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The Beautiful Dream of Life
From celebrated painter Domingo Zapata comes an evocative, immersive, and at times satirical portrait of a renowned contemporary artist who, while grappling with the intersection of his art, his life, and the world he lives in, begins to slip further and further into delusion.
World renowned painter Rodrigo seemingly has it a multi-million dollar loft in SoHo; a talent for creativity that seems never ending; a recurring invitation to the exclusive modern art exhibit Art Basel; and lovers by the dozen. But what his longtime admirers don’t see is Rodrigo’s deep frustration with the world around the wild and sinfully luxurious parties have lost their luster, those who worship him and those who work for him seemingly do so out of greed, and worst of all, his art has lost meaning.
As he begins to slip further and further into the rabbit hole of despair, so begins his descent into madness, culminating with a beautiful, pristine vision in the shape of the perfect Carlotta. As the lines between reality and fantasy slowly begin to blur and fade, Rodrigo finds himself at a very difficult will he choose to live in his imagined world with the woman of his dreams by his side, or make a swift return to sanity, success, and the life he was always supposed to live?
World renowned painter Rodrigo seemingly has it a multi-million dollar loft in SoHo; a talent for creativity that seems never ending; a recurring invitation to the exclusive modern art exhibit Art Basel; and lovers by the dozen. But what his longtime admirers don’t see is Rodrigo’s deep frustration with the world around the wild and sinfully luxurious parties have lost their luster, those who worship him and those who work for him seemingly do so out of greed, and worst of all, his art has lost meaning.
As he begins to slip further and further into the rabbit hole of despair, so begins his descent into madness, culminating with a beautiful, pristine vision in the shape of the perfect Carlotta. As the lines between reality and fantasy slowly begin to blur and fade, Rodrigo finds himself at a very difficult will he choose to live in his imagined world with the woman of his dreams by his side, or make a swift return to sanity, success, and the life he was always supposed to live?
- GenresFiction
320 pages, Hardcover
Published July 25, 2017
2 people are currently reading
271 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 3, 2021
I'm not sure what to rate this book. I didn't enjoy the characters or the plot very much but at the same time I didn't find it bad either. I can see why other like it but I just didn't enjoy reading it
May 6, 2023
1.5 Stars
World renowned painter Rodrigo Concepcion seemingly has it all: a millionaire dollar loft in SoHo, talent for creativity that seems never ending, a recurring invitation to the exclusive modern art exhibit Art Basel and lovers by the dozen.
Rodrigo couldn't differentiate between his real life and dream life, especially Carlotta. Drug and alcohol influenced blurred the lines between reality and dreams, though his art improved to new levels but overall his health deteriorated. Julia forced him to seek help which he eventually did but couldn't keep away from his Carlotta.
To live in his dream forever he killed himself and reunited with Carlotta forever. Before dying he mended his ways with mentor Hiberto whom he had denounced after gaining success.
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World renowned painter Rodrigo Concepcion seemingly has it all: a millionaire dollar loft in SoHo, talent for creativity that seems never ending, a recurring invitation to the exclusive modern art exhibit Art Basel and lovers by the dozen.
Rodrigo couldn't differentiate between his real life and dream life, especially Carlotta. Drug and alcohol influenced blurred the lines between reality and dreams, though his art improved to new levels but overall his health deteriorated. Julia forced him to seek help which he eventually did but couldn't keep away from his Carlotta.
To live in his dream forever he killed himself and reunited with Carlotta forever. Before dying he mended his ways with mentor Hiberto whom he had denounced after gaining success.
Blog | YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn
December 1, 2017
A successful artist used to partying and philandering and being a self-absorbed dick decides he is fed up with the greedy art industry. This guy, Rodrigo, is a suffering-artist cliche. He starts dreaming about his perfect woman named Colletta. She has as much personality as a rock. Rodrigo starts thinking there are two universes and it is really boring and stupid because we as the reader know he is just a delusional ass. Of course he starts making his best art because he is evolving and changing.
He is forever telling us how he is changing and how it never could have happened if he hadn't met Carlotta. They constantly espouse about their love for each other through some Micky Mouse dialogue that seems to have been written by a teen-age girl.
Most woman in the book are described as "beautiful" but in some cases "drop dead gorgeous". Most of writing relies on stale turns of phrase like this.
The characters are uninteresting. The descriptions are bland. The dialog is cliche. If anyone has ever told you about a dream they had, you probably didn't care and just wanted their story to end. That is what this book is like.
Just some random observations. I could go on but I don't care to spend more time thinking about it. It was lame.
He is forever telling us how he is changing and how it never could have happened if he hadn't met Carlotta. They constantly espouse about their love for each other through some Micky Mouse dialogue that seems to have been written by a teen-age girl.
Most woman in the book are described as "beautiful" but in some cases "drop dead gorgeous". Most of writing relies on stale turns of phrase like this.
The characters are uninteresting. The descriptions are bland. The dialog is cliche. If anyone has ever told you about a dream they had, you probably didn't care and just wanted their story to end. That is what this book is like.
Just some random observations. I could go on but I don't care to spend more time thinking about it. It was lame.
October 20, 2019
One thing is certain: Domingo Zapata thoroughly enjoyed writing his book, "The Beautiful Dream of Life" about a completely self-involved, drug-abusing, international artist who is at the peak of his career and who begins to lose it mentally as his dream world and the real world merge. In his dream world he meets his "dream girl", Carlotta, who is a smoking hot Italian wine maker and sommelier at the peak of her career and to whom he makes long hot love repeatedly. He also makes the best art of his life, buys a Harley, goes to bullfights, has more sex, takes more drugs. To put it simply: it's a total male fantasy.
None of the characters are likable and the story-- ultimately about the artist's disenchantment about the monetization of art, which is noble--is unbelievable. The artist is supposed to be evolving as a person, but he remains completely self-involved (his only saving graces is that he realizes at points that he is self-involved). I gave this book three stars because Zapata went all-in and wrote a very readable story that kept me guessing and that I finished. Zapata, an international artist himself, describes the creative process very well and "paints" scenes as they were pictures. He also does his due diligence in describing mental illness and neurological disorders by having the facts and science in order. In discussing the history, art, and culture of Spain-- from the Goya, Picasso, the Civil War, bull fights and Hemingway-- he is detailed and recounts it all with fidelity. Granted, the descriptions sound like a Wikipedia entry, but he presents them as they are. Neither his story or the facts that he includes in it are done by half-measures.
None of the characters are likable and the story-- ultimately about the artist's disenchantment about the monetization of art, which is noble--is unbelievable. The artist is supposed to be evolving as a person, but he remains completely self-involved (his only saving graces is that he realizes at points that he is self-involved). I gave this book three stars because Zapata went all-in and wrote a very readable story that kept me guessing and that I finished. Zapata, an international artist himself, describes the creative process very well and "paints" scenes as they were pictures. He also does his due diligence in describing mental illness and neurological disorders by having the facts and science in order. In discussing the history, art, and culture of Spain-- from the Goya, Picasso, the Civil War, bull fights and Hemingway-- he is detailed and recounts it all with fidelity. Granted, the descriptions sound like a Wikipedia entry, but he presents them as they are. Neither his story or the facts that he includes in it are done by half-measures.
December 21, 2017
Fascinating romp through the Art world and an intriguing artist at the crossroads. While everyone daydreams the delusions dreamed up by Rodrigo were daydreams way beyond the norm. Two different worlds it seems and lines blurred between fantasy and reality. The author's passion is a part of the story as his knowledge and experience in the field shine through. Engaging and a good read.
October 13, 2017
What a beautiful and dizzying book! It's so apparent that this book was written by an artist because the descriptions of color, the human form, locations across the globe and really just everything were so vivid and the painted clearly across the canvas that is the page. I was so invested in this story and I was just as transfixed and trapped in the parallel universe of the dream world. Was it all a dream?? Domingo crafted this beautiful dream world full of excess and beautiful people. I loved it. This book has actually acted as a muse and inspired me to want to create and make art, write poetry, have real experiences. I am interested to see his actual artistic work - the imagery of his Unified Universe and all it's subsequent sub-series sounded gorgeous and I would love to see it. I'm also inspired to view the works of Goya especially the pre- and post-illness works. Although this book is very glamorous and artistic, it's also very educational and full of such fun, interesting facts. I'm also glad it gave me more insight into Art Basel Miami and the international art scene which is endlessly interesting to me. Bravo!
June 8, 2018
Domingo creates a character of genius ,much like himself,Rodrigo.Rodrigo in his quest of artistic freedom ,creatives a parallel universe in his dreams that enables him to escape his real life.This book should be very appealing to all writers that strive for the same.Writing is a temporary escape of reality, so as to live in the lives of our characters.I especially enjoyed his descriptions of the small towns of Spain and he does a pretty good job describing his libidinous exploits without sounding tacky.A very enjoyable easy read
August 17, 2017
First I would like to thank Goodreads and the giveaways sponsor for the opportunity to win a copy of this book. When I first began reading I was not sure if this was a book I would finish. However as I stayed with it I became absorbed and found I wanted more. Recommended, yes. A good read that was enjoyed. Having just finished it, I feel it has left me wondering about those with creative minds and the impact of their dreams and reality and which path may have been taken.
August 3, 2017
A very beautiful book to read. Filled with inspirations and exciting moments. The story about the journey of a world renowned painter through his world is very interesting to read.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews