What do you think?
Rate this book
Dreaming With The Lights On
Danica wanted a better life. She wanted the perfect relationship. She wanted comfort and intimacy. What she got was Patrick. Can she afford to pay his price for the kind of life he offers?
Scott wanted a quiet and unassuming life. He wanted to forget about his past. He wanted to go to work and avoid excitement or the extraordinary. What he got was his quiet life ripped away with the screech of a tire, and the breaking of glass.
Dreaming with the Lights On tells the story of the choices these two strangers make, and their actions when faced with unexpected situations. This heartbreaking tale in two parts, weaves the stories of Danica and Scott together, as they navigate the worlds they never thought they would be in. Danica’s is an all too real world, in which she is in love with a dangerous man. Scott’s is a surreal world headed for disaster, as he tries to decide who are the angels and who are the demons, before they destroy everything in his known existence. Journey from Danica’s reality, as a nurse in a long term care facility, to Scott’s, a wasteland of a purgatory.
Scott wanted a quiet and unassuming life. He wanted to forget about his past. He wanted to go to work and avoid excitement or the extraordinary. What he got was his quiet life ripped away with the screech of a tire, and the breaking of glass.
Dreaming with the Lights On tells the story of the choices these two strangers make, and their actions when faced with unexpected situations. This heartbreaking tale in two parts, weaves the stories of Danica and Scott together, as they navigate the worlds they never thought they would be in. Danica’s is an all too real world, in which she is in love with a dangerous man. Scott’s is a surreal world headed for disaster, as he tries to decide who are the angels and who are the demons, before they destroy everything in his known existence. Journey from Danica’s reality, as a nurse in a long term care facility, to Scott’s, a wasteland of a purgatory.
230 pages, Paperback
Published May 15, 2019
2 people are currently reading
2 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 2, 2019
If you like Canadian literary fiction that doesn’t always play by the rules, I strongly encourage you to give Dreaming with the Lights on a chance. If you like discovering new authors, definitely check out this debut.
I received an advanced copy to read. I liked it very much: the author essentially told two different stories that followed the same character arc.
For me, one of the strengths of the novel lies in three of its central characters, Danica, Scott and Vincent. Even when I didn’t like what they were doing, I was rooting for them to find their best selves, and hoping that things would go their way. In my mind they became real people, not simply characters.
The treatment of Danica at the hands of her abusive partner was done in a sensitive way with rich metaphors that allowed the reader to fill in much of what wasn’t written. The author knew his subject matter was disturbing and took pains to tell Danica’s story without resorting to anything gratuitous or shocking.
In the end, the author leaves the reader hope for his characters, and that is what I liked the best about the novel. Wanting to see where these characters would end up, and hoping it was good is what kept me reading. I was not disappointed.
I received an advanced copy to read. I liked it very much: the author essentially told two different stories that followed the same character arc.
For me, one of the strengths of the novel lies in three of its central characters, Danica, Scott and Vincent. Even when I didn’t like what they were doing, I was rooting for them to find their best selves, and hoping that things would go their way. In my mind they became real people, not simply characters.
The treatment of Danica at the hands of her abusive partner was done in a sensitive way with rich metaphors that allowed the reader to fill in much of what wasn’t written. The author knew his subject matter was disturbing and took pains to tell Danica’s story without resorting to anything gratuitous or shocking.
In the end, the author leaves the reader hope for his characters, and that is what I liked the best about the novel. Wanting to see where these characters would end up, and hoping it was good is what kept me reading. I was not disappointed.
December 30, 2019
I enjoyed this book and it's a fast read! The characters are well developed but I wish there was more of a defined, easily explained ending.
I received a free digital copy of this book from the author via Varocious Readers.
I received a free digital copy of this book from the author via Varocious Readers.
October 23, 2019
I liked the premise of this novel, and the direction in which the narrative unfolded. The story is told primarily from two perspectives: that of Scott, who is in a version of purgatory, and Danica, who is trapped in an abusive relationship. Occasionally, other characters pop in with a chapter focusing on them.
The world-building in generally good, with most of the effort put into Scott's universe. I'm not sure where the novel is geographically set, so I think there was room for this to be developed further, but it didn't really detract from my enjoyment of the novel.
I found the character building could have been improved, and this element had a greater effect for me. We, the readers, don't get to know the characters before significant respective events in their lives, so I found it hard to like either of the main characters. Patrick, as a character, was one-dimensional to me, and I think both the story and Danica would have been better served had he been more complex. Elements of Danica's character, particularly in the latter half of the novel, really stretched my credulity, and I think have some backstory on her would have mitigated this conflict.
There were significant errors in the novel, and I also felt that there was a lot of repetition (especially where a metaphor would be used - then clarified). I think this slowed the pacing (which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it's a bad reason for a slower pace) and hampered some of the character development. I also didn't find the other characters' interjections (when the focus left Scott and Danica) to added much to the story - I think any of these elements could have been discovered in other ways.
The blurb about this novel was clear about Danica and Scott being connected. While this was true, I found the tie to be rather tenuous. I wish there had been a stronger, deeper connection than was ultimately revealed.
There was something about the prose that didn't sit well with me - I'm not sure if I can articulate it. It could be the simple sentence structure, which didn't really vary much, so it didn't come across as dynamic and alive. It may have been the excessive metaphorical language - sometimes, expressing something plainly is more effective. There were passages that I really did enjoy reading, though, so there is potential for a crisp, unique voice.
I wish the author had taken a little more time with the denouement. This seemed very rushed in comparison to the languid pace that had held through the novel. While I did like the way this story was left, one of the major plot threads was only cursorily handled, which I felt let down the book.
I think I just wanted more from this book than I ultimately got, but the story does have good bones, and this is a writer who shows promise.
I received a copy of this novel through Voracious Readers Only.
The world-building in generally good, with most of the effort put into Scott's universe. I'm not sure where the novel is geographically set, so I think there was room for this to be developed further, but it didn't really detract from my enjoyment of the novel.
I found the character building could have been improved, and this element had a greater effect for me. We, the readers, don't get to know the characters before significant respective events in their lives, so I found it hard to like either of the main characters. Patrick, as a character, was one-dimensional to me, and I think both the story and Danica would have been better served had he been more complex. Elements of Danica's character, particularly in the latter half of the novel, really stretched my credulity, and I think have some backstory on her would have mitigated this conflict.
There were significant errors in the novel, and I also felt that there was a lot of repetition (especially where a metaphor would be used - then clarified). I think this slowed the pacing (which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it's a bad reason for a slower pace) and hampered some of the character development. I also didn't find the other characters' interjections (when the focus left Scott and Danica) to added much to the story - I think any of these elements could have been discovered in other ways.
The blurb about this novel was clear about Danica and Scott being connected. While this was true, I found the tie to be rather tenuous. I wish there had been a stronger, deeper connection than was ultimately revealed.
There was something about the prose that didn't sit well with me - I'm not sure if I can articulate it. It could be the simple sentence structure, which didn't really vary much, so it didn't come across as dynamic and alive. It may have been the excessive metaphorical language - sometimes, expressing something plainly is more effective. There were passages that I really did enjoy reading, though, so there is potential for a crisp, unique voice.
I wish the author had taken a little more time with the denouement. This seemed very rushed in comparison to the languid pace that had held through the novel. While I did like the way this story was left, one of the major plot threads was only cursorily handled, which I felt let down the book.
I think I just wanted more from this book than I ultimately got, but the story does have good bones, and this is a writer who shows promise.
I received a copy of this novel through Voracious Readers Only.
September 3, 2019
Danica is, tragically, caught up in the web of lies and gas lighting with Patrick. Her story is one of growth in terms of being a victim of domestic abuse and then having enough and ending things with Patrick. How she does that exactly isn’t stated in details. In fact a lot of this book I found left out details. The parts that would have got me hooked and unable to put it down. It didn’t do that for me at all. Her story intertwines with Scott’s but not to the extent that I thought it would.
Scott’s world is very vague. It jumped around quite quickly in places which didn’t help me as the reader.
The author obviously has an amazing imagination however it wasn’t always executed well onto the page, hence giving it only 3 stars. I was waiting for...something more to tie it all together. I finished it feeling quite deflated.
Thank you to Voracious Readers Only for the complimentary copy of this book.
Scott’s world is very vague. It jumped around quite quickly in places which didn’t help me as the reader.
The author obviously has an amazing imagination however it wasn’t always executed well onto the page, hence giving it only 3 stars. I was waiting for...something more to tie it all together. I finished it feeling quite deflated.
Thank you to Voracious Readers Only for the complimentary copy of this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews