The Living Sea of Waking Dreams
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- Create Date：2022-03-29 09:51:48
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Richard Flanagan
- ISBN：1529114055
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Summary
'Striking。。。brilliantly done' The Times
An ember storm of a novel， this is Booker Prize-winning novelist Richard Flanagan at his most moving-and astonishing-best。
Anna's aged mother is dying - if her three children would just allow it。 Forced by their pity to stay alive， she increasingly escapes through her hospital window into visions of horror and delight。
When Anna's finger vanishes and a few months later her knee disappears， Anna too feels the pull of the window。 She begins to see that all around her others are similarly vanishing， but no one else notices。 All Anna can do is keep her mother alive。 But the window keeps opening wider， taking Anna and the reader ever deeper into a strangely beautiful novel about hope， love and orange-bellied parrots。
'One of our greatest living novelists' Washington Post
An ember storm of a novel， this is Booker Prize-winning novelist Richard Flanagan at his most moving-and astonishing-best。
Anna's aged mother is dying - if her three children would just allow it。 Forced by their pity to stay alive， she increasingly escapes through her hospital window into visions of horror and delight。
When Anna's finger vanishes and a few months later her knee disappears， Anna too feels the pull of the window。 She begins to see that all around her others are similarly vanishing， but no one else notices。 All Anna can do is keep her mother alive。 But the window keeps opening wider， taking Anna and the reader ever deeper into a strangely beautiful novel about hope， love and orange-bellied parrots。
'One of our greatest living novelists' Washington Post
Reviews
niepoczytalna 。pl
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Odchodzenie w niebytGdyby najnowszą powieść Richarda Flanagana trzeba było opisać jednym słowem， to najlepiej pasowałoby tu słowo: “strata”。 Jego bohaterowie doświadczają straty na wielu poziomach – na zdrowiu podupada ich matka， tracą relacje z dziećmi， partnerami。 Tracą części własnego ciała， a wokół szaleją niszczycielskie pożary， skazując na wyginięcie kolejne gatunki。Refleksja， która towarzyszy lekturze "Żywego morza snów na jawie"， dotyczy przede wszystkim tego， że człowiek swoje wysiłki i Odchodzenie w niebytGdyby najnowszą powieść Richarda Flanagana trzeba było opisać jednym słowem， to najlepiej pasowałoby tu słowo: “strata”。 Jego bohaterowie doświadczają straty na wielu poziomach – na zdrowiu podupada ich matka， tracą relacje z dziećmi， partnerami。 Tracą części własnego ciała， a wokół szaleją niszczycielskie pożary， skazując na wyginięcie kolejne gatunki。Refleksja， która towarzyszy lekturze "Żywego morza snów na jawie"， dotyczy przede wszystkim tego， że człowiek swoje wysiłki i zaangażowanie lokuje zupełnie nie tam， gdzie powinien。 Fundusze， nawet te nieograniczone， nie są w stanie naprawić zaniedbanych relacji。 Mogą jedynie tuszować zaniedbania， a i to bardzo prowizorycznie。Są rzeczy， które człowiek – przynajmniej do pewnego momentu – uznaje za pewnik: obecność rodziców （bo przecież towarzyszą nam od zawsze）， przekonanie， że miłość dzieci jest bezwarunkowa， że nasze ciało zawsze będzie nam służyć， a Ziemia będzie znosić wszystkie nadużycia ze strony ludzi。 To bardzo złudne przekonania i nawet jeśli zderzenie z rzeczywistością na początku za bardzo nie doskwiera bohaterom， to nadejdzie moment， w którym będą musieli przyznać， że nie panują nad sytuacją。"Żywe morze snów na jawie" to smutna， wielowarstwowa powieść， pełna metafor i pięknego języka。 Z jednej strony aż do bólu realistyczna w sposobie ukazania relacji między bohaterami， najbardziej intymnych przemyśleń， z drugiej abstrakcyjna i w tej abstrakcji bardzo świeża， niosąca jednocześnie rozpacz i ukojenie。 。。。more
Karolina Sosnowska
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https://tanayahczyta。wordpress。com/20。。。 https://tanayahczyta。wordpress。com/20。。。 。。。more
Jagoda Gawliczek
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„Żywe morze snów na jawie” to książka trudna do ocenienia。 Wstrząsająca historia o prawie do śmierci chwilę później zmienia się w przypowieść o katastrofie klimatycznej， by za moment zaskoczyć czytelników elementami body horror rodem z filmów Cronenberga。Richard Flanagan zabiera nas do swojej rodzinnej Tasmanii。 Miejsce trawią liczne i intensywne pożary， gatunki zwierząt bezpowrotnie znikają z powierzchni ziemi， stale brakuje też języka zdolnego wyrazić ten bolesny proces。Na tym tle rozgrywa się „Żywe morze snów na jawie” to książka trudna do ocenienia。 Wstrząsająca historia o prawie do śmierci chwilę później zmienia się w przypowieść o katastrofie klimatycznej， by za moment zaskoczyć czytelników elementami body horror rodem z filmów Cronenberga。Richard Flanagan zabiera nas do swojej rodzinnej Tasmanii。 Miejsce trawią liczne i intensywne pożary， gatunki zwierząt bezpowrotnie znikają z powierzchni ziemi， stale brakuje też języka zdolnego wyrazić ten bolesny proces。Na tym tle rozgrywa się rodzinny dramat。 Grupa 40- czy 50-latków decyduje się za wszelką cenę podtrzymywać życie swojej matki。 Przekonują lekarzy， by o nią walczyli - skazując kobietę na miesiące cierpienia pod szpitalną aparaturą。 W najbardziej wstrząsającej scenie pacjentka prosi córkę o śmierć。 Odpowiedź？ „Mamo， nie słyszę co mówisz”。 To ciekawa perspektywa na temat eutanazji （cudza podmiotowość pochłonięta przez egotripa i kompleks zbawcy） i mocna， rozdrapująca rany literatura。Zbijało mnie z tropu， że niektóre postaci spontanicznie traciły kończyny czy części twarzy。 Nieznany jest powód， nie odczuwają przy tym bólu。 Czy to urojenie jednej z postaci？ Metafora umierającego świata？ Przyznaję， że nie wszystkie rozwiązania literackie przypadły mi do gustu， a całość zbyt mocno dryfowała w stronę podniosłej poetyckości。 Na pewno jest to jednak propozycja nietuzinkowa。Książkę przeczytałam dzięki uprzejmości Wydawnictwa Literackiego。 。。。more
Vanessa Gliddon
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I enjoyed the beginning of this novel with the children coming to terms with their mothers illness。 I liked the family politics and descriptions of their surroundings。 I did not enjoy the disappearing body parts。
Kevin
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This is a bit of a strange novel with a mix of threads that threaten to resist any intended weaving process。 Or something like that。 The main thread has our narrator and her siblings deciding what to do about their dying elderly mother。 There are some very real moments and anyone that’s been in a similar situation will definitely relate to much of it。 There’s an analogy to the environment， somehow there’s people who find it annoying when environmental concerns are encountered in literature， but This is a bit of a strange novel with a mix of threads that threaten to resist any intended weaving process。 Or something like that。 The main thread has our narrator and her siblings deciding what to do about their dying elderly mother。 There are some very real moments and anyone that’s been in a similar situation will definitely relate to much of it。 There’s an analogy to the environment， somehow there’s people who find it annoying when environmental concerns are encountered in literature， but I personally found it fitting if a bit clunky in execution。 There’s also a thread about a finger that suddenly disappears， but whose really gonna notice something that incidental。 。。。more
Kirsten
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I don't think I've disliked a book in recent memory that has such highly regarded reviews。 Despite its short page count I struggled to get through this book， written like a long string of unending consciousness this book has little to no structure， character progression， or story to be honest。 The story is basically about a family losing their mother， slowly and over time。 That's it and on top of that the main character， Anna starts noticing parts of her body are vanishing。 And throw in constant I don't think I've disliked a book in recent memory that has such highly regarded reviews。 Despite its short page count I struggled to get through this book， written like a long string of unending consciousness this book has little to no structure， character progression， or story to be honest。 The story is basically about a family losing their mother， slowly and over time。 That's it and on top of that the main character， Anna starts noticing parts of her body are vanishing。 And throw in constant anxious thoughts on bushfires， climate change， wars， and animals that are going extinct for some reason a publisher thought this book had value。 In the entirety of the book I only mildly liked one quote， 'The more she thought about it the more she wondered if maybe that's what humans can't do。 Live with beauty。 That it's beauty they can't bear。' （pp 191） I don't really understand where the praise for this book comes from， I didn't find anything insightful， touching， or particularly good。 I think this book is the only book I've read that had such little to no description of characters and scenes that I even found it hard to imagine what the author was trying to say/show。 I can appreciate that a lot of people felt connected to the subject matter of losing a parent I just think it was done quite poorly。 。。。more
MICHAEL A
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Dreadfully sad。 Brutally honest。 Not exactly a fun read， but it's a very important book。 Dreadfully sad。 Brutally honest。 Not exactly a fun read， but it's a very important book。 。。。more
John Bowes
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Amazing read， the way he uses words is amazing
Muddynosugar
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Unusual and haunting。 It will stay with me。
William Glass
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This was a surprisingly ambitious book in spite of its short length。 Some aspects done better than others - the magical realism/science fiction aspects were kind of just ‘there’。 The main plot line of the dying mother was well handled。
Tyler Richardson
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Bit of a chore
Debbie
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All shook up…Do you want to read a book where every sentence is intense？ Then this might be it。 Talk about rich—beautiful， lyrical stream-of-consciousness， every sentence counts。 This is the epitome of literary fiction， a book you can sink your canines into， bite down hard， while you’re getting transported by the language。 The book is poetic and is also full of social commentary that makes you ponder。 I read a lot of sentences twice。This story is set in Australia， where wildfires rage。 The smoke All shook up…Do you want to read a book where every sentence is intense？ Then this might be it。 Talk about rich—beautiful， lyrical stream-of-consciousness， every sentence counts。 This is the epitome of literary fiction， a book you can sink your canines into， bite down hard， while you’re getting transported by the language。 The book is poetic and is also full of social commentary that makes you ponder。 I read a lot of sentences twice。This story is set in Australia， where wildfires rage。 The smoke is everywhere， animals are dying。 It shook me up。 There’s this eerie and intense vibe going on in the background。 The story is about a woman named Anne， who with her two brothers， is tending to their hospitalized mother， who is losing her abilities。 She is way past her expiration date and tells them she is ready to die。 But oh no， the kids will have none of it。 Well， actually， one of the sons would let her die but he gets outvoted by his sibs。 They prolong her life as long as they can， hospital machines and procedures on overtime。 Mom is being tortured and is at their mercy。 And actually， they have no mercy。 I had a really hard time watching the mother suffer so much; her physical decline is described in detail。 It’s sickening how much energy the kids put into keeping her alive。 It’s not that they are afraid of losing her because they feel all warm and fuzzy toward her; in fact， they’re the opposite—all austere and cold and don’t seem to even like her。 It’s more like they don’t want to be in the state of grief that will happen once she’s dead。 It’s all very selfish。 （As other reviewers have exclaimed， make sure you have an advance directive！）Meanwhile， parts of Anne are disappearing—first a finger， then a knee。 After a while， the people around her lose body parts， too。 I thought the disappearing acts would fascinate me， entertain me， but for some reason they didn’t。 （Maybe this is because magical realism and I aren’t often buddies。） Yes， I know， it’s supposed to be symbolic of how middle-aged women feel invisible， blah blah blah， but it lacked umph。 I do think it had the potential of working， but don’t ask me how。The plot is not the main thing here， it’s the language and the commentary。 If you do think about the plot， it’s damn depressing。 A dying mother who is ready to check out but can’t。 Kids who are torturers。 A sad woman who is slowly disappearing。 A wildfire that won’t give up。 Horrible events and people everywhere。Oh， let me add that there is psychological insight out the kazoo; it’s a great character study。 I’m a sucker for psychology。 I wasn’t a Psych minor for nothing; I ate up all the wisdom about the noggin and the feels。 On the other hand， Anne wasn’t likeable， so I didn’t love spending all my time with her。Okay， here’s the rub: My poor brain got tired toward the end。 Often a sentence is one gigantic paragraph， and that made my head hurt。 If I tried to hold my breath until I finished reading the sentence， I wouldn’t make it。 The story demands a lot of brain power and mine would peter out， especially when long descriptions took over。 Sometimes I just wanted to return to the plot。 And give me a little more dialogue， will you？ The story just got too dense， food for thought every half second。 I went from dying to pick the book up to sort of wanting to be done with it。 Even though the book was on the short side， I wanted it to be a little shorter。 So my rating fell from 8 stars to 4 stars。It’s an amazing and profound book， though， one I think I’ll remember for a long time。 The language carried me away—I mean， even the book title is beautiful。 The big question is， did the book shake me up？ Absolutely。 And when that happens， you know you’ve got a good one。Thanks to NetGalley and Edelweiss for the advance copies。 。。。more
Stephen C。
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Don’t look at this as 5/5 stars， please。 Look at this as me not entirely “getting” it， because i dont yet have the bandwidth。 But 24 hours out， i am profoundly awed by this work and my rating pays forward what i’m sure will be my experience when i re-read this some day soon。24 hours have settled since completing this read。 I needed the distance; it’s taken a minute to recognize this is as a much more mature work of brilliance than can be acknowledged with only one read （for me， that is）。 It dist Don’t look at this as 5/5 stars， please。 Look at this as me not entirely “getting” it， because i dont yet have the bandwidth。 But 24 hours out， i am profoundly awed by this work and my rating pays forward what i’m sure will be my experience when i re-read this some day soon。24 hours have settled since completing this read。 I needed the distance; it’s taken a minute to recognize this is as a much more mature work of brilliance than can be acknowledged with only one read （for me， that is）。 It distills the kind of wisdom that i’d imagine takes nigh on a lifetime for a writer （or any of us） to produce， platformed along a seemingly straightforward storyline。 But there are Godwinks throughout， and deserves a re-read。Simulacrum。 Look it up。 Among many uses， the one most meaningful in this read is “an image or representation”。 Dropped several times throughout this book， Flanagan takes 75% of the book to set the scenes that， towards the end， weaves together a stunning tapestry about living， dying， being true and honest with yourself， and living in the present。 It is the story of a dying mother’s journey， experienced through the lives of her adult children amidst the bullshit of social media， fake conversation， and ecological calamity in present day Sydney。 Simulacrum speaks to the blinding blizzard of distractions we’ve created for ourselves to avoid pain。 Think metaverse。 Think blue pill。 Think addictions。 All cunning， baffling， sinister and powerful。 This is a story to remind us that life is beautiful， and as is often the case in life， you have to live it all the way to the end to understand its honeyed truths。 Don’t wait til the end。This is a great book。 。。。more
Flora
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Spectacular。
jessie delucia✰
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3。5
Dave Trembley
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This is not as good as his The Long Road to the Deep North， but there is a lot here about what life in our time is like。
Nora Nora
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DNF at 50% so below are my thoughts for the first half of the book。This book was trying to do something， but I don’t think I understood what that was。Annie and Terzo are such unlikable characters。 The “magical realism” part about body parts disappearing didn’t really make any sense to me。 This book just seemed to be a normal fiction about dysfunctional family。This was my first book from this author and his writing seemed to be trying too hard。The narrator for the audiobook was too animated at ti DNF at 50% so below are my thoughts for the first half of the book。This book was trying to do something， but I don’t think I understood what that was。Annie and Terzo are such unlikable characters。 The “magical realism” part about body parts disappearing didn’t really make any sense to me。 This book just seemed to be a normal fiction about dysfunctional family。This was my first book from this author and his writing seemed to be trying too hard。The narrator for the audiobook was too animated at times if it makes sense。This is a short book but I just can’t bear to finish it。 。。。more
Lisa Bianca
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I can understand the mixed reviews， there's a lot going on here， to me it is a beautifully written observation on our current condition， on many levels。 It cuts to the bone， the inner thoughts we catch in passing， and don't always admit， even to ourselves。 The magical realism， people and parts disappearing， is it some form of societal hysteria？ I'm not sure。 I accept the occurrences as symbolic of the experience of falling apart for Anna， the daughter of， the forbidden to die， Francie。 I experi I can understand the mixed reviews， there's a lot going on here， to me it is a beautifully written observation on our current condition， on many levels。 It cuts to the bone， the inner thoughts we catch in passing， and don't always admit， even to ourselves。 The magical realism， people and parts disappearing， is it some form of societal hysteria？ I'm not sure。 I accept the occurrences as symbolic of the experience of falling apart for Anna， the daughter of， the forbidden to die， Francie。 I experienced this novel via an audiobook， and it is beautifully read， but， as in other books that possess angry passages， I find I shrink at the tone; it is not the tone I would use if reading to myself， in my head。 Early in the book there is an amazing rant， and I can acknowledge the frustration， at the rampant runaway lunacy that overtakes this beautiful island。 。。。more
Ros Saunders
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Interesting if strange page-turner
Opal Rhea
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If I could use one word to describe this novel it would be horrific。 Flanagan wrote a book so on point with the issues going on in today's world it felt like a gut punch the entire time。 Flanagan's writing style I found to be belletristic in nature， as it is a beautiful critique of the world that we live in and our society as a whole。 Flanagan was able to depict to a T the way we all use social media to escape from the horrors of the world and I found myself wanting to pull my hair out due to fr If I could use one word to describe this novel it would be horrific。 Flanagan wrote a book so on point with the issues going on in today's world it felt like a gut punch the entire time。 Flanagan's writing style I found to be belletristic in nature， as it is a beautiful critique of the world that we live in and our society as a whole。 Flanagan was able to depict to a T the way we all use social media to escape from the horrors of the world and I found myself wanting to pull my hair out due to frustration。 This book is impressive to say the least I feel as though everyone should read as a little bit of a wake up call to pull your head out of your a$s， however in good conscience I cannot recommend this book to anyone as it has to be one of the most depressing books I have ever read。 This book put a spot light on the horrors of humanity and it was a work of art that sucked the life out of me。 。。。more
Sophy H
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Nope！ This was a trying too hard， attempting to be kooky， annoying collection of words on pages。 Just no。
Justin Whitt
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I thought that this was a story pleading on behalf of assisted dying。 It is， but it's also so much more。 I've never understood some readers' aversion to magic realism as a genre。 Surely it's where prose and poetry overlap。 Flanagan's use of vanishings as a motif， signify the environmental and existential losses which dehumanise us all。 Yet， because of his insistent portrayal of the destruction of Australian landscape and fauna， it's all the more unnerving， especially given how normalised it seem I thought that this was a story pleading on behalf of assisted dying。 It is， but it's also so much more。 I've never understood some readers' aversion to magic realism as a genre。 Surely it's where prose and poetry overlap。 Flanagan's use of vanishings as a motif， signify the environmental and existential losses which dehumanise us all。 Yet， because of his insistent portrayal of the destruction of Australian landscape and fauna， it's all the more unnerving， especially given how normalised it seems。 I wanted to rail against the resigned acceptance。 No， I want to。Of course， his characters try to rail against death， too。 Their ineffectuality is tragic and full of hubris。 In their desperation， they hurt those whom they love， like someone drowning whose panic-stricken impulse is to push a rescuer underwater so as to climb atop them。 Is Flanagan asking us to consider the morality of forcing others to cling to life？ It seems likely。 And if so， then it is also plausible he is reminding us of the blindingly obvious， that we are killing the planet and thus， ourselves。 。。。more
Natasha Doe
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Worst book I’ve ever read
Bex
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My first from this author and I wasn't displeased。 It was however， a very ambitious book that tried to do too much all at once and the characters were all so horrible。 Well bar the mother and that one son。 My first from this author and I wasn't displeased。 It was however， a very ambitious book that tried to do too much all at once and the characters were all so horrible。 Well bar the mother and that one son。 。。。more
Adrian
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A story of slow disappearances - the old lady trying to die but her children won’t let her， the daughter’s strangely vanishing body parts， the orange-bellied parrots and other endangered creatures。 It’s depressing - not in a loud anguishing way but more of an ebbing despair which made it a slightly gruelling read for me。 I’ve done my time in the general hospitals and learned the lesson about letting people go when no life is available to them outside of medicines and machines。 This book shows wh A story of slow disappearances - the old lady trying to die but her children won’t let her， the daughter’s strangely vanishing body parts， the orange-bellied parrots and other endangered creatures。 It’s depressing - not in a loud anguishing way but more of an ebbing despair which made it a slightly gruelling read for me。 I’ve done my time in the general hospitals and learned the lesson about letting people go when no life is available to them outside of medicines and machines。 This book shows what happens when life is preserved beyond all reason - not pleasant but sadly accurate。 。。。more
Eric
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Tell us what you really think， Richard！！
Deb Chapman
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I usually enjoy Richard Flanagan's writing but this book didn't do it for me。 There was not much endearing about the main character and I found the others either poorly developed or again， not very endearing。 The premise was good but it just didn't touch me emotionally。 It Felt a bit self indulgent and I couldn't identify with the people or the story。 Disappointed。 I usually enjoy Richard Flanagan's writing but this book didn't do it for me。 There was not much endearing about the main character and I found the others either poorly developed or again， not very endearing。 The premise was good but it just didn't touch me emotionally。 It Felt a bit self indulgent and I couldn't identify with the people or the story。 Disappointed。 。。。more
Jayne
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4。5 stars。 A sad， strange and very thought-provoking story。 The writing alternates between being absolutely beautiful to being incoherent， but that makes it so clever。
Oakleigh Irish
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The Living Sea of Waking Dreams is an intense， allegorical tale with metaphor of extinction - of parts us， of life disappearing， yet not troubling us too greatly - at the centre。 Near the end of the novel， Flanagan， sums up the core theme of the story: "Bit by bit they dissolved， yet no one seemed to notice。 The more things changed the harder people stared into their screens， living else where， now no more than a simulacrum of the screen world， their real lives the shadow of their online lives。 The Living Sea of Waking Dreams is an intense， allegorical tale with metaphor of extinction - of parts us， of life disappearing， yet not troubling us too greatly - at the centre。 Near the end of the novel， Flanagan， sums up the core theme of the story: "Bit by bit they dissolved， yet no one seemed to notice。 The more things changed the harder people stared into their screens， living else where， now no more than a simulacrum of the screen world， their real lives the shadow of their online lives。 The more people vanished， the more they asserted themselves online。。。"。 This novel is not only a wake up call to the catastrophe of species extinction through climate change， but also a sober warning about what it means to be truly human。 The story and personal interactions all run through this epistemological grid， with the result that character development and the core narrative are subsumed beneath the predominant allegorical style to the book。 。。。more
Georgia Nicholson
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