Nina's writing is beautiful. I'm so glad I have been given the chance to dive into another of her books. There is an easy warmth that comes through in her work and I feel that is very needed in this day and age.

This book started off really strongly and I thought, yes, here we go, a book that tugs at the heartstrings. But then once I got to about halfway, it never really went anywhere. I enjoyed reading the chapters from Sam, Eddie and Henri's point of view, but then we get a sub story about another coma victim Maddie who is in the same hospital. And reading about a man and a young girl in a coma was hard work. And I felt uncomfortable with that storyline as Sam falls in love with Maddie, the girl in the coma. Which just felt really weird and creepy.

I read and loved Nina George's The Little Paris Bookshop and The Little Breton Bistro. But I didn't connect to this book, like I did with her others.

A thought provoking and well-written tale, this nevertheless was not as good as George's last two works, which I thoroughly enjoyed. A romance with hints of Inception, the prose is crisp and carefully put together, but I did not click with any of the characters. An enjoyable few hours nevertheless.

This book wasn't for me I'm affaird, a bit too weird and the writing was a bit off. I gave up hLf way through, not sure if I will try this author again

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

This book was trying to do a lot of things, but essentially it was a book about all the paths we could potentially take, how our lives hinge of decisive moments. It is also about exploring the idea of our own mortality, and of what goes on in the brain of a comatose patient. Ultimately, I think I struggled with this for two reasons - one, that the idea of exploring the lives we didn't live would have worked better if it had been set up more clearly as an exploration of the fantastic. Two, that it's really hard to care about any of these characters - I really, really struggled to connect with any of them so, ultimately, I just did not mind whether or not it all worked out for them.

Henri, like so many of the French heroes of my favourite quirky reads, has problems with love. He can deal with passion but is afraid of emotional connection and has failed relationships to prove it. He is trying to change, however, and is in London on his way to meet his son for, effectively, the first time. His journey is interrupted by personal heroism and a tragic accident and the bulk of the book is then set by Henri’s hospital bed as he lies in a coma. The story shifts from Henri’s own memories of his past – his Breton childhood, his career as a war reporter and his relationships with the mother of his son and with Eddie, his ex-girlfriend – to the point of view of both Eddie herself (still listed as Henri’s emergency contact) and Sam, his estranged son. There is also a secondary storyline featuring another patient in a coma – a young girl called Madelyn – and a recurring theme of dreams. Some of these dreams are the plans we all make – to marry the one we love or to have a good relationship with our children and/or parents – but many of them are perhaps better described as alternative realities for they are part of Henri’s own dream-state. In these dreams he never fathers his son, or never leaves the boy’s mother, or dies before the present: they effectively represent all the different ‘trouser-legs of reality’ which could have existed.

This is a book which not only tells you a story full of events and emotion but also makes you think about what an individual’s effect is on those around them. Rather like the classic film, It’s A Wonderful Life, we are invited to consider what the lives of those around us would be like if we weren’t a part of them. Very philosophical: very European…

I didn’t know what I was getting into when I started reading The Book of Dreams, I did have a rough idea of course but beyond that I wasn’t quite sure whether I will like it or not. I was really intrigued by the synopsis and I am glad that it did turn out to be quite a good book. It might not top my favourites list but it could have become a strong contender.

This was my first time reading Nina George and I was so pleasantly surprised by the writing. There’s the relationships between the characters, it’s emotional and every character’s struggle is real and heartbreaking but at the same time, there’s such a warmth to it.

Henri Skinner was on the way to meet with his estranged son when he’s met with an accident after saving a little girl. Sam, his estranged son, tries to visit Henri whenever he can despite multiple warnings from his mum not to.

While in coma, Henri is dreaming of his past and the secrets he’s had to keep. Then there’s Eddie Tomlin who never really stopped loving Henri, her struggle with the fact still keeps her up at night and it is a bit painful to read, if I am being honest.

Sam, Henri’s son, has synaesthesia, he can sense things others cannot. He finds himself connecting to another comatose patient, a twelve years old girl Madelyn. Madelyn has survived an accident that killed all of her family.

I loved the fact that despite being comatose, I could really see the characters, their hopes and dreams and their struggle to continue to live. Sam was a really good pov for me because he really made me interested in the lives of others whereas I wish I could say the same about others.

If there was something that made this into a less than 4 stars read, it was that. The writing was lyrical and meaningful, the characters (especially Sam and Henri) felt real but I wish I could find all of them equally wonderful. I couldn’t connect to Eddie, even though I felt for her, I didn’t really feel for her. So, there’s that.

Overall, I just wish I could have connected more with characters because this one had all the makings of a memorable book. However for now, it stands at 3.5 stars. If you like books that tell you the difference between existing and living, if you like books where your heart feels heavy after reading it, then this is the book for you.

An emotional roller coaster of story. Beautifully written as it moves between emotionally shattered people dealing with their grief and the wistful, dreamy world of a coma patient. I'm not going to lie, even from the synopsis you know you're gonna need tissues.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

I really liked this book and the ideas in it. It is a lovely idea that Henri is able to think back through his life as he is lying in a coma and that those who love him are with him. It is beautifully written and a pleasure to read.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This is just an OK book, and I think it's starting a pattern with Nina George's books. What often begins as a strong attempt to weave human stories into positive situations often peters out by about halfway through. There's a lot of stuff happening in one story that gets pushed onto the first few pages and I got confused very, very quickly. I think this is just a lost cause at this point and I probably won't be reading anymore of her books.

Whilst The Book of Dreams by Nina George is not perfect, there is nevertheless much to love about this profoundly moving novel about what it is to be human and just how much momentous decisions define the life path for a person. In this complex and complicated book of family drama, relationships and human emotions, ex-war reporter, Henry Skinner, is on his way to meet his estranged teenage son, Sam, when he finds himself saving the life of a young girl in the River Thames. Unfortunately the most hellish misfortune has Henry hit by a car, and knocked unconscious and into a coma.

Henry is in the intensive care unit of a London hospital where the neurologist is referred to as God. 13 year old Sam has the unusual gift of synaesthesia, meaning he is aware and can sense what others cannot. As he sits by his father's bedside, he is joined by an ex-love of Henry's, the heartbroken Eddie Tomlin, and finds himself beginning to connect with a 12 year old girl, another patient in a coma in the unit. Henry, a man with secrets, finds himself reliving aspects of his life and childhood in his dreams, including his relationships with Marie-France, Sam's mother, and Eddie, but one where different choices and decisions are made and their outcome. In a story where the four characters begin to connect, George utilises the concept of a coma about which relatively little is known to explore the different levels of consciousness, the nature of father and son relationships, love, loss and compassion.

Writing in beautiful prose, Nina George asks the deepest questions about life amidst the oppressive background of hospital routines and lives hanging in the balance. The fragility of life is at the heart of this emotional drama, the need to not allow fear to determine life choices, and to truly live as opposed to sleepwalk through life. Whilst I really loved reading this novel, there were occasions for me when I found the storytelling a little too uneven. A marvellously thought provoking read with great characterisation that made the central themes come alive brilliantly in the narrative. Many thanks to Simon and Schuster for an ARC.

I really liked this book! The language was beautiful and the characters felt very real. George switches in and out of characters' heads, giving the read a true sense of each person.

The Book of Dreams has a lot of dreams in it, dreams the characters see and take you towards the light at least half a dozen times.

The common thread amongst the characters kept me glued to the end.

Whilst there were things I really liked about this book, I did struggle at times to stay engaged. I wondered if it might be the translation? Or perhaps it was just something about the dreamlike-style that sometimes felt oppressive and heavy-going. Because the story has two characters in a coma, it spends time looking at the idea of different levels of consciousness, and there are many dream sequences in the story. I liked the idea of Henri reliving moments from his life, and going through different options of what could have happened, in his quest to regain consciousness and it's an interesting idea that whilst people may seem to be 'out' of their bodies, we don't really know or fully understand what's happening whilst they are in a coma.

Henri's son, Sam, is a great character, my favourite of the book, and those were the parts of the story that really held my attention. I liked his school friend a lot too, and found Sam's sections of the story both funny & moving. Some of Henri's background stories were also really good. Maybe it just needed a little more editing, to tighten it up, as it was towards the end of the book that I found my attention just kept wandering.

Still, this was a good story & I really enjoyed another of her books, so I would read more.

Like with Nina Georges other books, I felt this was a little slow starting and I did think about giving up but I stuck with it. It is a nice story and has great charaters.

Let me start by saying I loved Nina George’s previous two books and I was reall excited to read this. But I couldn’t get into it. It was so slow. It’s a shame because it is an interesting idea. I DNF at 40% as it just didn’t hold my interest. I may return to it in time but life is too short to read books that don’t grip you from the start in my opinion.

While I’ve loved George’s other books immensely there was just something that didn’t connect quite so well for me with this one.
Possibly there were just too many open ended, and unresolved, threads to the book? Possibly I just wanted to know more about more of the characters.
I enjoyed the book but it won’t stay with me.

Henri Skinner, an ex-war reporter, is on the way to meet his teenage son, Sam, for the very first time. On the way he sees a young girl fall into the Thames and he selflessly dives in to rescue her. Once back on the Embankment fresh from the drama he stumbles into the path of an approaching vehicle rendering him unconscious. For 46 days he exists in a coma in a London hospital.

Sam begins a vigil at his father’s bedside, joined by Eddie, whose heart was broken by Henri when in a moment of commitment-phobe madness, Henri broke off the relationship.

In the same hospital suite, also in coma, is Madeleine, a 12 year old girl. Sam is a synesthete, meaning his senses overlap in ways that other people’s don’t, allowing him to perceive information and situations not experienced by others and whilst Henri and Maddie’s outlooks seem increasingly bleak Sam feels an increasing bond and connection with them both. As the days pass we learn, from alternating narratives from Henri, Eddie and Sam, their history, their regrets and their hopes for the future.

Nina George uses often evocative and beautiful dream sequences to explain Henri’s evolving mental state and to explore possible states of existence and consciousness between life and death. Can we really know the extent of our subconscious?

Although the story was at times stifling, this served only to accentuate the often suffocating routine of intensive hospital care and the hopelessness of waiting for an outcome when there seems to be no change. It was a poignant story full of yearning, at times hope and at others, sadness. I am often irritated by books with long, ethereal, dreamlike sequences that I can’t make head or tail of, but this was different - just the right side of comprehension to make you wonder whether there is something beyond our understanding. At the end the author described how her writing has been an effort to understand loss and death and I think as such it is quite comforting.

"The Book of Dreams" shepherds with an enigmatic touch, gently coaxing its colourful personalities out of the darkest places and back toward the light. It patrols the border of life and death, dipping its toe into a sea of unknowns where the divided unite to save themselves, and perhaps each other.

The main stage for this story is an intensive care ward, ‘home’ to a cerebrally-animated coma patient whose unconscious reveries are unexpectedly uplifting.

Providing support to the outwardly lifeless Henri on this journey of illumination and closure are Sam, his thirteen year old Synesthete son, Henri’s two exes (Sam’s mum and Eddie), and a commanding neurosurgeon nicknamed ‘God’ throughout.

There’s also a twelve year old dancer, who Sam befriends after ‘sensing’ her struggle to free herself from that mysterious, veiled place beyond the waking world. Sam’s tentative relationship with his sleeping beauty, Maddie, is choreographed to perfection.

This tale generously nurtures every character’s role, encouraging their emotional enrichment in many ways and to different ends. Regardless of whether the story focusses on their past or present you clearly see the lasting impressions people leave on others, and the effects can be the difference between existing and living.

A candid and often humorous, thought-provoking book in which dreams have the power to heal.