You know the old adage, don’t judge a book by its cover, well Dreamtime is precisely the book, you don’t want to do that with, though if you study it, you may get a few clues!
What a scintillating surprise this incredible book is, the cover is indeed mesmerising and its detail definitely sets the tone for its enthralling contents. When I read the details for this novel, what attracted me to it, was my own fascination of how other people, Venetia in this case, envision the future! Trust me, Venetia’s fictitious concepts for what’s instore for the world; are deliciously horrifying and if you thought the Covid-19 pandemic has been trying…then what might come next, will blow your mind, mine is still reeling from the possibilities. The narrative really captured my attention and Venetia’s skill in extending known facts regarding global concerns, which, if not addressed, could have outcomes, most of us simply can’t comprehend or imagine but in a dark, vividly expressed, and incredible way, Venetia has imagined them! This book might be small (in length) but my goodness its contents are mind blowingly huge and undeniably brilliant…I am almost in literary shock, trying to elucidate for you how magnificent a read it is…it is the sort of book, that you are dying for everyone you know to read…so you can discuss it…avidly, over vast G&Ts until late into the night!
The book opens in year 2035 (I had to work out that I would be approaching 61 years of age in reality) Sol our protagonist is attending the Lights rehab centre (well it was this or prison) in Tucson, Arizona, think dry, arid dessert with exceedingly high temperatures, where you might not survive if you went for a hike and got lost! Lights is where mindfulness and ultra-new age practices and philosophies rule; owning your own recovery is the mantra, hardcore yoga for addicts, a routine of gong baths, re-birthing and womb therapy are part of the course (and would have me running screaming to the hills, I confess, if I were Sol, prison would have been preferable) but I do admire Venetia’s in depth knowledge of such practices and how she has Sol views the variety of treatments as ‘surrendering to the idiotic‘ (a line that still has me laughing) and really she is bidding her time and ‘playing the game’ to get through the experience. We also start to build a picture of Sol’s background and how she became an addict and her all-consuming obsession with finding her father and interspersed with these revelations we have Kit. Who is almost a brother to Sol, they share the same background experiences, however Kit doesn’t see Sol as his sister! I have to say, it’s this is an odd correlation to make but Sol and Kit, reminded me of the Danger Mouse and Penfold dynamic, with Sol’s tendency to dive headlong into things, usually resulting in calamity and Kit’s panicked but ultimately sensible choices to reign in the chaos, there is a level of tongue in cheek here within the context of dystopian drama!
A surprising source gives Sol the means and motivation to attempt to locate her father, Kit goes with her and this is the start of an epic journey in every sense of the word, figuratively and literally but is it real or not!? What also become subtly apparent, is that the world as we know it today, no longer exists! This story is a voyage of discovery, it is not for the faint hearted, as there are the atrocities of a constantly failing society to be navigated. Venetia does not shy from tackling very emotive and raw themes; rape, racism, cults, drugs, and the failure of humanity to act in its own best interest! A maelstrom of fact, experience, and imagination; it is immersive, uncomfortable, and intensely emotive and intellectually stimulating to read. As to whether Sol and Kit’s odyssey comes to a successful fruition; don’t expect the pieces of this puzzle to conform to your expectations! They won’t, they don’t and I’m thrilled about that!
Dreamtime is an unequivocally unique, unusual and an uninhibitedly insightful book; I have read widely and extensively all my life and never have I experienced a story like this one and I doubt I ever will again! It is a novel; you will need to read at least once more to fully appreciate Venetia’s creative genius in imagining this story and I want every book lover I know to experiences it! Go and buy a copy…Today!!!…Now!!!
Happy Reading Bookophiles…