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Dreamhouse
Celia Small has spent years planning her engagement party, from the food she'll serve to the dress she'll wear. When she finally met her fiance, it was less a romantic event than a satisfying check mark next to the last item on a long list of tasks. Now Celia's big night has arrived, and nothing can stop her from fulfilling a lifetime's worth of dreams. Nothing, that is, except her hated housemates, each planning a party for this same evening. Suddenly careening between future in-laws, radical feminists, and an Alice in Wonderland costume party, Celia veers off the path to married bliss, and along a path of suspicious raspberry tarts that lead her into very strange places.
327 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1996
2 people are currently reading
742 people want to read
About the author
Alison Habens
10 books13 followersAlison Habens is best known for Dreamhouse, a 1990s cult novel based on Alice in Wonderland. The book has its own ‘coming of age’ alongside Lewis Carroll’s centenary this year; and there’ll be a giveaway of pristine first editions on Goodreads.
Alison has written pretty much every day since it was published, with two further novels, Lifestory and Family Outing available, and lots of short stories, articles, poems and plays to see on alisonhabens.com.
Her new novel is a quirky retelling of the St Veronica myth, The True Picture. See thetruepicture.co.uk.
Alison is a lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Portsmouth, and has a PhD on the subject of ‘divine inspiration’ in literature. She lives in an old church on the Isle of Wight and commutes to work by hovercraft.
Alison has written pretty much every day since it was published, with two further novels, Lifestory and Family Outing available, and lots of short stories, articles, poems and plays to see on alisonhabens.com.
Her new novel is a quirky retelling of the St Veronica myth, The True Picture. See thetruepicture.co.uk.
Alison is a lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Portsmouth, and has a PhD on the subject of ‘divine inspiration’ in literature. She lives in an old church on the Isle of Wight and commutes to work by hovercraft.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
April 5, 2012
If you are lucky, you will come across scrumptious books like Dreamhouse at least once in your lifetime. A loose (adult) retelling of Alice in Wonderland, Habens, in a stroke of pure genius, reinvents all the characters in Alice in Wonderland giving them a distinctly human hue that retains all the craziness that characterizes the denizens of Wonderland. Dreamhouse is a treat for the evil little girl in you who loves irreverent situations, who delights in crazy retellings and who simply loves a story that is soaked deep into the narrative and can mean something different every time you read it.
If you read the title, you will be misled into thinking that the "dreamhouse" is descriptive of that wonderful house that people assume little girls dream of, you know, the one with the white picket fences, pretty poppies in the nicely kept yard, stuff like that. Instead, Dreamhouse, very literally means "dream house" a place where dreams happen. Okay, that sounds campy and it's not meant to.
Celia Small is getting engaged and on the night of her engagement dinner, her two horrible roommates throw parties of their own. So in that one house, there are three simultaneous parties occurring and one of them has um...some "magic" tarts that Celia just happens to eat. There is a logic to the narrative that sort of explains how the wonderland is achieved. One of the parties is a costume party, therefore the rabbit costumes etc, Celia's delusions come from the magic tarts and other, uh, substances that may be around. The mad queens etc are Celia's parents, in laws etc.
The construction of the popular story is firm enough that it holds up the very real and very contemporary themes in the book. What it means to be oppressed, what it means to be a woman and what freedom really tastes like. I was also impressed by how Habens inserted the transvestite issue and that rape, regardless of gender, is rape. I also really liked Celia's gradual evolution and the ending is bloody fantastic. Haben's gleeful experimentation with language to express her characters' emotions in a veritable manner is nothing short of genius.
So, after all is said and done, I recommend this book. Wholeheartedly. It tells a wonderful story in a strange new way that I found absolutely fascinating.
If you read the title, you will be misled into thinking that the "dreamhouse" is descriptive of that wonderful house that people assume little girls dream of, you know, the one with the white picket fences, pretty poppies in the nicely kept yard, stuff like that. Instead, Dreamhouse, very literally means "dream house" a place where dreams happen. Okay, that sounds campy and it's not meant to.
Celia Small is getting engaged and on the night of her engagement dinner, her two horrible roommates throw parties of their own. So in that one house, there are three simultaneous parties occurring and one of them has um...some "magic" tarts that Celia just happens to eat. There is a logic to the narrative that sort of explains how the wonderland is achieved. One of the parties is a costume party, therefore the rabbit costumes etc, Celia's delusions come from the magic tarts and other, uh, substances that may be around. The mad queens etc are Celia's parents, in laws etc.
The construction of the popular story is firm enough that it holds up the very real and very contemporary themes in the book. What it means to be oppressed, what it means to be a woman and what freedom really tastes like. I was also impressed by how Habens inserted the transvestite issue and that rape, regardless of gender, is rape. I also really liked Celia's gradual evolution and the ending is bloody fantastic. Haben's gleeful experimentation with language to express her characters' emotions in a veritable manner is nothing short of genius.
So, after all is said and done, I recommend this book. Wholeheartedly. It tells a wonderful story in a strange new way that I found absolutely fascinating.
February 23, 2020
This was my second time reading this book, though the first time was probably nearly 25 years ago now. (Yikes.) It was my favorite book then and remained my favorite until I read The Night Circus.
It was even weirder than I remembered, and just as good.
I'm sure it's not for everyone. It's quite a bit surreal. Towards the end at least it feels like it veers into magical realism. But the author's wordplay is... fascinating. Her use of alliteration and rhythm and rhyme, and the way she weaves in all the Alice in Wonderland elements, you find yourself repeating bits out loud and sometimes just muttering "wow." It's extremely funny, but it can throw you a gut punch.
It's a deeply feminist book. It also features a major character who seems to identify as a transgender woman. And while that term is never used, nor are female pronouns (the character doesn't express a preference there), I ask anyone who finds that uncomfortable to consider that this book was published in 1994. I felt the character was one of the best, was treated respectfully (not by all characters, of course, but by the book), and was indeed included in the feminist message.
TW for sexual assault, which is handled in a light way but without feeling like it's being made light of. (Apology/warning to all lovers of the Mad Hatter.)
And I just have to add that I love that my two favorite books both feature a main character named Celia, because what are the odds?
It was even weirder than I remembered, and just as good.
I'm sure it's not for everyone. It's quite a bit surreal. Towards the end at least it feels like it veers into magical realism. But the author's wordplay is... fascinating. Her use of alliteration and rhythm and rhyme, and the way she weaves in all the Alice in Wonderland elements, you find yourself repeating bits out loud and sometimes just muttering "wow." It's extremely funny, but it can throw you a gut punch.
It's a deeply feminist book. It also features a major character who seems to identify as a transgender woman. And while that term is never used, nor are female pronouns (the character doesn't express a preference there), I ask anyone who finds that uncomfortable to consider that this book was published in 1994. I felt the character was one of the best, was treated respectfully (not by all characters, of course, but by the book), and was indeed included in the feminist message.
TW for sexual assault, which is handled in a light way but without feeling like it's being made light of. (Apology/warning to all lovers of the Mad Hatter.)
And I just have to add that I love that my two favorite books both feature a main character named Celia, because what are the odds?
March 23, 2020
I don’t even know where to start to try and sum up my thoughts on this book. I don’t feel like anything I could say would do it justice.
While reading the first chapter I wasn’t sure if it was for me, it felt a little slow to start and my first impression was that I was going to dislike Celia, the protagonist, however I was definitely wrong on both counts. I LOVED this book, I would definitely put it in my favourites of all time. I read it in two sittings because I just couldn’t put it down.
It made me laugh, it made me sad, and it confused the hell out of me in places, but my my, what a story. The imagination of the author is fantastic and I loved all of the references to the original Alice in Wonderland, which was one of my favourites growing up. It’s a bit trippy and I imagine it won’t appeal to everyone, but it really is escapism at its finest. There are some deeper topics/messages covered in here too, which I can’t discuss without spoiling the story, and I thought these were expertly woven into the plot.
I’ll definitely reread this at some point. I think it’s one of those that will get better each time.
While reading the first chapter I wasn’t sure if it was for me, it felt a little slow to start and my first impression was that I was going to dislike Celia, the protagonist, however I was definitely wrong on both counts. I LOVED this book, I would definitely put it in my favourites of all time. I read it in two sittings because I just couldn’t put it down.
It made me laugh, it made me sad, and it confused the hell out of me in places, but my my, what a story. The imagination of the author is fantastic and I loved all of the references to the original Alice in Wonderland, which was one of my favourites growing up. It’s a bit trippy and I imagine it won’t appeal to everyone, but it really is escapism at its finest. There are some deeper topics/messages covered in here too, which I can’t discuss without spoiling the story, and I thought these were expertly woven into the plot.
I’ll definitely reread this at some point. I think it’s one of those that will get better each time.
August 2, 2020
This was such a weird book. I absolutely loved the word play and the drug fuelled twisted Alice in Wonderland, but it loses a star for being overly odd and rambling in places, particularly in the last chapter.
Want to read
January 28, 2023Celia Small...Alice Liddell...I see what you did there! I haven't read this yet, but I'm immediately intrigued.
February 4, 2016
Received free copy from goodreads First Reads. Lauded as a modern day Alice In Wonderland. Protagonist is a young woman who has been planning her engagement since she was in diapers (or almost). She shares a flat with a menagerie of characters that create havoc for her much anticipated engagement celebration. Although there are clever word word play, the plot is slow and wanders. Wished I had stopped after the 2nd chapter.
August 12, 2015
Received as a Goodreads First Read. I had a hard time staying engaged with the story. It's supposed to be an alternative version of Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland," and while I could see some similarities, I didn't find it as interesting. Since it is advertised as such, I found myself trying to find the similarities and getting caught up in the differences, rather than fully immersing myself in the story. Ultimately, it was a struggle to read.
August 13, 2015
Smart, clever, and entertaining. This is the kind of book I like on the beach - just relax and enjoy the ride. I loved the Alice in Wonderland parallel that brought me back to my youth. A good read.
December 15, 2007
Strange book. Compared on its jacket to Lewis Carroll and characters from that book are in her book. It does have a surreal quality but not in a different world like Wonderland.
November 20, 2013
Read this a long time ago; smart, funny, contemporary Alice in Wonderland tale...really liked it, but lost the book. Need to get it.
April 24, 2010
Alice in Wonderland, on drugs.
December 18, 2010
Clever wordplay, but ultimately a slight book with some amusing moments. For Alice in Wonderland fans possibly.
September 10, 2011
This sounded like a very fun book from the jacket covers description but it fell very short of my expectations.
December 6, 2011
huh? this book was so trippy! I'm not sure if I liked it or not. I still don't know what went on and how it ended... will have to talk to my boss about this one!
Want to read
July 13, 2015I've been trying to remember what this book was for YEARS.
I read this when I was 13 or so. I remember it being weird as hell, and I'm not sure I ever finished it.
I read this when I was 13 or so. I remember it being weird as hell, and I'm not sure I ever finished it.
October 17, 2016
Trippy and weird. Sort of compelling. Also sort of makes me feel nauseous.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews