What do you think?
Rate this book
Dream House
Dream House, the riveting debut novel from Pushcart Prize-winning author Valerie Laken, tells the story of one troubled house—the site of a domestic drama that will forever change the lives of two families. Embracing volatile issues such as race, class, and gentrification, while seamlessly mixing genres as diverse as crime fiction, suspense, and home renovation.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
20 people are currently reading
461 people want to read
About the author
Valerie Laken
5 books34 followersValerie Laken has an MFA in Creative Writing and an MA in Slavic Literature from the University of Michigan. Her work has been published in such journals as Ploughshares, Antioch Review, the Chicago Tribune, and Alaska Quarterly Review. She has received a Pushcart Prize, the Missouri Review Editors' Prize, two Hopwood Awards, and an honorable mention in the Best American Short Stories. She teaches in the creative writing program at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. Her first novel, Dream House (Harper, 2009), received the Anne Powers award and was listed among Kirkus Reviews' Best Books of 2009. Her short story collection, Separate Kingdoms, will be published March 29, 2011 by Harper Perennial.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 116 reviews
August 25, 2020
Summerween: A book with a creepy cover
Empty stairwells have always creeped me out. I don't know why, they just do. If I had to choose between walking up an empty stairwell or getting to an elevator with a serial killer...
Serial killer elevator wins every time.
So based on this creepy cover and the synopsis I expected a mildly scary story. I mean it mentions words like haunted, rage that echoes through walls, a terrible outrages act.
I thought I was gonna be on the edge of my seat.
What I got was a book about white people fixing up a "dream house". I was 100 pages in to this and still had no clue what the plot was. In a normal sized novel like this(336 pages) by page 100 I should know what the plot is and I should have a basic knowledge of character motivation. I got neither in this book.
I actually did something I don't normally do. Half through I started reading reviews for this book. Some gave it 1 star like me but a lot of reviews talked about what a great job this book did talking about race.
???????
Ummm???
Of the 5 main characters 4 were middle class white people and the 5th was a Black man who was an ex-con fresh out of jail for murder who is described as big and angry. Walker the big angry Black ex-con spends his nights in a white neighborhood creepy around the house of a white woman. He parks his car across the street and just looks at her house...in the middle of the night in a white neighborhood. He creeps into her backyard and looks into her windows and at one point when she's not home he breaks in....
I live in a white neighborhood, its me and 2 other Black families and I can tell FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE that if white people she a Black or Brown person that they don't know just hanging out in a parked car...You can rest assured that the police will be called.
Despite the (to me) obvious race issues, my biggest problem with this book is that its boring. Its so so so so so boring. Nothing happens. I read the entire book and I still have no clue what the plot of this book was.
I'm going to spoil the only interesting thing that happens in this book and I'm not hiding it because I don't want anyone to read this book:
The house accidently burns down killing a dog and despite it not being big angry Black ex-con Walker's fault he takes the blame for....reasons??? and then the main characters go to a wedding.
THE END!
DONT READ THIS BOOK!
One more thing: Walker is big and angry and black
Empty stairwells have always creeped me out. I don't know why, they just do. If I had to choose between walking up an empty stairwell or getting to an elevator with a serial killer...
Serial killer elevator wins every time.
So based on this creepy cover and the synopsis I expected a mildly scary story. I mean it mentions words like haunted, rage that echoes through walls, a terrible outrages act.
I thought I was gonna be on the edge of my seat.
What I got was a book about white people fixing up a "dream house". I was 100 pages in to this and still had no clue what the plot was. In a normal sized novel like this(336 pages) by page 100 I should know what the plot is and I should have a basic knowledge of character motivation. I got neither in this book.
I actually did something I don't normally do. Half through I started reading reviews for this book. Some gave it 1 star like me but a lot of reviews talked about what a great job this book did talking about race.
???????
Ummm???
Of the 5 main characters 4 were middle class white people and the 5th was a Black man who was an ex-con fresh out of jail for murder who is described as big and angry. Walker the big angry Black ex-con spends his nights in a white neighborhood creepy around the house of a white woman. He parks his car across the street and just looks at her house...in the middle of the night in a white neighborhood. He creeps into her backyard and looks into her windows and at one point when she's not home he breaks in....
I live in a white neighborhood, its me and 2 other Black families and I can tell FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE that if white people she a Black or Brown person that they don't know just hanging out in a parked car...You can rest assured that the police will be called.
Despite the (to me) obvious race issues, my biggest problem with this book is that its boring. Its so so so so so boring. Nothing happens. I read the entire book and I still have no clue what the plot of this book was.
I'm going to spoil the only interesting thing that happens in this book and I'm not hiding it because I don't want anyone to read this book:
The house accidently burns down killing a dog and despite it not being big angry Black ex-con Walker's fault he takes the blame for....reasons??? and then the main characters go to a wedding.
THE END!
DONT READ THIS BOOK!
One more thing: Walker is big and angry and black
May 7, 2009
This was wonderful. I read it in about a day and a half because it was so hard to put down. And, weirdly, it made me both dread and long for a major home improvement project. Except we rent...Anyway, kudos to Valerie, for writing a completely absorbing and creepy and compassionate and wise novel.
May 20, 2009
Despite what the book jacket and inside cover said, I didn't think this was a ghost story, nor was it about race and class. I saw it as an exploration of what makes people ambitious. Walker's dad to make a good home for his family, Kate out of desperation, and Stuart not at all. It's so sad that they all faced such hardships. But it got creepy, that two people that had such horrific experiences in the house ended up helping Kate rehab it. Like many books, it had a lot going for it and a lot going on, but I'd hardly call the ending "an unforgettable climax." The author could have done so much more with the story about the letter that they found during the renovation. The circumstances that led to it becoming illegible were just stupid.
July 19, 2009
Another case of missed marketing. From the cover and the jacket description, I was expecting a good haunted house tale. All I got was a dysfunctional marriage and an HGTV renovation show.
April 30, 2017
Teetering between 3.5-3.75 STARS
Came across this one in the library (by accident). First it was the title that jumped out, then the cover & then the premise that drew me right in! Well, it wasn't exactly what i was expecting (as some other reviews stated) but I did enjoy the ride. There were a few places that I actually started to skim through a bit but for the most part, Dream House was an okay read. I would be interested to see what the author has in store next...
Came across this one in the library (by accident). First it was the title that jumped out, then the cover & then the premise that drew me right in! Well, it wasn't exactly what i was expecting (as some other reviews stated) but I did enjoy the ride. There were a few places that I actually started to skim through a bit but for the most part, Dream House was an okay read. I would be interested to see what the author has in store next...
September 15, 2013
I read this on the recommendation of my friend, Korrin. Good rec!
After 18 year old Walker Price kills his widowed mother's abusive and drug addled boyfriend, he is sent to prison for the next decade and a half. The young man daydreams of reclaiming the family home his pops and moms filled with love and hard work before his father's untimely death. Meanwhile, the Ann Arbor house (converted to a rooming house in the years between the murder and 2005, when the core of the story is told) is sold to a young white couple, Kate and Stuart. Kate considers is her dream to own and refurbish the old place. Stuart balks at the huge step of home ownership-- something he does not want. When the two learn about the home's unhappy history, Kate is determined to make it up to Stuart, who is revolted by the place and its past. She embarks on a summer of gutting and remodeling the house, room by room. Will it be enough to save their shaky marriage?
Unable to do some of the work on her own, and with Stuart absent from the project, Kate hires a local man by the name of Walker Price, who seems to have a particular interest in the gentrified neighborhood, its history and, specifically, Kate's house...
This is a remarkable story of race, love, family and the meaning of home. Suspenseful and skillfully told.
After 18 year old Walker Price kills his widowed mother's abusive and drug addled boyfriend, he is sent to prison for the next decade and a half. The young man daydreams of reclaiming the family home his pops and moms filled with love and hard work before his father's untimely death. Meanwhile, the Ann Arbor house (converted to a rooming house in the years between the murder and 2005, when the core of the story is told) is sold to a young white couple, Kate and Stuart. Kate considers is her dream to own and refurbish the old place. Stuart balks at the huge step of home ownership-- something he does not want. When the two learn about the home's unhappy history, Kate is determined to make it up to Stuart, who is revolted by the place and its past. She embarks on a summer of gutting and remodeling the house, room by room. Will it be enough to save their shaky marriage?
Unable to do some of the work on her own, and with Stuart absent from the project, Kate hires a local man by the name of Walker Price, who seems to have a particular interest in the gentrified neighborhood, its history and, specifically, Kate's house...
This is a remarkable story of race, love, family and the meaning of home. Suspenseful and skillfully told.
Read
February 9, 2009Not many writers are comfortable handling lots of different types of characters without making some of them into cardboard cutouts. What I admire most about this book is its huge range of people-- neurotic people, happy people, artistic people, autistic people, people freshly released from prison, children, and people in love-- and the way Valerie Laken makes them all real and important.
March 18, 2014
Dream House presents itself as a suspenseful ghost story or horror novel--from the cover, to the jacket blurb, to the tone of the opening chapters. Sure, there's a question of whether you're going into a piece which is more horror or suspense, more creepy or supernatural, or more about a house or the ghosts within...but there's no question for a reader who comes directly to the book that some of these elements are in play. So, what's the problem? They're not.
Even though the book's first 50-100 pages push for a spooky tone, the cover looks like a horror novel, and the cover blurbs mention ghosts, there's very little suspense here, and no element of a mystery, a ghost, or any supernatural element. At its heart, this is simply a family drama that branches out from a young couple to tell the stories of men who've also had some history related to their new fixer-upper house. I'm not sure how much of this is off marketing and how much might be the book taking a different turn than the author expected once they got half-way through the book, but the fact remained: the book feels like it's having an identity crisis, and my guess is that this book will never find the readers who would really enjoy it. Those readers (other readers in my family for instance) would read the first few chapters and think that the book is going in a supernatural direction, and too dark for their tastes. In reality, readers like me who are looking for that darker read will end up being disappointed with a work that built us up to expect something...and then disappeared into a mundane collection of adults trying to survive normal crises of direction and relationship.
All this considered, it's hard to objectively review this work. I know that I would have enjoyed it more had I not been misled about what to expect (and I would maintain that the marketing AND the tone/direction of the first 75 pages at least are actually misleading). The details here (in terms of home renovation and family dynamics) are believable and engaging, as are the characters. The downfall in the writing is that there are themes and subplots in the first half of the novel that are totally forgotten in the second half, some of them having received so much attention early on that you can't help but feel that the author just got bored of them and moved on.
On the whole, I'm not sure whether or not I'd read another work by Laken or not; this was disappointing, and not remotely what I expected when I picked it up.
Even though the book's first 50-100 pages push for a spooky tone, the cover looks like a horror novel, and the cover blurbs mention ghosts, there's very little suspense here, and no element of a mystery, a ghost, or any supernatural element. At its heart, this is simply a family drama that branches out from a young couple to tell the stories of men who've also had some history related to their new fixer-upper house. I'm not sure how much of this is off marketing and how much might be the book taking a different turn than the author expected once they got half-way through the book, but the fact remained: the book feels like it's having an identity crisis, and my guess is that this book will never find the readers who would really enjoy it. Those readers (other readers in my family for instance) would read the first few chapters and think that the book is going in a supernatural direction, and too dark for their tastes. In reality, readers like me who are looking for that darker read will end up being disappointed with a work that built us up to expect something...and then disappeared into a mundane collection of adults trying to survive normal crises of direction and relationship.
All this considered, it's hard to objectively review this work. I know that I would have enjoyed it more had I not been misled about what to expect (and I would maintain that the marketing AND the tone/direction of the first 75 pages at least are actually misleading). The details here (in terms of home renovation and family dynamics) are believable and engaging, as are the characters. The downfall in the writing is that there are themes and subplots in the first half of the novel that are totally forgotten in the second half, some of them having received so much attention early on that you can't help but feel that the author just got bored of them and moved on.
On the whole, I'm not sure whether or not I'd read another work by Laken or not; this was disappointing, and not remotely what I expected when I picked it up.
April 2, 2012
The book cover/summary reads like this is a ghost story or some sort of thriller - it isn't, really. It was a little suspenseful in parts, but it wasn't a full blown thriller.
Kate and Stuart Kinzler buy a rickety old house with a horrible history - someone was murdered in the house. They find out about the murder at a time when their marriage is already on shaky ground. Stuart can't handle the stress and Kate's full attention to the house she wants to remodel, so he leaves. She meets Jay and Walker, who both have a history with the house, as well (this is where it sort of gets suspenseful).
Overall, I really enjoyed this book (read it in one day). However, towards the end I found it to be a little slow-moving. Something was never explained, either, which was a little frustrating. Kate, while smashing through the ceiling drywall, finds an old letter, written in German and written 70 or so years BEFORE the house was built. She takes it to a German colleague at the school where she works, it gets wet and...that's it. She lets it dry, some parts are ruined, but that's it - we never hear of her trying to get it read or anything after that. She dreams up a story about the letter, about what it could entail, but that's it. I guess it was sort of a funny thing to include in the story (heck, if I found a letter in the rafters of my house that was written before the house was even built, I think I'd have that thing read right away).
I really enjoyed this book, and look forward to more by Valerie Laken.
Kate and Stuart Kinzler buy a rickety old house with a horrible history - someone was murdered in the house. They find out about the murder at a time when their marriage is already on shaky ground. Stuart can't handle the stress and Kate's full attention to the house she wants to remodel, so he leaves. She meets Jay and Walker, who both have a history with the house, as well (this is where it sort of gets suspenseful).
Overall, I really enjoyed this book (read it in one day). However, towards the end I found it to be a little slow-moving. Something was never explained, either, which was a little frustrating. Kate, while smashing through the ceiling drywall, finds an old letter, written in German and written 70 or so years BEFORE the house was built. She takes it to a German colleague at the school where she works, it gets wet and...that's it. She lets it dry, some parts are ruined, but that's it - we never hear of her trying to get it read or anything after that. She dreams up a story about the letter, about what it could entail, but that's it. I guess it was sort of a funny thing to include in the story (heck, if I found a letter in the rafters of my house that was written before the house was even built, I think I'd have that thing read right away).
I really enjoyed this book, and look forward to more by Valerie Laken.
April 15, 2009
On many levels, critics praised Dream House, a domestic drama inspired by Laken's own experience buying and renovating a home in which a murder had occurred. No ordinary ghost story, it offers insight into the troubled human psyche and a deep inquiry into the meaning of home through multiple storylines. Lessons about materialism, self, sacrifices, class, race, and values also emerge. Reviewers agreed that the prologue is a short masterpiece and that the novel as a whole is an excellent portrait of "the stereotypes that distinguish posh Ann Arbor, backwoods Dexter, and Ypsilanti" (Detroit Metro Times). The only complaint came from Entertainment Weekly, which found fault with the main characters. Otherwise, Laken is a writer to watch.
This is an excerpt from a review published in Bookmarks magazine.
August 25, 2017
Hummm. I'm not really sure where to go with this review. I didn't love it but I didn't slog through it either. I wasn't confused but I didn't fully understand either. I dunno it was just a three star book. It wasn't what I was expecting. I got the impression I was going to be reading a "haunted house" type book and....that was a negative. Still, the book did have a certain magnetic pull and did draw me into it. But in the end I wanted more. I had a lot of questions and would have enjoyed it more if I had more history...a little more thriller to it. It lacked the edge of seat it COULD of had and in the end, while I was satisfied, I would have preferred twists and turns that I could have sank my teeth into.
December 14, 2010
After I finished the last page of the book and closed it....I forgot about it. Yes, it's sort of a sad story, and what not, but I just think it was OK. The main character seemed too uptight for my tatse. I actually felt bad for her husband. Maybe I misinterpreted the story, but I think Walker Price was guilty of the crime, were it a crime of passion or not, he still did it. He paid his debt, was let free and tried to convince everyone that he did it for a right reason. I don't but it. But overall this book is forgettable, and although I enjoyed it I just expected a little more.
February 3, 2011
I expected more from this book than what was delivered. I was excited when I read the description of the book and some of the reviews of it. When I delved into the book, I found it to be mediocre and I had to keep pulling myself into it to finish it. I think I gave it the two stars just out of disappointment..it MAYBE could have gone to 3 stars, but that is a BIG MAYBE!
November 12, 2011
Some of the professional reviews associated with this book include words and phrases such as ghost story, haunted, suspenseful, eerie, compelling characters ... I found none of these to apply. In fact I found the story pretty boring. I came close to putting it down before finishing. Maybe I should have.
December 3, 2012
I probably would have liked this story better if it hadn't been billed as a haunted house story. There are not actually any ghosts. The house could only be considered "haunted" in the sense that three people are messed up in the head for various reasons over it.
March 29, 2016
I really enjoyed this book. It was a lot different than I thought it would be (in the best way possible). If you want to read a suspensful, heart warming story that allows you to get to know many different characters..then read this! I can't wait for her next book.
May 1, 2009
Excellent. So often fiction lets me down, but this book did not. It did, however, keep me from sleep as I could not put it down in order to go to bed.
May 18, 2009
A good first novel! Several characters' lives entwine in unexpected ways... revolving around a 20 year old murder and the renovating of the house it happened in.
June 4, 2009
Best book I've read in a long time. Couldn't put it down. Apparently Valerie Laken's first and, wow, she's good with a plot.
June 9, 2009
This book was wonderfully written, with the plot unfolding at just the right pace. A perfect book for vacation, or to pass the time on a long flight. An amazing first book by this author.
January 20, 2020
I would of gave the book 3 stars but you killed the dog. The sweetest character in the book. If anyone should of died it should of been Walker.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 24, 2018
This should never have been marketed as a "ghost story." The ghost part to me is how the house itself haunts the people I consider "main" characters of the book: Walker and Kate. The house becomes such a large piece of them that it just grips them and never lets go.
When it comes to Walker, it's completely understandable. It was his father's dream house. For Kate, it's more like the house is the "glue" she thinks will hold her marriage together.
If it wasn't marketed the way it was, I'd have gone 3 stars. As a simple story about people, it's decent. But I feel a little robbed by the lack of mystery that the summary and cover photo advertised.
When it comes to Walker, it's completely understandable. It was his father's dream house. For Kate, it's more like the house is the "glue" she thinks will hold her marriage together.
If it wasn't marketed the way it was, I'd have gone 3 stars. As a simple story about people, it's decent. But I feel a little robbed by the lack of mystery that the summary and cover photo advertised.
September 2, 2019
A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon this book at the library. Upon looking at the book cover, I thought it would have more supernatural elements. But there weren’t any. It was more a mystery/drama. Also, there were so many perspectives that the story was being told in from one chapter to the next and sometimes it would be difficult to guess which character perspective until I’m a few sentences in the chapter. Multiple topics were explored within the storyline —past regrets, failing marriage, judgmental parents/sibling(s), racial conflict, bonding over common ground, a home with a history. Overall, it was a fascinating book.
July 27, 2018
I am terrible at this. Sorry. As many others have said, it's not actually a ghost story - I assumed it wouldn't be, since the quote also says "plausible and rational ghost story." Part of me wishes I could have read this book without having read the quote on the front cover.
Instead, we get a book about a house and the "ghosts" within its walls, and four characters with skeletons in their closet. Overall, I enjoyed this book - the story tugged me along nicely, and it definitely describes the imperfectness of real life and the way people's imperfect lives come together imperfectly.
Instead, we get a book about a house and the "ghosts" within its walls, and four characters with skeletons in their closet. Overall, I enjoyed this book - the story tugged me along nicely, and it definitely describes the imperfectness of real life and the way people's imperfect lives come together imperfectly.
August 10, 2021
Somehow I forgot I had already read this in my collection. I experienced a strange sense of dejavu until I got to about the third chapter and realized it! But for some reason I didn't remember each part until I was reading it again. I definitely feel I was more receptive this time and the story will stick. I love the slight twist it takes and the metaphorical role the house plays for each character in totally different ways. Laken lends so much character to the house itself and the way she wraps things up will surprise you. A great read!
October 25, 2021
The description said it was a ghost story so I picked this up before Halloween... but it wasn't really. It felt like there were a lot of story arcs/details that didn't really matter or contribute to the story, and I have no idea why it was there. There were spooky moments, but it wasn't about race or class, it was mostly just sad.
October 1, 2020
I don't like being misled by book covers. This was not a ghost story. It was a story of four (five if you include Claire) unlikable people. The only person who drew me in was Walker and he was a foil for the plot.
May 17, 2018
I read this book like 8 years ago. I remember liking it but I don't remember it enough to actually write a review.
July 31, 2019
Good story but didn’t care for the ending.
Read
September 18, 2021Good story, easy read
Displaying 1 - 30 of 116 reviews