I Must Be Dreaming

by Roz Chast

#1 New York Times bestselling, award-winning New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast's new graphic narrative, exploring the surreal nighttime world inside her mind-and untangling one of our most enduring human dreams.

Ancient Greeks, modern seers, Freud, Jung, neurologists, poets, artists, shamans-humanity has never ceased trying to decipher one of the strangest unexplained phenomena we all dreaming. Now, in her new book, Roz Chast illustrates her own dream world, a place that is sometimes creepy but always hilarious, accompanied by an illustrated tour through “Dream-Theory Land” guided by insights from poets, philosophers, and psychoanalysts alike. Illuminating, surprising, funny, and often profound, I Must Be Dreaming explores Roz Chast's newest subject of fascination-and promises to make it yours, too.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Humor, Comics, Nonfiction, Memoir, Psychology, Biography Memoir

118 pages, Hardcover

First published October 24, 2023

About the author

Rosalind "Roz" Chast is an American cartoonist and a staff cartoonist for The New Yorker. She grew up in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, the only child of an assistant principal and a high school teacher. Her earliest cartoons were published in Christopher Street and The Village Voice. In 1978 The New Yorker accepted one of her cartoons and has since published more than 800. She also publishes cartoons in Scientific American and the Harvard Business Review.

Chast is a graduate of Midwood High School in Brooklyn. She first attended Kirkland College (which later merged with Hamilton College) and then studied at the Rhode Island School of Design and received a BFA in painting in 1977. She also holds honorary doctorates from Pratt Institute and Dartmouth College, and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is represented by the Danese/Corey gallery in Chelsea, New York City.

Reviews

[Ken]

New Yorker comic artist Roz Chast impressed me with her book Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant?, a darkly humorous work dealing with elderly parents in their twilight years and the toll they can take on their adult children/caretakers.

She impressed me less with this, her latest, which is a mishmash of "types" of dreams (e.g. Recurring, Lucid, Celebrity, Cartoon-Idea, Nightmares, Body Horror, Food Dreams, Everyday Dreams, and Dream Fragments). Yeah, some witticisms here and there along with amusing drawings, but overall leaning ho and hum.

There's no telling, really, how many of these recollections are actual dreams. Probably more than you think, given that she kept a dream journal. Still, it's easy to get creative and make up a few dreams, too, or to gussy a few up.

Roz Chast says one of the most common recurring dreams is losing your teeth. Weird. I've never once dreamed about my teeth. And I've been living on this block for awhile now, dreaming in color with the best of them. Oh, well. At least I could identify with some of her dreams, like school stress dreams. Who hasn't dreamt of messing up at school, being late, lacking clothes, etc.? But the teeth? Hmn.

Easily read in one sitting, so if you're a Chast fan and/or dream-curious, you might give it a go. She even ends the book with recommendations on good dream books (and a few bad ones).

[Jenna ❤ ❀ ❤ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute book of comics depicting dreams the author has had, and what dreams mean to various people.

Other people's dreams don't interest me; my dreams don't interest me. However, the accompanying drawings were amusing so it wasn't a total waste of time.

[Elyse Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roz Chast is Queen of wonderful thoughtful-provoking graphic art novels.
The quality of her work fantastic and brilliant.
I love her!!

“I Must Be Dreaming” is Roz’s new creation. The book will be released in October 2023.
I’ll purchase the hardcopy then. I have a *Chast-Collection* (her books are always a hit choice to share with our Airbnb guests who visit)

In the meantime I read the advance copy on my iPhone (no kidding)….
I read more than half of it when I was at the hospital yesterday for about four hours having tests - blood work, and a pneumonia shot.
Ha—
….and I thought I was just going to see my internist because she called me and saying it was time.
This slim book gave me much pleasure between a screaming baby and a man - also screaming with a bad case of Tourette’s syndrome. ( poor guy)…..
I was so happy to finally get back home - eat - and begin watching ‘The Wire’ on Netflix
(Thank you Jennifer)- needed something to dive into after ‘Succession’)
Then this morning I finished the rest of this gem at home.

The topic [about our dreams] is interesting. I don’t think about my dreams much. But my husband has wild ones all the time. I’m a little jealous.

Roz writes:
“This book is dedicated to the Dream District of our brains, that weird and uncolonized area where anything can happen, from the sublime to the mundane to the ridiculous
to the off-the-charts bats”.
[fire, guilt, Art, past, My Mother, money, etc.]

“We are all creative geniuses in our sleep”.
Isn’t that the truth!

*Table of Contents*
….Reoccurring dreams
….Lucid dreams
….Celebrity dreams
….Cartoon-idea dreams
….Nightmares
….Body Horrors
….Good dreams
….Everyday dreams
….Dream, fragments, or ones that got away
….A note about the dreams
….A brief theory through Dream-theory land
Recommended reading

“According to many people dreams, as a conversational topic, should be avoided, along with aches and pains.
Only shrinks are interested, and maybe not even them”.

Why dreaming is so great…..
…..it’s free entertainment
…..you don’t need special clothes or equipment
…..etc. (a list of other funnies)… plus we can add our own.

Wild dreams about….
….A room with five hot tubs - for actor’s between takes (fully clothed)
….Ted Lasso
….swans dancing
….awkward moments
….fearful situations
….grossed out dreams
….talking mango?
….green beans
….a sensitive visits from someone who died
….fearless graceful roller skaters
….close call significance
…. disaster strikes
….messages from God
….etc. etc.

This is a tiny powerhouse adorable book — about 130 pages.

What’s ‘not’ to love about Roz Chast?
Nothin!!!

[Linden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone dreams, but not everyone is as funny as Roz Chast. The New Yorker cartoonist takes us into her dream world, where we learn of her numerous dreams, some of which she recorded in a dream journal. She also goes into the history of dream interpretation, accompanied by her inimitable cartoons, of course. I enjoy Chast's cartoons--I've read all of her books, and this one is a great addition. Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the ARC.

[Rod Brown · Rating 1 out of 5]

“Greta abides by the reasonable philosophy that there is nothing in the universe more boring than someone else's dreams.”
― Elan Mastai, All Our Wrong Todays

When a writer is famous and beloved enough, the old saw goes, they can publish their grocery list and people will buy it. Roz Chast seems to be putting that to the test with this jumble of random thoughts about dreams and recreations of dreams from her dream journals and personal correspondence. And that her book has ended up on several lists as one of the best graphic novels of 2023 (see below) puts me in mind of another old saw, "There's a sucker born every minute."


(Best of 2023 Project: I'm reading all the graphic novels that made it onto one or more of these lists:
• Washington Post 10 Best Graphic Novels of 2023
• Publishers Weekly 2023 Graphic Novel Critics Poll
• NPR's Books We Love 2023: Favorite Comics and Graphic Novels

This book made all three lists.)

[Diana Flores · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are a fan of Roz Chast, you may enjoy I Must Be Dreaming. The best dreams illustrated were those with one to four panels, when it got beyond four panels, the text became difficult to read (done in Roz's usual handwriting style) and the situation was too complex.

I appreciated that Roz included information on various dream theories at the end of the book (why we dream, the potential meanings of various symbols, etc).

**Advanced Copy provided by publisher via Edelweiss. I Must Be Dreaming will be published on October 24, 2023.

[Wendy Jonson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amusing, comical, absurd, bizarre, funny and informational! Some of Chast’s dreams are quite weird, but I chuckled. And I think I will stay away from her dentist! 😳

[Elizabeth A · Rating 1 out of 5]

People talking about their dreams is not a thing I typically enjoy, but this is Roz Chast, and look at the cover! Got about halfway through and decided I'm bored with this one. The illustrations are classic Chast, but the content not compelling enough to continue.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Catching up…

I read this not too long ago, and I am now bringing my review to Goodreads.

No doubt, Roz Chast has a sense of fun and imagination. And this is her way of sharing it. Graphically. About dreams. All kinds of dreams. And nightmares. Including celebrities. Dentists, food, or other weird possibilities that might enter into the subconscious mind of the artist/author and/or reader coming along for the ride.

Chast uses this avenue as a creative outlet that showcases her fascination with dreams.

Some may find it a window into her mind, as humor, others, may consider it pages that they would rather have avoided. Hoping perhaps they won’t find themselves amidst their own bad dreams later that night.

To fully appreciate the experience of this book, it is best to have an open sense of humor. Or, just avoid it completely.

[Jan Rice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very nice.
My husband gave it to me. He put some thought into choosing this gift and has hit the mark.
I still say Roz Chast is my favorite New Yorker cartoonist. Even though a lot of them are my favorites I don't read their books, and this is my third one by her. It transported me out of my doldrums and into laughing.
She actually uses her dreams in the service of her cartooning.
While the book mostly consists of her hilariously portrayed dreams, she does use them to point out info about dreams and dreaming, and she does include a brief history of dream study and a concise bibliography.
Now, if she would also convince me to go get some sleep.
Read this one. You won't be sorry.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A series of odds and ends: recollections of Chast's dreams, essay bits about dreaming, and some history of dream interpretation. If that doesn't sound too interesting... that's because it's not. There's just not a lot of "there" there. It's ok.

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't care much for this. Without a narrative arc it was a just a series of similar-looking cartoons of her dreams. But I liked the "Brief Theory through Dream-Theory Land" at the end. What if she'd described these dream theories one at a time, then followed each one with the dreams that she thinks fit into that theory? (I can see Alison Bechdel doing something that.) I smiled at the cartoonists' pie-chart joke on the final page.

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roz Chast’s latest inspired me to swallow a lot of NyQuil and then try to write down my dreams and cartoon them whenever I remember one into a dream journal.

Then I tried to see if I could actually remember any dreams that I’ve ever had. All I could come up with was the recurring one when I run for the trolley that took me to high school, and my knee socks keep falling down and everyone on the trolley is laughing at me.

Then of course there’s the ones when my teeth start to fall out, which my Dreamland projectionist reruns quite a lot.

Anyway, nice job, Roz-quite a loopy variety here. (Wonder if they’re really real?) Creativity on steroids! (Also another way to get good dreams.)

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

As usual, the new Roz Chast book is a completely crazy delight. No surprise that dreaming provides a lot of good material for this author, and if you are a fan, you will enjoy this book tremendously. If you are not yet a fan, this could be a good place to start. In any case, enjoy!

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Because I'm a vivid dreamer myself, I always get a kick out of anything to do with the world of dreams---the weirder and funnier, the better.

This comic is so much fun. It's fascinating how similar so many of our reoccurring dreams can be--"My teeth are falling out!"; "I'm back in school and I can't find my class/can't read my schedule!"

The book concludes with a look at dreams from a variety of scientific, historical, and philosophical voices. At the end of the day, we really don't know what they are or why they have them!

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's Roz Chast, so it's funny and interesting and incisive. In parts. But a lot of it is just... someone else's dreams.

[Oliver Egger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t really know how many stars I should give this because for what it was it’s perfect and Roz is just the best out there, but it is also is essentially just an illustrated dream journal not a cohesive book. And that isn’t a bad thing at all but just struggle to compare it really to other books…

3.5 stars I guess? 5 stars if you like goofy dream drawings? 2 stars if you want a narrative or something more than a long New Yorker cartoon? …shrug!

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful! Roz Chast is the best!

The only way the book could be better is if it were longer.

[LeeAnna Weaver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roz Chast is one of my favorite cartoonists on The New Yorker's staff. Her cartoons are not usually straightforward. They make me think, and then I continue to think about them and return to them to look a little more closely in case I missed something. I look forward to her books and especially loved Going Into Town: A Love Letter to New York. I Must Be Dreaming, her latest, is an exploration of her sometimes creepy and often hilarious dreams. Chast has kept a dream journal for many years and has been interested in Carl Jung's study of the human dream state. At the end of the book, she asks why do we dream? How can we benefit from paying attention to our dreams; what can we learn? Dreams are such a curious part of our sleeping lives, worth exploring and worth our curiosity. I Must Be Dreaming is a shorter collection of cartoons than some of her recent books, but it's unique and challenges me to begin journaling my own dream life.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m fascinated by dreams & this book by Roz Chast has many humorous analyses of dreams. I love her illustrations too.

[Diana Eberhardt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Roz Chast, and I think I have all her books, plus some she’s illustrated for other authors. Thanks to my sister for another perfect gift!

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 bumped to 4.0

[Tenli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I laughed out loud. Roz is the greatest.

[Trin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you, Roz Chast, for -- after days of depression and illness -- making me laugh out loud.

I liked the section of celebrity dreams in particular. I, too, do not have sexy celebrity dream encounters, but pointless weirdnesses just like these (though Chast's comedic timing make hers especially delightful).

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

My suggestion for getting the day off to a good start?
Not meditating. Not the same breakfast you have every day. Not an espresso from you gazillion dollar machine—or even your pod thing. Not a massage. (Okay, maybe a massage could be a tie). The real answer? A good CHORTLE, aka a GUFFAW, a SNORT, an I-CAN’T-BREATHE-SO-HOW-CAN-I-TELL-YOU- WHY-I-AM-LAUGHING laughing fit. Roz Chast, you are my silly sister, my ideal of a neurotic comic, a true helpmeet when I need a lift. But now my biggest issue if the day is to figure out who I can give this slim, silly, compendium of sleep-thinking to. Maybe I’ll just stay in bed and read it all over again. Nothing like someone finding you in bed, all alone, laughing like a lunatic!!!!

[Judith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a graphic book and I liked it very much. It's a book about dreaming: what she dreams of, common themes in dreams, what famous people in history have said about dreams, what images are prevalent in peoples' dreams, and of course it's all illustrated to my great enjoyment. I generally require a supply of no-doz to listen to someone tell me their long boring dreams but this was different because each story was short and sweet and very dryly humorous. I love this author and I would gladly listen to her boring dreams because they are short and sweet and she gets to the point. I also loved the pictures

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roz Chast always makes me laugh! And this book about dreaming was a real winner. I've read a lot in the past about dreaming, but this is the most unique one. She ends with a clever list of recommended books on dreaming, and "non-recommended reading" which included "The True Meanings of Your Dreams" - Madam Bollocks

I'm grinning.

[Sylvie · Rating 3 out of 5]

My dad has a copy of this book, and I decided to read it ‘cause it was sitting out, short, and looked colorful. It’s a bunch of dream recollection comics from a, what, 60 year old woman? And it reads like such. Some of the dreams are too, um, wonky to be actually interesting to read about but some of them are pretty funny.

In my own life, I recently dreamt that a moth landed on me and this woman quickly told me it was toxic, after which I jolted awake because hello, I don’t want to die from toxic moths!? But when I drifted off again the dream recommenced and she said “they’re toxic ‘cause their bite makes you itch, but you won’t die.” YOU BITCH!!! YOU COULDNT HAVE TOLD ME THAT BEFORE I WOKE UP!? I also once dreamt of an instrument called the agitator, which was basically a big maraca that you would step into and shake around.

Anyway. Dreams are fascinating, and this book was just okay!

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the most amazing graphic novel. Her dreams are funny. There were a few that made me go "guess I'm not the only one." I actually really liked the factual information about the study of dreams that she included at the end the most.

[Andrew Metadrouid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and at times hilarious comics in a vintage MAD magazine style that help you remember just how weird dreams and dreaming really are. The one about "Produce" nearly knocked me out of my chair I was laughing so hard. It also has some fascinating dream interpretation history at the end.