering no consequences in the end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 14, 2024
Iman Verjee's writing is so lyrical that it makes the reader to effortlessly explore an extremely complex topic and in the end leaves the one compelled to retrospect about each character in the story.
The title 'In between dreams' makes it impossible to imagine about the actual plot of the story. A little warning or mention of the subject will be a welcome without taking away the essence the book holds.
The title 'In between dreams' makes it impossible to imagine about the actual plot of the story. A little warning or mention of the subject will be a welcome without taking away the essence the book holds.
November 17, 2024
I couldn't put this book down - the story had me captivated with the way Ms. Iman encapsulated the characters' realizations in a very gentle manner, telling their controversial and disturbing thoughts very sensitively and smoothly, which I believe a lot of authors fail to do. The storyline could have been wrapped up better as we reach . Nonetheless, this book deserves more recognition imho.
May 26, 2025
Okay, this is definitely a controversial one. As traumatizing as it is, I feel as though the author portrayed trauma and healing in a beautiful, beautiful manner. I mean it was so poetic to read, as gut wrenching as it was. I was quite astonished yet impressed by the author's ability to encompass the grey shades of each character; nobody is pure, nobody is evil. Was intrigued for the most part. An underrated read !
March 31, 2025
3.5⭐️This was SO uncomfortable to read, it was just wrong on all levels (obviously), but I sped through it. Really sensitive topic but I just need to know what spawned her to write this??? Did not like the ending at all, that man should be in a mental institute and kept far far away from children. Terrifying to think there are people in the world who think like this.
July 7, 2025
The book didn't have any trigger warnings. I found that the blurb on the cover was very misleading. If I had known what this story was actually about while buying this, I wouldn't have bought it.
I wasn't happy with the ending either. Hated all the characters in this book. EVEN Bubbie (the grandmother).
I don't recommend reading this book.
I wasn't happy with the ending either. Hated all the characters in this book. EVEN Bubbie (the grandmother).
I don't recommend reading this book.
September 12, 2024
I am amazed by the writing style of the author, how she wrote both the narratives creating empathy for both. This book keeps you engaged and makes you understand on things on why and how it happened. Beautifully written & a must read for people.
December 16, 2024
A very different subject dealt by the author which is also a very sensitive and kind of unacceptable one for many of us, but the real world is drawn by Iman Verjee without a disgust and in the most subtle manner.
December 25, 2024
What an utterly disturbing well written book. As the reader I was completely shocked at the story line but had to finish the book to see where the author was taking it. Definitely will haunt me for awhile.
October 21, 2019
Well written, but absolutely repugnant.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews