The Dream Room - Softcover

Moring, Marcel

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0060936673 ISBN 13: 9780060936679

Publisher: Perennial, 2003

Synopsis

Poignant and riveting, a powerful novel follows twelve-year-old David as he and his father, an unemployed engineer who had been a pilot in World War II, build model airplanes for a toy shop to support themselves, and as they become very close, David finds happiness and security, but when an old family friend arrives, everything David cherishes is forever destroyed. Reprint.

About this title

Review:

‘With a winning lightness of touch, Möring pinpoints that cusp of adolescence when a child begins to wake up to what he is, feeling “the first nudge in the back that later becomes the rhythm of life itself, grown-up life”, and to apprehend the multi-layered pasts that have made his parents what they are. “The Dream Room” effortlessly weaves the freshness of a child’s perspective with the wisdom of recollection.’ Guardian

‘An astonishing book. Elegant and mesmerising. Möring at his tender, funny best.’ The Times

‘A poignant, mysteriously powerful novel.’ Daily Telegraph

‘Very impressive – light, airy and deliciously understated.’ Time Out

From the Back Cover:

Twelve-year-old David lives with his mother and father above a toy shop in a small Dutch town. On the same day that the toy shop owner complains yet again that he can't sell model aeroplane kits any more because kids nowadays are too lazy to glue all the pieces
together, David's father – an ex-WWII pilot – quits his job for the umpteenth time. A few hours later, his mother comes home, having left her job too.

So, David devises a plan – and before the day is over the whole family is at home, putting model aeroplanes together for the toy shop owner to sell. A long, rainy Dutch summer ensues, in which mother, father and son work alongside each other; they've never been so close, never felt so secure. Then one night, David hears his father's voice, full of surprise and the next morning there's a visitor at the breakfast table, Humbert Cole, an old wartime friend. The unexpected arrival of this charming and worldly man revives old feelings of loyalty, love and hatred – and ensures that nothing will ever return to a perfect state again

"Evocative and moving...told with convincing passion"
SCOTSMAN

"A Haunting novel about three rootless siblings...told with disquieting subtlety and surprising detail."
ESQUIRE

"A fat, rich novel, stuffed with story, bulging with plot. Read it once, then read it again."
THE TIMES

"A magnificent novel. Rich Dickensian storytelling, warm and wise humour: a world-class performance from the new Dutch master."
INDEPENDENT

About this edition

• Publisher: Perennial
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0060936673
• ISBN 13: 9780060936679
• Binding: Paperback