Book Review: Dreams Under Glass
Dreams Under Glass. Anca L. Szilágyi, Lanternfish Press, 27 September 2022, Paperback and eBook, 257 pages.
Reviewed by Florence Osmund.
The year is 2008. Binnie Greenson works as a paralegal in a small New York City law office, but her real interest and somewhat private ambition lie in the art world. While she covers her living expenses with her day job, she dabbles in dioramas in her spare time. She creates these miniature, three-dimensional pieces of artwork based on a variety of elements—her imagination, past experiences, intuitions, and random objects she finds in the course of her daily life. Regardless of what she’s doing, her love of art is foremost on her mind—when she’s not creating a piece, she’s thinking about possible subject matters for a future one.
The Dreams Under Glass main storyline is interesting, engaging, and one to which many people will relate. Three story elements—Binnie’s passion for art, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the untimely, suspicious death of one of her co-workers—are woven together into a cohesive and impressive tale. The theme of the story revolves around the protagonist’s determining whether what she really wants to do in her life is attainable or just a pipe dream. Like many aspiring artists, it bears the question as to whether she should assume the risks involved in pursuing a dream that will surely make her happy or face the reality that the dream may be too ambitious, too far-fetched, and therefore not within reach.
Plot, characters, and theme in Dreams Under Glass entwine to create a memorable story with an overall pleasing effect. Characters and plots relate well with each other, the setting feeds into the mood, the dialogue flows from action, and reactions flow well. The plots and sub-plots are related and collectively make up the events of the larger story in a meaningful way.
The main character Binnie is likable, believable, and easy to picture. Szilágyi does an exemplary job layering her personality with vivid attributes that bring her to life. Her dialogue, actions, internal thoughts, and inner conflict reveal much about her character and provide a clear sense of who she is. Her character flaws make her someone with whom many can identify. Her goals mold her into the person she wants to become, and her strengths and weaknesses determine major decision points in the story.
The first half of the book is spent on backstory, setting, and everyday comings and goings. The turning point in the story—where the decisive change and character development occurs that can send the plot in any number of different directions—doesn’t occur until two-thirds into the book. For most readers, this may be too late. In addition, better transitions within a chapter are needed between sequences of events. For example, in Chapter 4, a better transition between Binnie’s being with her boyfriend and then Binnie’s being at her workplace would eliminate the abrupt change in location and improve the flow of the narrative.
Overall, Dreams Under Glass is a well-written book. Szilágyi’s writing style is descriptive, well-structured, and fluent. The word choice, sentence structure, and rhythm make it easy to read. The ending makes it a viable contender for a sequel.