Journeys in Dream and Imagination: The Hallucinatory Memoir of a Poet in a Coma

by Artur Lundkvist, Ann B. Weissman (Translator), Annika Planck (Translator)

Retells the author's dream experiences while he was semi-conscious following a two-month-long coma

Genres: Nonfiction

129 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[William2 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. While well-written this is a trifle boring, staid. I thought I was in for something outlandish. Nope. The observations here seem quite routine. I've personally had hallucinations that were much richer and complex than those described here. I do want to read Huxley's The Doors of Perception soon. You may also wish to read Dr. Oliver Sacks' Hallucinations, which is quite wonderful.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first time I read this book I couldn’t crack it and quit about half way through, but this time around there was so much to appreciate. If you are a writer and trying to learn how to translate your dreams onto the page this is great inspiration.

[Oliver Ho · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's an interesting and strange book with quite a compelling history. It read more like a collection of dreamlike and surreal prose poems. I couldn't pick out a linear narrative to carry me through the book (although there were sections that seem to connect to one another or resonate with elements of other sections), but that didn't detract from the reading experience. Most of the individual pieces were fascinating and dense. It's definitely worth re-reading or at least dipping back into. Seemed like a good companion book to some of Oliver Sacks' work, like "Hallucinations."

[Mattias Appelgren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Skriven efter en Arvtur Lundkvists hjärtattack och en längre tid i koma. Själva uppfrisknande berörs i korta prosastycken i bokens inledning, men strax glider det över till mer allmäna korta stycken. Minnesbilder, tankar och ankedoter blandas om vart annat. Det gnistrar till ibland och vissa passager har en del vackara formuleringar och bilder. Men till sist blev det helt enkelt lite väl löst och osammanhängande.

[Sellmeagod · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bizarre dreams reimagined after Lundkvist's coma. Some of the imagery in his visions is down the wonderland/nightmare, but there are hints of thematic connections and life-worth-living perseverance ideals. It is rambling to the highest level, of course, and most of the 2nd half seems to not be so much dreams as controlled ideas and consciously whacky worlds.

Basically, not as weird as you'd hope it'd be, but still a cool curiosity with some lines to hold onto.

[Camille Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I know I am traveling all the time”: The Twilight Dreams of Artur Lundquist