Interstate Dreams

by Neal Barrett Jr.

Dreamer came back to Austin, Texas, from a bad banana war with a souvenir slug in his head. No big deal, just a minor side effect: Now, every safe, every lock, every fancy alarm, takes a nap when he's around.

Dreamer's not tempted, he's straight arrow and doesn't need the dough. He's happy selling guppies, hanging out at Mama Lucy's Vishnu and Jesus Barbecue. And, when the days are long and the AC's blowing cool, spending lazy afternoons with his breathtaking, irritating, mean-mouthed lover and big-time attorney, Eileen.

Still, a secret like Dreamer's doesn't stay secret long. A lot of people want to know what his talent's all about. People like Detective Avery Asher, who makes wrongdoers move up to New York. Abn-el-Yusuf, who wants to buy Fort Worth. Zillionaire Gus Brauweiler, who owns nearly everything there is, and Houston mobster Mako Binder, who steals all the rest.

Only Neal Barrett, Jr., author of The Hereafter Gang, heralded as one of the great American novels, could stir up this special mix of outrageous mayhem and unadulterated black-hearted fun, you'll find in Interstate Dreams.

240 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1999

About the author

Neal Barrett, Jr. was a writer of fantasy, science fiction, mystery/suspense, and historical fiction. His story "Ginny Sweethips' Flying Circus" was nominated for both the 1988 Nebula Award for Best Novelette and the 1989 Hugo Award for Best Novelette.

Reviews

[Johnny · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a shame that Interstate Dreams disappeared into my basement library and from there into my storage room. I had intended to read the bizarre novel by Neal Barrett, Jr. ever since he gave me the autographed copy. Sadly, it has been neglected until I found it last week in order to read it this week. Interstate Dreams is well-named. Its protagonist is a fellow named Dreamer, a Vietnam veteran with a piece of shrapnel in his head that not only causes him to interpret various aspects of his life in colors, but use those colors to circumvent certain physical laws (mostly having to do with electronic and digital devices). As with many of Barrett’s works, the story isn’t the primary matter. The mystery isn’t all that compelling and I found myself hardly caring at all how the main story unfolded. What I cared about was the supporting cast.
What could be more memorable than a child who speaks in Renaissance Faire language at all times? What could be more fun than the mojo-wielding, syncretistic black woman who weaves together the sacred and the celebrity into a bizarre form of pop-culture Rastafarianism and Bible-thumping Pentecostalism with a near-voodoo twist? What could be more fascinating than a Vietnam vet living with a crazed former VC colonel? What could be more amazing than a fat German businessman who was adamant about collecting all of the missing Fokker DVIIIs allegedly disassembled by Hermann Goering and hidden away at the end of WWI? The supporting cast in this novel would be a tribute to the equaling bizarre casts in Carl Hiaasen novels.
It’s an entertaining experience. My favorite part was when the German businessman forced Dreamer to dogfight in one of the valuable Fokkers. I won’t give away the salient details except to say that Barrett handled the action as well as an adventure of G8 and his Battle Aces (fortuitously referred to in the novel itself). And, of course, I loved the dream sequences—even if some would have to be identified as “For Mature Audiences Only.”
The events in the story line are improbable, ridiculous, and occasionally jar you out of delightful suspended disbelief, but the moments when you are pulled into the vortex of anomie and catastrophe that is the jaundiced world of Neal Barrett, Jr. are worth the effort.

[Mark Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

The basic premise of Interstate Dreams has been used any number of times in unreal fiction. If you have an “unusual” talent, you just have to exercise it, even if it will get you in trouble. The classic Marcel Ayme story, “Walker Through Walls,” comes to mind. The hero, a mild-mannered clerk, doesn’t need money, but, once he discovers he can walk through walls, he just has to rob banks, and just has to be caught and imprisoned so he can walk through walls. In Robert Cormier’s Fade the protagonist has to use his invisibility to visit his lover’s bedroom, even though it will be his undoing. And, in the best use of the idea so far, Neal Barrett’s Dreamer, who can pass through even the most sophisticated security systems unnoticed, must be a thief.
A man of simple tastes, Dreamer is happy running a fish and aquarium supply store in Austin, Texas, eating simple meals at Mama Lucy’s Vishnu and Jesus Barbecue and trying to figure out the meaning of life with his drop-dead gorgeous girlfriend, big-time attorney, Eileen. But, every once in a while, an unbearable streak of wanderlust strikes, and he foils the latest technology to steal something that is supposed to be impossible to steal. In keeping with his rather skewed code of ethics, he only steals back stuff that has already been stolen. Interstate Dreams commences when Dreamer accidentally rips off some documents that really belong to their owner.
On his way home, on the wrong side of the road, he sees a beautiful girl standing next to a stalled vintage Jaguar and instantly falls in love. The rest of the book takes Dreamer through his madcap antics as he tries to rescue the woman of his dreams and a precocious seven-year-old, both of whom are to be delivered into fates worth than death at the hands of a Middle-Eastern oil sheik.
His allies in the quest include a black street gang, an ancient Voodoo seer and a genius computer hacker, not to mention his own unique talent, along with a penchant for dreams that come true.
Although the plot is a bit complex at times, you will even enjoy the detours from the plot. In recent memory no author has created the rogue as knight-errant so well as Neal Barrett, Jr. If Henry Fielding were writing a 21st century picaresque novel, it just might be Interstate Dreams.

[Scrittevolmente · Rating 3 out of 5]

Devo ammettere che la prefazione di Joe Lansdale mi ha fatto tanta tenerezza. Gli autori, famosi o misconosciuti che siano, hanno sempre un ispiratore, un eroe letterario, un modello a cui aspirare e che magari ha segnato qualche tappa importante della loro carriera, se non della loro vita.
Conoscendo Lansdale, non ho potuto fare a meno di incuriosirmi nell’entrare nel mondo del romanzo di Barrett, cercando di capire cosa nella sua scrittura possa essere stato considerato un faro.
Beh, ci sono riuscita (non che fosse difficile, eh).
Interstate dreams è un concentrato di nonsense, un delirio di colori e vicende che si srotolano senza che ce ne rendiamo conto. La trama è lì, sotto i nostri occhi, ma viene percepita in maniera sotterranea perché la coscienza è occupata a tradurre il personaggio di Dreamer, fuori di testa e con un gran cuore, che si impelaga in situazioni assurde e tragicomiche grazie alle sue capacità che vanno e vengono come pare a loro.
È un protagonista stravagante, inconfondibile, accompagnato da spalle di tutto rispetto che si incastrano e si avvicendano sullo sfondo di una storia al cardiopalma fatta di rapimenti, tradimenti, soldi, malavita, bambine che parlano come negli harmony, bianchi che vorrebbero essere neri, avvocatesse pronte a tutto per denaro.

Per leggere l'intera recensione: QUI

[Ben Raphael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is for the AUDIOBOOK version.
This Audiobook was provided by the narrator at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

Dreamer has a souvenir in his head from the war which affects any form of security. Locks open to his touch and alarms just ignore him allowing him to break into the most secure locations. His abilities don't go unnoticed and some despicable people want to use him for their own means.

The book is reminiscent of a gangster novel, with many villains trying to get a piece of Dreamer and understand how he does what he does.
The story is interesting, and the title does the story justice as I kept wondering if everything going on was just a dream due to the inexplicable events that happen now and then.

On occasions the book will introduce new characters and fill in a lot of details rather quickly. This did not work so well for me in audio format (as I have a tendency to forget names), so I found myself rewinding back a few times to try and take it all in. It may be wise to get the book as a companion for such cases.
I was also a bit disappointed that Dreamers unique abilities were more talked about than actually used.

The final part of the book is very unpredictable, very dream like and very enjoyable.

Narration by Jeff Hays is excellent with great acting and a bit of effects thrown in which add to the immersion, his voice (when not acting as one of the characters) also adds to the 'dreamesque' feeling of the story to wrap the deal.

To summarize - A gangster story with a twist, many intertwining characters, some anomalies and a blast ending with great narration.

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What exactly makes someone a “Texas Writer?” Residence in the state (current or ever)? Setting of the story? Theme? For me, it’s a combination of all of those things, but the most important attribute is voice. I grew up in Texas, and other than a four-year aberration known as graduate school, I’ve lived here all of my life. If I can hear the characters speaking and they sound like people I’ve known, then you’re what I think of when I think of Texas Writers.

Don’t get me wrong—the other stuff is important, too. There’s enough “Texas Pride” in me to believe that only someone who has spent time here can ever understand (or accurately describe) the people & places I know. There’s so much mythology and legend mixed in with the idea of Texas that only someone who’s experienced the state first hand can chart a course through the sea of contradiction that is being a Texan.

An example, you ask? Look no further than Neal Barrett, Jr.’s wonderful Interstate Dreams.Part of the book takes place in Austin, and Barrett nails the city. As far as I know, Mama Lucy’s Vishnu & Jesus Barbecue does not exist, but if it did, it would exist in Austin, and it would look, sound, and smell exactly as Barrett described it. His Austin is familiar to me, and his characters are, too. I was going to say “even the strange ones,” but maybe the more accurate phrase is “especially the strange ones.” Barrett excels at highlighting the quirks without losing the characters.

[Christian Lincoln · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very impressive poetic prose; rich!!! in the spirit of T. Pynchon and T. Robbins.