Intriguing and Relevant: The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker

Series: Standalone

Release Date: January 15, 2019

Format: Hardcover

Rating: 4/5 stars

The Dreamers was such a weird book to read while living during the coronavirus pandemic. The book has been on my TBR shelf since last summer, yet I kept putting it off, prioritizing my kindle TBR list. Then the other day, I randomly wanted to read a physical book and chose The Dreamers by chance. I didn’t even re-read the synopsis: I vaguely remembered the book was about a mysterious illness that causes–seemingly–permanent sleep. However, reading The Dreamers and recognizing the similarities to the current pandemic was jolting–even more so when one of the MCs happens to be a college student who is quickly placed under quarantine after her dorm floor becomes the site of patient zero.

The Dreamers captures the human nature of modernity excellently. We are bombarded with bad news every day on the TV and radio. Therefore, when something bad does happen, we either ignore it because it doesn’t directly impact us, or the significance is downplayed because something terrible happens to other people. The book demonstrates how the need to believe that something terrible isn’t happening can take away all human thought and reduce people to the base behaviour of survival. The college kids bemoan being locked in quarantine, spouting freedom and liberty, yet not even considering what an airborne virus–with no vaccine–could do to the world (and their loved ones) if not contained.

The illness in The Dreamers, unlike coronavirus, is transmitted through the air. The novel quickly demonstrates how fast such a virus can spread, and the importance of adhering to quarantine protocols. But, in an attempt to give the hospital time to figure out what the illness is, there is a gap in the information provided to the public. The gap quickly fills with speculation and fear. And with fear comes the instinctive need to escape to “normal,” as if running away from the visual reminders of a mysterious illness erases the possibility of falling ill.

The narratives of characters who revolt against the government enforced quarantine (initially the college, and then the whole town) is put into stark comparison against coronavirus. The Dreamers hints at the sometimes contradictory nature of public safety and democracy: phrases like, you can’t keep us here are all too common at the peak of the virus in the book. But, does liberty excuse negligence? People #stayinghome is saving lives, but that truth is as hard for the characters in The Dreamers to grasp as it is for those living through the coronavirus pandemic.

Modernity has taught us that solutions mean doing–that is, taking action. It’s why most people haven’t even paused to breathe while they were out doing life. Karen does an excellent job of humanizing the personal experiences of the sleeping virus. New parents miss the news entirely as they adjust to taking care of their newborn child. A Professor dismisses the virus–and the worries of the university–because there have been so many false alarms. College students are so young and so focused on living in the moment that they don’t even think that a sad death could impact their health. The earth keeps on turning. Yet, as The Dreamers and the current pandemic demonstrate, succumbing to the fear the void of information and the resulting what-ifs only makes the situation worse. Therefore, reading those college students–dormmates of patient zero–breaking out (breaking “free”) of quarantine made me so disappointed and angry. How the hell did these students not understand the damage they were doing?

The virus in The Dreamers puts its victims to sleep, who experience vivid dreams and, if unlucky, sleep for such a long time that their heart slowly gives out. However, these dreams create a distinctive sci-fi imagining of a virus, one that yields a sense of hope and promise–what are they dreaming? Of the past? Of the future? Of the innumerable possibilities of life? Is the virus a cure for the already ill? Each character uniquely struggles with the virus and its ramifications hints at the quandary humans have with the meaning of life. Karen also doesn’t shy away from the unromantic truths of life. It appears life really is what you make of it–or at least what you choose to hold onto versus what you are unwilling to let go of.

The lyricism of the story and the shifting perspectives covers the multitude of lenses life can be understood through. From the paranoid survivalist seeing a catastrophe around every corner. To the solemn 12-year-old girl whose childhood has ended so abruptly. To the newborn parents who struggle to care for their child, as they seek to forgive each other for their past mistakes. Or the old man in the twilight of his life, wanting so badly for time to unwind itself–or at least the opportunity to forget. Or the doctor who puts her life on the line to save others from a mysterious virus, not realizing until it’s too late that she’s not just risking her life but the chance for her daughter to grow up with a parent.

Life comes with a multiplicity of understandings, and therefore, an infinite number of meanings. The Dreamers does an excellent job of hinting at the infinite reality of life; Karen captures a mystical otherness that hints at the majesty of the universe and enlightenment. Karen isn’t concerned with giving her readers an answer, but that makes The Dreamers even better: every reader will draw their own conclusions. The reader finishes the book contemplative, recognizing clever moments of foreshadowing and perhaps leaves with a desire to self-reflect: during a crisis, are you able to do what is necessary, even if it is as simple as #stayinghome?

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