The Lake of Dreams

Title:         The Lake of Dreams

Author:     Kim Edwards

Price:        INR. 399/-

Publisher: Penguin India

Unable to get over her father’s death Lucy moves out of her home, gets educated and becomes a wanderer. She keeps jumping jobs, continents & relationships till she meets Yoshi. Together they move to Japan. Living in an earthquake prone city Lucy leads a tranquil life. When she hears of her mother’s accident she decides to visit her.

The city that she reaches to is on the brink of major changes, things are not like before. Her brother has joined the family business which was being run by the much her hated uncle Art. Her mother is on the brink of an exciting relationship which is minor shock for Lucy. And to top it all Keegan, her best friend and her ex was in town. As if she didn’t have enough on her plate she discovers some letters which she shares with her mother. Who in turn shares a fabric which she had a couple of years back.

One link leads to the other and Lucy starts unravelling a past which is so enchanting that Lucy forgets everything and gets on to finding more & more about Rose, who she finds out is the sister of her Great Grandfather.

To add to her complex life there is that pressing issue of her mother wanting to sell their beautiful lakeside house to Art, Lucy somehow feels that there is something amiss in the whole deal.

To further complicate the matters she gets on to the wrong foot of her brother when she by mistake shares his secret with their mother.

And what about the pull that she feels towards Keegan and the doubts that are creeping up on her about her relationship with Yoshi.

Where will this trip lead to?

Will it be life changing for Lucy & her family?

Will she manage to find the whole truth about Rose & her daughter Iris?

Where will the past that she is so hell bent to discover lead to?

Will it be akin to opening a can of worms?

Or will Lucy learn it the hard way “that some incidents are better buried than discovered.”

Read the book to get your answers.

My verdict

Let me be honest, I picked this book because of the author’s last highly acclaimed book, “Memory Keepers Daughter”. I had picked it up last year despite the high price because the reviews were very good but I never read it because somehow I had a feeling that it will be a depressing book (I felt so because of the blurb) and how wrong I was.

Though a little slow in the beginning the book blows you away as it progresses further. When Lucy starts discovering her long forgotten/ ignored relatives you start waiting with a baited breath, what will happen next. The letters written by Rose to her daughter Iris are worth a read and take you to a not so liberal era where women were fighting for their rights and a night in jail was such a big issue that they were thrown out of their homes. So well written the letters make you feel for Rose who suffered a lot but never allowed her spirit to die.

The best part about the book is that the author has so many aces up her sleeve that you just can’t get enough of it. Towards the end when the secrets explode you will feel, “I didn’t even think of it”.

This is one of those books which you want to finish in a hurry because you wish to know what will happen next and eventually when you are done reading with it you regret finishing it too soon. An awesome read, I finished some 200 pages in one sitting and had a headache & paining eyes for the whole day but didn’t regret it.

A Must read!

My Rating 4/5