Staff Pick
It was Rene Denfeld’s endorsement that lured me to this book, and author Martine Fournier Watson’s dazzling, fine-tuned prose that kept me there. This story of a small town blindsided once by the disappearance of a child, and again by the arrival of a mysterious stranger, is captivating, peculiar, and expertly crafted. And also — impossibly — a debut novel. I’m eager to see what else Watson dreams up. Recommended By Tove H., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
"Astonishing . . . Explores the vast underground legacy of our own desires. This is the must-read book of the year." --Rene Denfeld, bestselling author of The Child Finder A page-turning debut novel about a traveling salesman who arrives to sell dreams to a town rocked by a child's disappearance--both a thoughtful mediation on grief and a magical exploration of our innermost desires
The dream peddler came to town at the white end of winter, before the thaw . . .
Traveling salesmen like Robert Owens have passed through Evie Dawson's town before, but none of them offered anything like what he has to sell: dreams, made to order, with satisfaction guaranteed.
Soon after he arrives, the community is shocked by the disappearance of Evie's young son. The townspeople, shaken by the Dawson family's tragedy and captivated by Robert's subversive magic, begin to experiment with his dreams. And Evie, devastated by grief, turns to Robert for a comfort only he can sell her. But the dream peddler's wares awaken in his customers their most carefully buried desires, and despite all his good intentions, some of them will lead to disaster.
Gorgeously told through the eyes of Evie, Robert, and a broad cast of fully realized characters, The Dream Peddler is an imaginative, moving novel of overcoming loss and reckoning with the longings we keep secret.