The Anatomy of Dreams

The bewitching first novel from the bestselling author of THE IMMORTALISTS

'Benjamin is a gifted writer, a creator of quiet asides and haunting images' Financial Times

'Matches the subtle surrealism of a dream with the underpinnings of a thriller' Emma Straub

'You wonder if here is a writer who is truly capable of anything' Daily Mail

Sylvie and Gabe meet and fall in love at boarding school in Northern California when they are just teenagers. Their headmaster is the enigmatic and mysterious Dr Keller, a man obsessed with the idea that people's waking stress and trauma can be cured in their dreams. The young couple can't help but be drawn into his magnetic pull and slowly become involved in his research.

Years later, Sylvie and Gabe are once again working on Dr Keller's experiments and Sylvie slowly begins to realise there is more both to her employer and her lover than meets the eye, and that the line between dreams and reality has become dangerously blurred.

“Matches the subtle surrealism of a dream with the underpinnings of a thrillerA debut novel of subtlety, depth, intrigue and tendernessAn eerie, compelling first novel which, like the lingering effects of a vivid dream, resonates long past its finishA moving love story wrapped in the trappings of a sci-fi thriller. Benjamin has a deft hand for rendering both the stomach-twisting nature of early infatuation and the way relationships mellow over time. Sentences have a dreamy rhythm. A sly, promising, and ambitious debut - Publishers WeeklyChloe Benjamin's prose - lyrical, tender, perceptive - compels you to linger on every exquisitely crafted sentence - Sunday ExpressBenjamin is a gifted writer, a creator of quiet asides and haunting images, who mines a seam of sad wisdom - Financial TimesSuch is her dazzling sureness of touch that you wonder if here is a writer who is truly capable of anything - Daily Mail”

Matches the subtle surrealism of a dream with the underpinnings of a thriller

A debut novel of subtlety, depth, intrigue and tenderness

An eerie, compelling first novel which, like the lingering effects of a vivid dream, resonates long past its finish

A moving love story wrapped in the trappings of a sci-fi thriller. Benjamin has a deft hand for rendering both the stomach-twisting nature of early infatuation and the way relationships mellow over time. Sentences have a dreamy rhythm. A sly, promising, and ambitious debut - Publishers Weekly

Chloe Benjamin's prose - lyrical, tender, perceptive - compels you to linger on every exquisitely crafted sentence - Sunday Express

Benjamin is a gifted writer, a creator of quiet asides and haunting images, who mines a seam of sad wisdom - Financial Times

Such is her dazzling sureness of touch that you wonder if here is a writer who is truly capable of anything - Daily Mail

Chloe Benjamin is the author of The Anatomy of Dreams, which won the Edna Ferber Fiction Book Award and was longlisted for the 2014 Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize. She lives with her husband in Wisconsin.

The bewitching first novel from the bestselling author of THE IMMORTALISTS 'Benjamin is a gifted writer, a creator of quiet asides and haunting images' Financial Times 'Matches the subtle surrealism of a dream with the underpinnings of a thriller' Emma Straub 'You wonder if here is a writer who is truly capable of anything' Daily Mail Sylvie and Gabe meet and fall in love at boarding school in Northern California when they are just teenagers. Their headmaster is the enigmatic and mysterious Dr Keller, a man obsessed with the idea that people's waking stress and trauma can be cured in their dreams. The young couple can't help but be drawn into his magnetic pull and slowly become involved in his research. Years later, Sylvie and Gabe are once again working on Dr Keller's experiments and Sylvie slowly begins to realise there is more both to her employer and her lover than meets the eye, and that the line between dreams and reality has become dangerously blurred.

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