Tami Egonu

A Rhapsody of Dreams follows the frustrated musings of two kindred spirits, Tyler and Molly. The chapters more or less alternate between the two storylines while the reader observes the universe stitching the seemingly disconnected tales together. While it's a passive construct, I do like the way the two narratives collide. Unfortunately, I regret that I cannot recommend this novel.

I believe that the author banked heavily on the power of their descriptive prose to the carry the story. Egonu wanted the reader to understand how a particular gust of wind or a bend of a sunflower stalk communicates something about the characters or narrative. Unfortunately, that _only_ works when a reader feels invested in the tale. I reached the last sentence without ever making that connection. Allow me to explain why that may have happened:

This is a story about characters who do not know what they want, and even if they figured it out, there would be no tension as nothing stands in their way. The main characters have no real goals, and the book lacks a single strong antagonist. A vague desire for personal emotional mastery is not enough. It's also insufficient to rely on the antagonism of a couple of relatives and friends who enjoy dropping nasty remarks. This book has convinced me that an engaging novel absolutely must contain a central dilemma and a worthy antagonist.

The characters themselves also prevented me from investing emotionally in this novel. Perhaps this is because they define themselves by what they lack. Maybe it's because Tyler and Molly appear to be the same character. It's hard for me to say. We spend a lot of time under their hoods, and that's not where these two shine. Externally they appear to be giving, emotionally adventurous old souls. Internally, they are selfish wrecks. I have no doubt that they feel deeply, more deeply than most, but the author fails to master that current, to direct it to some literary end.

Beyond all of that the language is often not fresh; the author unintentionally does herself a disservice by relying on cliché and familiar wordings. Still, that can be fixed through some careful revision. However, there's not a lot happening in this book. By that I mean whole pages and paragraphs could be removed without weakening the structure. If you strip away all of the complaining and inner monologuing, there's about enough for a short story here, probably a pretty good one.
… (altro)