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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Told from the point of view of a child, The Capital of Dreams reflects on the role of artists, on parenthood, and on the choices people are forced to make in times of conflict. It's a modern-day fairytale about fairytales and the stories we repeatedly tell ourselves that may counter reality.
This was a three-star book until the end.
This was a three-star book until the end.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
This was not an easy read. And not for someone who wants to know exactly what is going on, but well worth the journey.
I kept expecting it to get better or for the plot/themes of the book to justify the writing, but the book never really got to any real truth beyond very shallow, vague generalizations about war and womanhood. The writing style was also very juvenile, hwich might have been the point because the focus was a young girl, but since the style did not evolve with the character I'm not sure what purpose it served. Sentences were needlessly wordy and the same words were repeated over and over again. Maybe it was trying to mimic fables like the ones the character was in love with, but that conceit was not well constructed enough to carry the weight of the bulky and cumbersome writing. Maybe a younger audience would like it more and I am just too old for it. I'm not sure what the target demgraphic is but maybe more YA. Personally would not recommend but I can still see prople liking this. I also don't think this book represents the whole of the writer, this is the only thing I've read by here and I've heard she's very good.
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
J'ai lu la traduction française, c'est magnifiquement écrit. L'alliance entre récit initiatique, réalisme magique et réflexions sociétales est portée par une plume poétique dont chaque tournure de phrase m'a rempli le cœur de cette joie si spéciale qu'apporte la beauté de l'art. Hâte de découvrir d'autres ouvrages de cette autrice 💎
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Capital of Dreams is a beautiful and devastating simple novel. Sofia is a teenager growing up in a small made up European country, her mother is a cultural leader and instills the country's love of the arts in her daughter. The story unfolds as the country is violently overtaken in war. Sofia is put on a train to the countryside and the atrocities begin.
Sofia is lost with only a goose as her companion. The reader journeys along with her as like in a fairy tale, she finds her way to her grandmother's house, she encounters dangers and friends. Heather O'Neill writes wonderfully with a mixture of whimsy, dark and reality. She interjects chapters of flashbacks to life in the capital pre war, where Sofia, a plain and lonely girl, lived in the shadow of her brilliant academic, charismatic mother.
The descriptive passages in this book are utterly entrancing. O'Neill conjures magical and terrifying scenes - the still and scary forest, the haunted abandoned hospital, a church lit by phosphorescent mushrooms, the endless roads to nowhere. O'Neill particularly pays attention to smell, she writes so well about the nostalgic nature of smell and this olfactory inclusion really adds to the scene setting.
This is the first book of Heather O'Neill's that I have read and I will certainly be seeking out more of her writing. I don't understand why this brilliant book isn't for wider sale?! I can't find a copy to buy anywhere in New Zealand, I will have to buy one from overseas. This deserves to be read and I will be recommending it to everyone. I love the way O'Neill includes feminism, class, coming of age and the intimate and anguished mother daughter relationship into one fable like tale. I finished The Capital of Dreams in a large gulp earlier this week, I was reading on the couch with my son and worried him when he saw the tears streaming down my face. I'm not often so moved by a novel but The Capital of Dreams drew me in entirely.
Sofia is lost with only a goose as her companion. The reader journeys along with her as like in a fairy tale, she finds her way to her grandmother's house, she encounters dangers and friends. Heather O'Neill writes wonderfully with a mixture of whimsy, dark and reality. She interjects chapters of flashbacks to life in the capital pre war, where Sofia, a plain and lonely girl, lived in the shadow of her brilliant academic, charismatic mother.
The descriptive passages in this book are utterly entrancing. O'Neill conjures magical and terrifying scenes - the still and scary forest, the haunted abandoned hospital, a church lit by phosphorescent mushrooms, the endless roads to nowhere. O'Neill particularly pays attention to smell, she writes so well about the nostalgic nature of smell and this olfactory inclusion really adds to the scene setting.
This is the first book of Heather O'Neill's that I have read and I will certainly be seeking out more of her writing. I don't understand why this brilliant book isn't for wider sale?! I can't find a copy to buy anywhere in New Zealand, I will have to buy one from overseas. This deserves to be read and I will be recommending it to everyone. I love the way O'Neill includes feminism, class, coming of age and the intimate and anguished mother daughter relationship into one fable like tale. I finished The Capital of Dreams in a large gulp earlier this week, I was reading on the couch with my son and worried him when he saw the tears streaming down my face. I'm not often so moved by a novel but The Capital of Dreams drew me in entirely.
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
beautiful writing—this has convinced me i need to pick up more from o'neill. i was disappointed by how little the magic forest/trees were featured, since that was what hooked me in the synopsis. this is definitely about war, and through a child's POV, which are two things i rarely enjoy. it's a testament to o'neill's writing that i kept going anyway, and in the end enjoyed the story even if it's not totally for me. it managed to feel dreamlike without descending into total madness. lots to unpack about mother/daughter relationships, fascism, war and displacement, coming of age, girl- and womanhood, trauma, and magic. it dragged a little at the end, i think it probably could have been a bit shorter, but overall a very solid story.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
A creative take on war from the eyes of a girl. I liked the bit of fantasy woven in. I found it dragged on in the last third. Not my favorite of O'Niell's but still worth a read.