Dreamers of the Day

Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell

I read, loved, and was forever changed by Mary Doria Russell’s The Sparrow.(Review Here) How could I resist reading another title from her? I am so glad I did.

This book was so enjoyable that I felt almost afraid to keep reading it. I was sure something awful would happen to the character I had grown to love. (No worries, the book has a wonderfully simplistic and very fulfilling happy ending.)

Set in the early 20s for the majority of the tale, the book follows the adventures of Angus and her dog Rosie as they unknowingly take part in the Cairo Convention and interact with such historical ficures as Lawrence of Arabia and Winston Churchill. Like The sparrow, a lot of the action of the novel takes place through dialogue, political and historical dialogue that manages to be both totally believable and insanely educational all while keeping your interest and furthering the character development and storyline.

In a word, the book was amazing.

I highly recommend it for its prose, its scope, and ultimately for the story… an oft forgotten real life drama of political map making and county borders drawing that all but created the Middle East as we know it. As that part of the world continues to be a focus of unrest and turmoil, a book like this that explains some of the issues from the point of view of inception, is a must read for anyone who wishes to have an understanding of the milieu of crossed loyalties and tribal dramas… while telling a late in life coming of age story involving a protagonist you can’t help but root for.

While the post dead aspect of the story is a bit sentimental and a wee bit silly, the ideas and impact of the rest of the book more than make up for it.

I highly recommend this title for those of you who like history, strong female characters, adventure, travel, and most importantly, well written prose!