Variations on a Dream: A Novel

by Angelique LaLonde

From the Giller-shortlisted author of Glorious Frazzled Beings comes a beguiling debut novel humming with sensuality, intelligence, and a tinge of the absurd.

After years of shouldering the childcare and housework, trying to keep her creative life and career alive, and managing her husband’s existential anxieties, the once whimsical Sarah is too burned out to dream. Most days, all she can muster is an imaginary version of her husband Trevor, one who actually listens to her, an almost-IRL replica of the husband in the picture-perfect image of their family she crafts online. Meanwhile, Trevor is caught in a downward spiral of his own. Strangled by his fear of artistic mediocrity and mounting sexual frustration, he fantasizes about the early college days when their romance was still athrill with seductive possibility.

When both Sarah and Trevor secretly stumble on an auteur porn film based on the ancient Greek myth of Ariadne and Dionysus, they are immediately sucked into a dizzying maze of obsession, betrayal, and duplicate selves echoing backwards in time. With the arrival of a brilliant, alluring new student in Trevor’s university class, the line between fantasy and reality is increasingly blurred, threatening to collapse the walls of their mythology forever.

With startling psychological insight, a sly sense of humour, and all the peculiar twists of a fairytale, Variations on a Dream is a fearless exploration of the lengths we will go to save what we believe to be a dream come true.

Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction

459 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 3, 2026

Reviews

[Victoria Vieira · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 316 pages so I'm still calling this read. I can't handle any more of these books about shitty husbands and their sniveling wives. If he was a loser when you married him, he's not just going to magically stop being one!!

[Chanel Chapters]

Cannot read about another shitty husband and the women that stay with these losers

[Guneev · Rating 3 out of 5]

My true rating would be 3.5 stars, however I can't do that.

You know those Reddit stories about women in horrible marriages? They always start their post with "I've been married to my husband for x years, he's truly the best person I have ever been with and I am lucky to have found him, etc" before they proceed to describe the most torturous, stressful relationship one could ever have?

That's this book, and you know I was all for it! I would've gladly read a novel sized version of those Reddit stories. They're always so satisfying because the pay off when the woman finally realizes her worth after having to read all the stress she put on herself for the sake of the relationship is really cathartic.

However, this book dropped the ball in execution. While reading I had planned to give this book 4 stars, up until the last chapter. Why? I'm not sure how to phrase it outside of saying that the last chapter spat in the face of the rest of the book.

To provide context, this book spends a lot of time on Trevor and Sarah's origin story. Their childhood, college days, early marriage leading up to having kids are all explored. We see both Trevor and Sarah's perspectives and the point is Trevor is not a great guy, but he's not completely irredeemable.

This is a stark contrast to what happens in the prologue, which is obvious to any outside observer that Trevor is not worth it. He's a garbage human being and garbage man too. However, for a summer that occurs halfway through the book, Trevor really locks in to his marriage. Sarah describes him as having come back to his old self, the version of him that was "[...] alive, present, and interested in her [...]."

I say all this because in the end of the book Trevor becomes the most cartoony bad guy ever with gems such as:

"'Positively influence' his daughters? [Sarah] expected this of him? What did she even mean by it? They were his *daughters*, not women. [...] Positive influence was her schtick. What did he have to contribute to that, anyway? He was always there for shits and giggles."

"But why should Trevor have to? If Sarah had been taking care of [Trevor] properly, like she was supposed to! It was her job, not his!"

"Why were all these women around him planning sinister schemes? He was a good fucking guy, for Christ's sake."

These quotes happened within 8 pages, and like why? Why get rid of the slight ambiguity this book spent forever building within Trevor?

There is so much I could say as to why this as to why this book disappointed me, but this review is already too long. In short:
- The ending artificially raised the tension by character assassinating Sarah into making a mistake she never should've.
- They could've given Masha so much character depth but instead gave her a stupid ass plot of falling for Trevor and then learning that Trevor is a predator
- I thought this book would have more fantasy elements, more magical elements. The book description says "the line between fantasy and reality is increasingly blurred" but it's not really. It's extent is that Sarah basically conjured a fake better version of Trevor in her head that other people can actually hear but that's basically throwaway since it has no impact and the rest of the 'fantasy' I'd describe as just the author's own style of describing the story.

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked it out solely based on the beautiful cover and ended up loving it! Oop!

I've never read anything quite like this before. It was very artsy. And while I typically run away from poetry, it really worked in this.

Following a tale as old as time... porn addicted and deeply insecure man meets equally insecure woman who believes that to be loved, she must be indispensable, doing everything she can to make things easier for him. We've all been there...

It really had me thinking about marriage [and motherhood]. In 2026, it's all starting to feel like a trap. Slowly chipping away at your soul. They say women who are single live happier, longer lives. And we all know why!

Definitely not for everyone, but it was for me. #CanCon

Memorable quotes:

"'Ugh, ugh, ugh... Yes, baby, yes. You like that? You dirty, dirty little girl. You want this? You want more?' ... 'Umm?' Sarah thought. How to respond? Surprising... She felt innocent, not dirty. She tried, 'Be nice to me?'" (87) You have to laugh!

"'You, Sarah, are my Domestic Goddess," Trevor would often say to her in their castle in Mississauga, during the dream-come-true phase of playing house together..." (121) nightmare!!

"...from Domestic Goddess to Divine Mama." (148) call the cops!

"She wished he would see that she had been there the entire time, giving him her all. She loved this man, and loving him was diminishing her. Each time she hoped, he shattered it. Showing his real self to her, time and time again, and she had just been refusing to see, blotting herself out in the process.

See me! See me! See me! she heard a little voice inside her shout." (345)

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

|| VARIATIONS ON A DREAM ||
#gifted @penguinrandomca
•
I loved Lalonde's Glorious Frazzled Beings so when I heard she had a novel coming out I was thrilled!

Variations of a Dream is a about a marriage falling apart. But its also about desire, sex and power. All themes that facinate. With surreal almost magical elements throughout, Lalonde's creativity flows and nothing is quite what it seems. This was a delight! Funny, whimsical and unforgettable.

[Mike Broderick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh boy.....this book.......yikes.

This book could be an 5 star, could be a 3 star or could be a DNF. I suspect that we will have all of those.


There are many pros and cons to this title. Do the pros outweigh the cons?

First, I think that this is a very well written piece. It flows so well, uses poetry to help guide the overall messaging and it has so much that can be discussed.

That is a pro.

It has sex in it.....a lot of it and not the good romance kind.....to be discussed later. Con, unless the message is important.

It starts out simple enough, we have a marriage that is crumbling with a husband that is a bit of a dick.

Then, it gets into the sexual, porn world and this is where readers need to stick with it. This is where some might get lost in the back and forth of their real lives and their fantasy world.


Here is my big point though: Toxic Masculinity. This book has so much sex, but it is about domineering, it is about control.

We often think of toxic masculinity as having a group factor.

But, toxic masculinity is defined as:

Toxic masculinity refers to cultural norms and social pressures that encourage men to adopt harmful, rigid, and exaggerated behaviors—such as extreme toughness, emotional repression, and dominance—which can damage mental health, cause social dysfunction, and promote misogyny. It stems from traditional roles but takes them to an unhealthy extreme.

This book is definitely misogyny and toxic masculinity.

This man is living the fantasy world where he is dominant over the women in his life. He has extra marital affairs, and believes that is his right. He is actually dumfounded when he realizes that he might not be in control and actually says the words: I do not deserve this, I am a good guy. Unbelievable since the reader spends the entire book thinking about what a dick he is.
The fact that he thinks he is a good guy is a big part of this culture......he cannot understand why his wife would not talk to him about her concerns.....even though she tried, she did. He did not listen.
This book has the crude, derogatory language that fits the description of toxic, for example: "I shoved my cock in her mouth just to shut her up."
Right from their first sexual experience together, he was about dirty, controlling sex and she was unsure, but went with it because she liked him.


The question is: Is this too much. Is there too much sex. Is there too much dirty. If this was just a book with a story that happens to be these themes, I am rating this low and not recommending it. If you take this from the lens of a societal concern with toxic masculinity, I am giving this a high grade.

This is uncomfortable, you will feel something about each character, I believe.

[Yi Nuo Cheng · Rating 4 out of 5]

really more like 3.5! i hated it and thought it a drab slog of fetid thoughts dressed in soppy lavender prose at first. but i wanted to keep going because jet lag gave me the gift of a ridiculously early wake up time and it was soothing to read a physical book in the morning HAHAHA. and i suppose it was just interesting enough here and there for me to continue. anyways. the last third of the book is where i finally started feeling satisfied. spoilers!!!! trevor’s selfish, disgusting, misogynistic, porn-addled actions finally start wreaking consequences on him. and as is the case so often in real life, it’s not because some giant random anvil of justice fell out of the sky and hit him on the head. it’s because sarah (and yuna and masha, and in a way ariadne and sarah’s mom and actually all the women in diff ways but mostly sarah) finally fully employs her agency! her agency as a human being, an individual, a woman who exists outside the role of wife. and leaves his sorry ass and takes the kids like jesus finally. but also hey, it’s hard to leave, isn’t it? we live in a society. coercion, brainwashing, dream-building, what have you- often begins before spouses, partners, whatever, ever meet. it’s hard to fight not only against your shithead ogre husband, who is also just a man who is also just a boy, kinda, when you’re also fighting against your lifelong conditioning and personal history and father issues. i liked it because despite the abstractness of the surface narrative at times, it always held emotional truth. i actually would’ve liked it to keep going, deeper into the ending. i want to know what exactly happens to trevor. because i would like to believe in justice but i don’t know what it would look like for him. but maybe that’s for me to decide on my own.

[Mireille · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book captivating and melodic!

Both of the main characters are writers. The author wove the characters’ literary work throughout the story and that was *chef’s kiss* for me. It provided depth and whimsy to the already well-penned story. Kind of like a poetic excursion inside an already lovely story.

I was deeply fascinated by the portrayal of the modern, broken man. A man who is troubled, as we all are, but refuses to look inward, as they all seem to do. Maybe it’s because of this season of my life, where i lack sympathy for men and their troubles, that i so enjoyed the transparence this provided into the psyche of an inconsiderate, selfish husband. To me it’s sort of a confession that men are, in fact, lousy at being partners to women, respectful of women, considerate of women; not intentionally, of course, but also not intentional about changing or improving their behaviour. I have been married to a man for 24 years and can say with my full chest that this resonated.

While this may sound grim and judgemental, the sad, disappointing portrait of the husband in no way took away from the richness of the character or the story.

I enjoyed the portrayal of the wife as well, seeing many of the modern-day pressures put on women and mothers, but found that the hardship of it all was glossed over somewhat. Passing mentions of exhaustion, exasperation, overwhelm; i would have preferred more of that so that i could fully sympathize with her. My life as a woman, wife and mother contains many, many breakdowns. We don’t need to hide that.

[Christy Stef · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars: a challenging novel to read in both style and theme. The poems that separate the large narrative are very artistic. They make sense in the scheme of the storytelling and continue to carry the plot, although I’m not a big fan of poetry. I love the characters Ariadne and Masha and cheered on Sarah to stand up for herself and see her own worth. Trevor, typically, thinks he is a “good guy” and exhibits the toxic masculinity present in today’s set of so-called good guys.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was brilliant. Poetry, myth, the collapse of a marriage, interrogation of pornography, investigation of women's bodies and desires, a scathing look at the reality of motherhood that was so spot on. There were about a million reasons I loved this book. It was also painful, and raw, and hard to read because I saw myself in many facets. I picked this book up based on the cover when I saw it on the new release shelf at the library. I was so glad I did.

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Timely novel exposing toxic masculinity for how pervasive it is. What makes it even better is the main female character eventually trying to save herself. Some of the short stories or poems written from the perspective of the characters were a bit too artsy for me to understand, but overall an enjoyable read.

[FindingFiction · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

I don't even know what to say or where to start.
This book feels like a fever dream. From the very first page, you're thrown straight into something raw and mundanely human. It explores life in a way that feels almost unfiltered, how easily we slip into our own delusions, and how much of ourselves we're willing to give up in pursuit of the lives we think we want.

For some, a book like this might feel cathartic, a kind of release, a breath "finally." I tend to think of it as "weird girl literature", you know, introspective, messy, and deeply self examining. It does include a number of explicit scenes as the exploration of sexuality is a major theme in this book, which may not be for everyone, so it's worth looking into beforehand.

Thank you @mcclellandstewart for a copy of this book.
All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Issy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw someone else write “painfully realistic” and I think that’s the best way to describe this book. It perfectly articulates a lot of the fears many women have around getting married/having kids. This is exactly how you DONT want your life to end up. I will definitely read this book again, it was really touching and made me think A LOT about life. Very artsy and definitely not for everyone

[Kathleen Feeney · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are some truly insightful and compelling moments in this book on family, marriage, sex and identity—but some truly bizarre writing and plots points carrying it throughout. Nothing necessarily new or niche to add to the topics being dissected. A voice that is at times purposeful and vulnerable and other times completely out of tune. Almost DNF

[Seth · Rating 4 out of 5]

LaLonde's darkly pompous portrait of psychosexual unravelling finds a pretty stunning balance between the self-righteous pretensions of husband Trevor and the spiritual decay of wife Sarah. The novel never really comes around to answering most of its questions, instead leaving us with an ambiguous ending that harkens back to the myth at the story's core. Bizarre and upsetting!

[Kyla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was such a pleasure to read and resonated with much of what I’m observing at this stage (mid) of life. This would make for an excellent book-club or literature course selection as it is rich with topics to discuss further.

[avery (avereads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to come

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I struggled with this one at first. The tone is so strange and distancing. However, once I committed I was totally immersed in this strange dream-like narrative.

[Pascale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange but compelling.

Trevor is completely detestable, does he merit such time on the page?

[Ilana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous, poetic, rich, touching, and penetrating

[Enid Wray]

DNF

[destiny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved how artistic this was! Poetry was beautyness

[Sol Mtz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hard to finish. Lots of good moments but the plot twists makes it hard to keep reading. Do not recommend

[Katherine Baldock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unending demands

[Megan Engedahl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful, weird, alluring, painfully realistic but also imaginative, touching, infuriating. The list could go on.
Felt it all & loved it.