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The Anatomy of Dreams
"Human beings are more productive than ever before, but they're also unhappier. They feel oppressed by the limits of their lives: the boredom, the repetition, the fatigue. What if you could use your sleep to do more—to receive all of the traditional regenerative benefits while problem-solving, healing, even experiencing alternate worlds?
Wouldn't you be capable of extraordinary things?"
So asks Dr. Adrian Keller, a charismatic medical researcher who has staked his career on the therapeutic potential of lucid dreaming. Keller is headmaster of a boarding school in Northern California where Sylvie Patterson, a student, falls in love with a spirited classmate named Gabe. Over the next six years, Gabe and Sylvie become increasingly involved in Keller's work, following him from the redwood forests of Eureka, CA to the coast of New England.
But when Keller receives a commission from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Sylvie and Gabe stumble into a tangled, dangerous relationship with their intriguing 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.
Both a coming-of-age story and an exploration of the subconscious mind, THE ANATOMY OF DREAMS explores the murky landscape of the human psyche and the fine line that defines our moral boundaries.
Wouldn't you be capable of extraordinary things?"
So asks Dr. Adrian Keller, a charismatic medical researcher who has staked his career on the therapeutic potential of lucid dreaming. Keller is headmaster of a boarding school in Northern California where Sylvie Patterson, a student, falls in love with a spirited classmate named Gabe. Over the next six years, Gabe and Sylvie become increasingly involved in Keller's work, following him from the redwood forests of Eureka, CA to the coast of New England.
But when Keller receives a commission from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Sylvie and Gabe stumble into a tangled, dangerous relationship with their intriguing 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.
Both a coming-of-age story and an exploration of the subconscious mind, THE ANATOMY OF DREAMS explores the murky landscape of the human psyche and the fine line that defines our moral boundaries.
320 pages, Paperback
First published September 16, 2014
478 people are currently reading
18158 people want to read
About the author
Chloe Benjamin
4 books2,624 followersChloe Benjamin is the author of THE IMMORTALISTS, a New York Times Bestseller, and THE ANATOMY OF DREAMS. Her third novel, UNDER STORY, will be published in September 2026.
A Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection, LibraryReads favorite, and #1 Indie Next pick, THE IMMORTALISTS was named a best book of 2018 by NPR, The Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, and others. THE ANATOMY OF DREAMS received the Edna Ferber Fiction Book Award and was long listed for the 2014 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize.
Originally from San Francisco, CA, Benjamin is a graduate of Vassar College and the M.F.A. in fiction at the University of Wisconsin. Her work has been translated into over thirty languages. She lives with her husband and two Maine Coon cats in the San Francisco Bay Area.
A Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection, LibraryReads favorite, and #1 Indie Next pick, THE IMMORTALISTS was named a best book of 2018 by NPR, The Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, and others. THE ANATOMY OF DREAMS received the Edna Ferber Fiction Book Award and was long listed for the 2014 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize.
Originally from San Francisco, CA, Benjamin is a graduate of Vassar College and the M.F.A. in fiction at the University of Wisconsin. Her work has been translated into over thirty languages. She lives with her husband and two Maine Coon cats in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 633 reviews
August 25, 2014
(I got this book through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.)
2.5 stars because I liked the concepts in this book, but found the execution wanting.
The story bounces between a few time periods, allowing us to see what's happening in two "levels of present" (the first one being Madison, where Sylvie and Gave meet Janna and Thom) and two "levels of past" (high school time, then the beginning of Sylvie's involvement in Keller's research). I'm mentioning this because it can be a potential deterrent to some readers. As far as I'm concerned, it's a kind of narrative style I tend to enjoy, and since I had no problems following it and piecing things together, I'm putting it in my "I like it" category. There was just one part, though, towards the last third, where I felt that it wasn't handled that well. Too bad.
My feelings when it comes to the characters remain lukewarm. The story's entirely told from Sylvie's point of view, but in the end, I'm not sure I got to "know" her. Same with Gabe and Keller, perhaps even worse. They all seemed to be here for the plot, and not as full-fledged people. Granted, their research consumed a lot of their life during the course of the novel, yet I think I would've felt Sylvie's plight much more if I could have related to her as to a "real" person (no need for she and I to have anything in common: just more character development in general). There's her painting, but what about Gabe's occupations? Was there only work here? What about Janna, who was definitely in a good position to notice what was going on? There would have been more to tell about them all, and the lack of such information, in the end, diminished in my opinion the ethical questions surrounding Keller's research, as well as the degree to which each of them was influenced by the experiments.
To be honest, I was probably waiting for something different, something more linked to the theme of lucid dreaming: Sylvie really not knowing what was real and what wasn't, for instance, or other people displaying such characteristics. The blurb was in fact more exciting than the story itself, all the more because I'm always eager to read anything that has to do with dreams, nightmares, and blurred reality boundaries. The story showed one patient being submitted to the experiment, and spoke of another one whose actions might or might not have been a direct result of Keller's study. There was a lot of potential here for dilemmas of various kinds; however, the characters often danced around the issues, only confronted them now and then, and I found this slightly frustrating.
On the plus side, the writing style itself was pleasant enough, beautiful while remaining believable for a first person point of view narrative.
2.5 stars because I liked the concepts in this book, but found the execution wanting.
The story bounces between a few time periods, allowing us to see what's happening in two "levels of present" (the first one being Madison, where Sylvie and Gave meet Janna and Thom) and two "levels of past" (high school time, then the beginning of Sylvie's involvement in Keller's research). I'm mentioning this because it can be a potential deterrent to some readers. As far as I'm concerned, it's a kind of narrative style I tend to enjoy, and since I had no problems following it and piecing things together, I'm putting it in my "I like it" category. There was just one part, though, towards the last third, where I felt that it wasn't handled that well. Too bad.
My feelings when it comes to the characters remain lukewarm. The story's entirely told from Sylvie's point of view, but in the end, I'm not sure I got to "know" her. Same with Gabe and Keller, perhaps even worse. They all seemed to be here for the plot, and not as full-fledged people. Granted, their research consumed a lot of their life during the course of the novel, yet I think I would've felt Sylvie's plight much more if I could have related to her as to a "real" person (no need for she and I to have anything in common: just more character development in general). There's her painting, but what about Gabe's occupations? Was there only work here? What about Janna, who was definitely in a good position to notice what was going on? There would have been more to tell about them all, and the lack of such information, in the end, diminished in my opinion the ethical questions surrounding Keller's research, as well as the degree to which each of them was influenced by the experiments.
To be honest, I was probably waiting for something different, something more linked to the theme of lucid dreaming: Sylvie really not knowing what was real and what wasn't, for instance, or other people displaying such characteristics. The blurb was in fact more exciting than the story itself, all the more because I'm always eager to read anything that has to do with dreams, nightmares, and blurred reality boundaries. The story showed one patient being submitted to the experiment, and spoke of another one whose actions might or might not have been a direct result of Keller's study. There was a lot of potential here for dilemmas of various kinds; however, the characters often danced around the issues, only confronted them now and then, and I found this slightly frustrating.
On the plus side, the writing style itself was pleasant enough, beautiful while remaining believable for a first person point of view narrative.
January 21, 2016
I don't think I'll ever know what to feel about the big revelation in The Anatomy of Dreams, whether to be impressed or disgusted. Both, probably because hot damn, that's some unsettling and fucked up thing to do in the name of science and research.
August 27, 2014
Eh... this wasn't a bad book at all. The writing was engaging enough for me to want to keep reading and Benjamin has some great descriptions of moments here and there. At the same time, I felt like the characters were distanced from me as a reader. Normally I am able to imagine what they look like or act like, but when Sylvia mentions what she looks like toward the end of the book, comparing it to her former self, it struck me that I never really had been able to picture her before. The book also skips around in its narrative, which I don't mind at all, but there were minor inconsistencies that didn't really make sense. As for the plot itself, the "big reveal" was not all that interesting. I kept thinking "that's it?" and hoping that maybe something more interesting would be revealed, and not an ending I could have guessed. It just all felt very whatever to me. What I did enjoy was the discussion of different theories and the lucid dreaming. The overall inspiration behind the book was great, but I was just hoping for a more interesting execution of it.
February 10, 2018
In “The Anatomy of Dreams” debut author Chloe Benjamin muses over the influence of dreams, the need of sleep, and young adult maturing. Benjamin’s protagonist, Sylvie Patterson narrates the novel and begins the story in a boarding school in northern California. Sylvie is one of the serious students, but is attracted to one of the bad boys, Gabe. Gabe has a mysterious connection with the headmaster, Adrian Keller. Gabe inexplicably and abruptly leaves school, abandoning Sylvie causing her to have conflicted feelings about first love.
Gabe catches up with Sylvie in University, asking her to work with he and Adrian Keller on Keller’s research of sleep disorders. Benjamin reminds the reader of court cases involving the defense relying on sleep disorders as a psychiatric reason for leniency. Benjamin delves into the various sleep disorders in addition to our current culture of sleep deprivation. She makes a case for why such research could actually be funded. Her character, Keller, believes that if he can teach those with sleep disorders to have more control in their dreams, their disorders would be cured.
The thrust of the story is Sylvie questioning what she’s doing with her life. She ponders if the research methodology is ethical. She muses over her relationship with Gabe. Sylvie herself has vivid dreams and is distressed by them.
This is a coming-of-age story of the young adult. Finding oneself after high school and through University can be a painful study. Benjamin also throws in theories of dreaming. As a dreamer myself, I found her ideas to be thought provoking. Are dreams pure entertainment, or do they allow the dreamer to live in alternative lifestyles.
It’s mostly a solid read, although I wished it had been a shorter story. It dragged in some places. I’m still happy that I read it.
Gabe catches up with Sylvie in University, asking her to work with he and Adrian Keller on Keller’s research of sleep disorders. Benjamin reminds the reader of court cases involving the defense relying on sleep disorders as a psychiatric reason for leniency. Benjamin delves into the various sleep disorders in addition to our current culture of sleep deprivation. She makes a case for why such research could actually be funded. Her character, Keller, believes that if he can teach those with sleep disorders to have more control in their dreams, their disorders would be cured.
The thrust of the story is Sylvie questioning what she’s doing with her life. She ponders if the research methodology is ethical. She muses over her relationship with Gabe. Sylvie herself has vivid dreams and is distressed by them.
This is a coming-of-age story of the young adult. Finding oneself after high school and through University can be a painful study. Benjamin also throws in theories of dreaming. As a dreamer myself, I found her ideas to be thought provoking. Are dreams pure entertainment, or do they allow the dreamer to live in alternative lifestyles.
It’s mostly a solid read, although I wished it had been a shorter story. It dragged in some places. I’m still happy that I read it.
August 13, 2021
Really liked the foray into the dream world. Author did her research. Lucid dreaming is an academic field I have long had personal interest in; like the protagonist, have a background in psychology. Feel like there was a lot of wasted potential because the dual timeline format what not executed well. Such great material, unfortunately made pretty confusing. 3.5/5 stars!
July 16, 2021
This started out pretty dumb, and then it got a LOT dumber.
October 12, 2014
I thought this book was going to be a lot better than it was. There was a lot of potential but, for me, the whole thing just fizzled. None of the characters were likeable and I never cared what happened to them. I just couldn't wait to finish to see if there was anything that would redeem the story. I think there was a lot that was unexplained as well. The relationship between Gabe and Sylvie never made sense and was never resolved to my satisfaction. Was Gabe actually homosexual and in love with Keller? Why did Sylvie and Gabe have a platonic relationship? Why would Gabe care what happened between Thom and Sylvie?
Overall, this novel was over-hyped and did not deliver.
Overall, this novel was over-hyped and did not deliver.
November 21, 2020
3/5stars
I think this was a VERY ambitious first novel - luckily I know chloe benjamin gets better with her second! I think this has such a cool premise and such a fascinating story telling style, but it's simply a bit lacking. Not much truly interesting happens - it's a really good idea surrounding a pretty mediocre plot. I really wish benjamin would go further into magical realism like her premises promise but don't deliver on.
I think this was a VERY ambitious first novel - luckily I know chloe benjamin gets better with her second! I think this has such a cool premise and such a fascinating story telling style, but it's simply a bit lacking. Not much truly interesting happens - it's a really good idea surrounding a pretty mediocre plot. I really wish benjamin would go further into magical realism like her premises promise but don't deliver on.
July 22, 2019
Meh. This book doesn't deserve a proper review for being as bland as it is, and RUINING SUCH A GREAT CONCEPT IN THE PROCESS. It really takes some skill to do that! The blurb sounded so incredibly good, so intriguing, and the cover art is to die for, I mean look at it, so beautiful! And yet, yet, I could see none of that in the actual book, and if this were WhatsApp I'd post about a thousand crying emojis at this point in mourning for the potential, for all that could have been. The whole book is aimed towards the plot twist reveal at the end, so I was hesitant to do any judging before that, but now that I've read the so-called "twist" I can honestly say that all the waiting wasn't worth it. What kind of reveal was that anyway, everyone (well, actually only the main character Sylvie) was exaggerating and pretending like something awful just happened, while all I could think of was "Hm, well, maybe not like, totally okay, but whatever". Plus, I don't seem to grasp a central concept of the book, which is basically that encouraging lucid dreaming seems to be something to be frowned upon. Like...no? Does the author have a personal vendetta against lucid dreaming or where is that unnecessary hate against a simple dreaming technique coming from? Even if lucing dreaming does lace open wounds, isn't knowledge always better than not knowing what is going on in your dreams and what is making you act out the way RBDs patients are? What is Sylvie's problem with that approach, or am I a bastard without any moral standards whatsoever that I think nobody in this book did anything wrong? (except for Sylvie, for complaining for no reason! Stop whining for God's sake!) Sleeping disorders that make you act violently and/or immorally without your knowing, leaving you open to harm to your loved ones and surroundings, are not something to be ignored or just sleep away peacefully (notice my pun), it's actually good that they were working on helping affected patients, even if it doesn't always work successfully. Cancer treatments don't always work either, may leave the patient in even more pain than they may not have had without the chemotherapy to add to their suffering, and yet it's still an option, it's still an ambassador of hope, it's still better than just dying (okay, I do realize this is kind of a controversal topic, but please let's not go there). What I want to say with this allegory that is maybe taking it a bit too far, it that it's actually the same for sleeping disorders in my opinion, especially if not only you, the dreamer, is in potential danger, but so is everything and everyone in your vicinity (which is the big difference to cancer). I actually think it's your moral duty to do everything possible to help those people, and I really don't give a fuck how apparently "unethical" it is according to Sylvie. When I noticed at the beginning of the book how she had problems with the treatment of the patients, I was actually expecting them to be treated like lab rats, having unnecessary pain inflicted upon them in the name of science (which would've been a much more interesting concept), but nothing morally reprehensible was going on! Every rat being tested in the name of medicine is suffering more and nobody is writing a book about them! All I could think of was, how about calm down, lady, those patients are coming voluntarily and in full knowledge of the consequences, so you have no reason to judge anyone for trying to help them. And even if you do, how about just quit the project and leave everyone - including the reader, who'd finally get liberated of the ever-complaining main character - in peace? Geez... There are actually a lot of (illogical) inconsistencies in the book as well, such as having the problem patient "only" be suffering from RBD and later describing her as a sleepwalker after all (it was actually a big deal in the story, so it's absolutely beyond me how both author and editor could miss an error like that), but you know what, everything else about this book bothers me so much, that I don't even have the willpower to discuss all these logical mistakes in detail. Just be aware that they were there, and that they were very annoying. I could also say some things about the eventful plot twist ending (and I realize I already did so at the start, wow this review is a mess), but I really don't want to go too spoilery there. All I'll add is this: while what happened wasn't completely right ethically, it was done out of love, and no real or actual harm was being done. SO WHY IS THERE SUCH A FUSS OVER IT. God, I really can't deal with Sylvie, even her name is starting to aggrevate me at this point (Sylvie does sound like the sort of name a helicopter mum in the suburbs would have, complaining that her boys weren't picked for the soccer team, doesn't it? Perfect name choice for a person who gets on everyone's nerves! At least the author did good on that) I also want to comment on something specific that is written on the blurb and that I couldn't find any trace of in the actual book, which is that of Dr Keller being an apparently "enigmatic and mysterious" person, using "his magnetic pull do draw them into research". Now I'd really like to know, where was this character in the book? Where was his magnetic pull, his oh-so-enigmatic and mysterious character? Did the blurb-Keller get switched out for a lame copycat version that infiltrated the book and refused to leave? Because Keller guy was an absolute bore, not even worth a mention if it weren't for the overhyped blurb, more a shell than a real fleshed-out character and certainly not the monster Sylvie constantly depicts him to be! GIVE SHELL-MAN A BREAK, OKAY. I really wish he had been a monster, it'd have been so much more exciting...To everyone contemplating on reading this book because they expect it to be a reminiscence of Inception, maybe with traces of Black Swan or even A Beautiful Mind in it: either don't read it (really, go pick something else and save your time) or lower your expectations dramatically. While the writing style is decent enough and makes for a quick and engaging read, you really get nothing useful out of the book (except for staring at a beautiful cover, which only makes you sad though because it reminds you for how good this book could have been). There's not even a real focus on the relationship with the neighbours, which could've led to a really interesting depiction of partner and relationship dynamics. Reading about Thom and Janna was actually my favourite part of the book because I expected the whole situation to get way more complex and entangled, the way Sylvie actually constantly hinted towards at, but...again, nothing happened. As usual! We just have to accept that Janna is some sort of sly, double-faced fox character without ever seeing any part of that in action, and Thom a personality-devoid brick till the very end of the book (but at least we are constantly reminded of the fact that he has REALLY long legs, priorities!) (also, RIP his thesis, actually the saddest part of the whole book). I'm actually crying inwardly for the many many potentials and routes this book could have had and taken, and I hope that somewhere in this universe or at least an alternate version of it, there's a book that could actually live up to the standards that everything about the marketing of The Anatomy of Dreams set it out to be.
PS: I am this weird sort of person that always has a digital copy of the book on their phone as well, just so I have an easier time of looking up certain scenes and passages (which is kind of an unhealthy obsession of mine and explaining why it often takes me very long to finish a book). Anyway, when I looked up Keller's and Sylvie's reveal talk again, I noticed differences in my copy edition of the book and in the digital version (both different editions judging from the cover art), which was really weird. Whole passages of the dialogue were completely different, and unsurprisingly, they were Keller's parts, because the guy has no personality anyway, so you just delete and edit some sentences as you want, making literally no difference because a void can say one thing or another. It just really bothers me why dialogue change thing is even a thing when this should not be a thing! Both copies should be the same, and I want to know the reason for these changes, except I never will (and to be honest, the less I know about the book, probably the better). Just another let-down in a row of annoying features this book presented me with.
PS: I am this weird sort of person that always has a digital copy of the book on their phone as well, just so I have an easier time of looking up certain scenes and passages (which is kind of an unhealthy obsession of mine and explaining why it often takes me very long to finish a book). Anyway, when I looked up Keller's and Sylvie's reveal talk again, I noticed differences in my copy edition of the book and in the digital version (both different editions judging from the cover art), which was really weird. Whole passages of the dialogue were completely different, and unsurprisingly, they were Keller's parts, because the guy has no personality anyway, so you just delete and edit some sentences as you want, making literally no difference because a void can say one thing or another. It just really bothers me why dialogue change thing is even a thing when this should not be a thing! Both copies should be the same, and I want to know the reason for these changes, except I never will (and to be honest, the less I know about the book, probably the better). Just another let-down in a row of annoying features this book presented me with.
September 16, 2014
When I choose a novel to read, I’m not always consciously aware of all the elements that go into that selection. When I look back at why I chose The Anatomy of Dreams by Chloe Krug Benjamin; however, it’s clear that it was the subject matter – lucid dreaming. Dreams are pretty amazing things when you think about it. They can bring us joy or horrify us, help us work through life issues, and even inspire us to do great things. The Anatomy of Dreams isn’t one clear genre although it contains all the elements of a psychological thriller, a bit of almost sci-fi, and a definite romantic element. Even before publication, it has quite deservedly made the long list for an award and has made several best book lists. The question, as always, is whether you should read it so let’s find out at http://popcornreads.com/?p=7714.
February 5, 2018
I had just finished reading the Immortalists by the same author and thought I would check out her first book. Boy, has she improved! This book had way too much research lingo and not enough things happening to keep my interest. I would still highly recommend her latest book, though!
May 23, 2021
Dromen en bedrog.
Je kan er vreselijke dingen mee ineen knutselen, je kan er ook een geweldig debuut mee construeren.
Over het eerste zullen we niet uitweiden, laat het ons maar meteen over ‘De Anatomie van Dromen’ hebben, het intrigerende debuut van Chloë Benjamin, dat al in 2014 verscheen, maar pas nà het wereldwijde succes van opvolger ‘De Onsterfelijkheden’ (*) in het Nederlands werd vertaald.
Vreemd, want alles wel beschouwd is dit minstens even goed. Misschien zelfs béter.
Beide boeken tasten de grens van het onderbewuste, het mystieke, ja zelfs het bovennatuurlijke af. Maar waar je bij ‘The Immortals’ plotwise toch een béétje op je honger blijft zitten, klikt hier alles wèl mooi samen.
Dat heeft onder meer te maken met Sylvie, de ik-persoon, die werkelijk van vlees en bloed is. Met de sfeer en de setting, die vaak heel dicht tegen de bezwerende wereld van ‘De Verborgen Geschiedenis’ van Donna Tartt aanschurkt. En met de zorgvuldige opbouw, heen en weer in de tijd, tot en met…
Synchroniciteit. Obsessie. Freud en Jung.
Je kan er geweldige dingen mee in elkaar knutselen.
Ik koester dit droomdebuut en zet een plaatje op.
Iets van ‘The Police’. (**)
(*) (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)
(**) Al was het maar om die vreselijke dreun die nù in je hoofd zit er weer uit te krijgen.
Je kan er vreselijke dingen mee ineen knutselen, je kan er ook een geweldig debuut mee construeren.
Over het eerste zullen we niet uitweiden, laat het ons maar meteen over ‘De Anatomie van Dromen’ hebben, het intrigerende debuut van Chloë Benjamin, dat al in 2014 verscheen, maar pas nà het wereldwijde succes van opvolger ‘De Onsterfelijkheden’ (*) in het Nederlands werd vertaald.
Vreemd, want alles wel beschouwd is dit minstens even goed. Misschien zelfs béter.
Beide boeken tasten de grens van het onderbewuste, het mystieke, ja zelfs het bovennatuurlijke af. Maar waar je bij ‘The Immortals’ plotwise toch een béétje op je honger blijft zitten, klikt hier alles wèl mooi samen.
Dat heeft onder meer te maken met Sylvie, de ik-persoon, die werkelijk van vlees en bloed is. Met de sfeer en de setting, die vaak heel dicht tegen de bezwerende wereld van ‘De Verborgen Geschiedenis’ van Donna Tartt aanschurkt. En met de zorgvuldige opbouw, heen en weer in de tijd, tot en met…
Synchroniciteit. Obsessie. Freud en Jung.
Je kan er geweldige dingen mee in elkaar knutselen.
Ik koester dit droomdebuut en zet een plaatje op.
Iets van ‘The Police’. (**)
(*) (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)
(**) Al was het maar om die vreselijke dreun die nù in je hoofd zit er weer uit te krijgen.
January 6, 2022
The plot was very interesting, how far is too far in the name of science?
It's the same question that arises when reading Frankenstein.
Unfortunately, this book isn't as good as Mary Shelley's.
Not that it was bad! It was actually a pretty good read, I enjoyed myself but I figured out what was going to happen around page 200.
At times the story felt repetitive and it lacked character development.
The positives were the ideas that the characters discussed & the tension that kept building up the further you read into the novel.
It's the same question that arises when reading Frankenstein.
Unfortunately, this book isn't as good as Mary Shelley's.
Not that it was bad! It was actually a pretty good read, I enjoyed myself but I figured out what was going to happen around page 200.
At times the story felt repetitive and it lacked character development.
The positives were the ideas that the characters discussed & the tension that kept building up the further you read into the novel.
May 19, 2014
The Anatomy of Dreams follows Sylvie and Gabe as they go from boarding school together to working in a sleep lab at the University of Wisconsin- Madison, for their old professor, Dr. Keller. They are working on experiments with stages of consciousness in the lab so secretive they can't even tell anyone about them. Sylvie isn't even sure if they are ethical. They get entangled with their neighbors in relationships that become increasingly intricate and dangerous. Soon Sylvie finds herself rebelling as the lines between what is real and what isn't become hazy.
I really REALLY wanted to like this book but it just couldn't hold my attention. It was too slow and the alternate chapters bouncing from the past to the present didn't work in this book for me. To me, alternating narrators or alternating between the past and the present has to be done just right or I don't like it.
I also felt like while Benjamin delves into the psyche and explores lots of questions there, that it just seemed almost separate somehow from the rest of the story. My favorite characters were the neighbors- they had so much more character and life to them than Sylvie or Gabe. And I felt like each piece of the story was a fragment and that there wasn't much holding it all together. I don't know, the story just fell flat for me.
I really REALLY wanted to like this book but it just couldn't hold my attention. It was too slow and the alternate chapters bouncing from the past to the present didn't work in this book for me. To me, alternating narrators or alternating between the past and the present has to be done just right or I don't like it.
I also felt like while Benjamin delves into the psyche and explores lots of questions there, that it just seemed almost separate somehow from the rest of the story. My favorite characters were the neighbors- they had so much more character and life to them than Sylvie or Gabe. And I felt like each piece of the story was a fragment and that there wasn't much holding it all together. I don't know, the story just fell flat for me.
July 28, 2014
ARC received through NetGalley.
Wow! I just finished this novel and I could tell that this is going to be one of those stories that will be on my mind for months, maybe years, to come. I normally get annoyed when people describe a book as "hauntingly beautiful" but I have to borrow this phrase for this story- the author does such an amazing job of drawing the reader close to the narrator, the main character Sylvie, right away. The story starts out at Mills, the boarding school Sylvie attended, where she meets Gabe the main male character, and then we follow Sylvie along her mid teenage years through adulthood. This story is so complex! Some concepts of the book reminded me a little of the Inception movie starring Leonardo di Caprio', and the poem by Edgar Allan Poe's "Dream Within a Dream"- but of course this is highly simplifying things since the books' ideas are highly complex. Finishing the book left me with a sense of loss, like I wanted to know what would happen in the next chapter of Sylvie's life.. And that's the mark of a great book.
Wow! I just finished this novel and I could tell that this is going to be one of those stories that will be on my mind for months, maybe years, to come. I normally get annoyed when people describe a book as "hauntingly beautiful" but I have to borrow this phrase for this story- the author does such an amazing job of drawing the reader close to the narrator, the main character Sylvie, right away. The story starts out at Mills, the boarding school Sylvie attended, where she meets Gabe the main male character, and then we follow Sylvie along her mid teenage years through adulthood. This story is so complex! Some concepts of the book reminded me a little of the Inception movie starring Leonardo di Caprio', and the poem by Edgar Allan Poe's "Dream Within a Dream"- but of course this is highly simplifying things since the books' ideas are highly complex. Finishing the book left me with a sense of loss, like I wanted to know what would happen in the next chapter of Sylvie's life.. And that's the mark of a great book.
November 20, 2019
the book description is not good bc this book cannot be summarized. if u like: nonlinear narratives, capricorn female narrators, constantly having 100000 questions about what is happening, surrealism, questions of science/ethics, and frequent descriptions of the sun/moon - this is The Book for you.
chloe benjamin if you’re reading this i love you and i could never read a science book for anybody else
chloe benjamin if you’re reading this i love you and i could never read a science book for anybody else
March 22, 2021
I liked the idea and the story, but it felt a bit unfinished. I kept yearning for a more complicated storyline. But I did enjoy it enough to buy the author's next book!
July 16, 2021
Cool subject! But the storyline could have been better I feel, it was just a lot of waiting untill the grand reveal
February 20, 2025
Channeling my inner Cary on this one
August 10, 2020
sylvie's distant narrative was actually my favourite thing about the whole thing. if she were more involved i would have been really.....uneasy about reading this. plus i have thing for hindsight regrets. and the plot? so freaking silly. i mean you got dreams, you get the subconscious to play with and even a side plot of murder and allegedly unethical research going on and THIS is what you come up with? some sort underwhelming lucid freaking dreaming????? really?????? awful. the big reveal about sylvie i saw coming back in the first chapter i mean it was so obvious. gabe & keller's reaction? big yawn i slept through them like what was up with keller's lack of personality? so much potential there to make a morally grey character or someone downright evil but oh no nope feed them to the cookie cutter industry cause they be coming out of unoriginal, unfeeling moulds ugh BUT THE COVER ART though so GOOD for both versions man
February 24, 2025
Is the “majestic collision of Sci-fi thriller and love story” in the room with us? This is easily one of the worst books I’ve ever read. The ONLY reason I finished it (other than I listened to it because if it had been in print I don’t think I could’ve done it) is because it was for book club. I don’t even know where to start. She gets on DETAILED tangents that have absolutely nothing to do with the plot. Why are you painstakingly describing motel pools? Why are you pondering how to remove graffiti from a train? The way the author also wrote like we should be absolutely CLUTCHING OUR PEARLS at the thought of DREAMING about sleeping with someone else while in a relationship 😂 The subtle reference to my favorite painting in the world, Nocturne in Black and Gold by James McNeill Whistler was responsible for the one star given. Other than that the only thing the author nailed is making a book about dreaming a total snooze fest 😴
Song pairing is I Hate U by Sza 💤🥱
Song pairing is I Hate U by Sza 💤🥱
July 22, 2021
Omdat ik 'De onsterfelijken' 4 sterren heb gegeven, was ik ook benieuwd naar dit boek. Pas halfweg ontdekte ik dat 'De anatomie van dromen' Benjamins debuut is, en nu pas naar het Nederlands vertaald. Dat kan verklaren waarom ik dit boek heel wat minder vond dan 'De onsterfelijken'. Het begon matig, maar werd slechter en slechter, en op het einde was ik de overdaad aan metaforen echt beu. Zinnen als 'Met een gedesoriënteerd en misplaatst gevoel tuimelde ik de ochtend in, als een nachtdier dat verwoed met zijn ogen knippert in het harde, verkeerde licht van de dageraad' deden me alleen nog maar met mijn ogen rollen ... Ook het verhaal vond ik te mager.
November 27, 2016
A wonderfully strange and staggeringly atmospheric novel. I read this book in a dreamy two-day haze. It absorbed me to the point that it became more real and pressing than my actual life. There are subtle shades of Shirley Jackson's HANGSAMAN and Donna Tartt's THE SECRET HISTORY in this strange, intimate coming-of-age story, but at moments its sci-fi bent also calls to mind "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "The Science of Sleep." Somehow, Benjamin managed to make everything feel of a piece. I already can't wait to reread.
January 27, 2022
I had read The Immortalists a while back so wanted to read this one. The story and central “mystery” is intriguing and ultimately what kept me going here, but having a decent understanding of options available for processing trauma, something about the sleep research didn’t sit right with me. The climax ultimately didn’t really pay off for me either, not really aligning with how the characters had been developed throughout.
January 15, 2021
interesting premise, beautiful writing, decent execution (altho I do understand why some reviewers found this book to be boring)
in my own reading experience, I find that many character-driven novels within the literary fiction genre that claim to have a "thriller/mystery aspect" tend to not be all that thrilling... but, in this case, I genuinely did not see that plot twist coming
in my own reading experience, I find that many character-driven novels within the literary fiction genre that claim to have a "thriller/mystery aspect" tend to not be all that thrilling... but, in this case, I genuinely did not see that plot twist coming
February 24, 2015
Was going to be a 2 but got a bit better.
February 6, 2020
Not really sure how I feel about this book. Read it all in one sitting. I didn’t like how it went but that feeling is part of it! Chloe Benjamin has this cliche-ascending ability to make me feel confused about “what is real”, this intense flirtation with the boundaries of paranormal/pseudoscience that feels totally believable & leaves me feeling kind of like the main characters at the end of both of her books I’ve read.
April 3, 2020
This book has left me disturbed, but in a positive way! It really makes you wonder how much there is yet to be uncovered about the human psyche and us humans in general. Loved the setting of the story and the vivid imagery! A real page-turner:)
September 17, 2021
3,5 ster maar ik rond niet naar boven af
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