society

 This week, I chose to read The Society of Reluctant Dreamers by Jose Eduardo Agualusa. Though this was one of the longer books i read in this course, i quite enjoyed it. I found that it differed quite a bit in terms of genre from the other novellas i read throughout the semester, which is why i think i enjoyed it so much. It felt new and refreshing. This book kind of toyed with the topic of memory (which a lot of the other novels did as well), however, it had an element of fantasy added to it. 

This book mainly follows Daniel Benchimol and a few other characters. Daniel is journalist who dreams vividly about interviewing well known figures. At the beginning of the book, Daniel is faced with divorce and finds himself staying in a beach-side hotel. While swimming one afternoon, he discovers a camera riddled with photos of a woman. The book is then interrupted to tell the story of the hotel owner, Hossi. This man claims to have been struck by lightening twice, and while in hospital discovers that he unknowingly appears in everyone’s dreams wearing a purple coat. The book then moves back to Daniel where he travels to visit the lady in the photos. She is a well known artist who uses dreams as her muse. 

One part of this book that i particularly enjoyed reading was Hossi’s story of being held in an apartment and his short lived fling with Ana. Though this was only roughly 10 pages of the novel I really enjoyed it, as a story like this would be something i would totally reach for on my own. I found it to be slightly comedic, while also being romantic at the same time. While being questioned about why Hossi might be appearing in other people’s dreams he responds with “how the fuck would I know?”, a very real answer that made me chuckle. Im also huge romance fan so I definitely enjoyed reading about him and Ana. I had hoped for the rest of the book that they might find their way back to each other. 

Did you enjoy the genre of this book more or less than others we have read this semester?