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The Dream Lover: A Novel Hardcover – Deckle Edge, April 14, 2015

by Elizabeth Berg (Author)
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Random House (April 14, 2015)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0812993152
  • ISBN-13: 978-0812993158
  • Product Dimensions: 15.3 x 7.9 x 4.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,123 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

Advance praise for The Dream Lover
 
“In her masterly new novel, Elizabeth Berg inhabits the adventurous heart of George Sand, making sense of a puzzling legend who dared to live and write against the grain.”—Nancy Horan
 
“The Dream Lover—what a bold, insightful, and enticing novel. And how vigorously Elizabeth Berg brings us the iconoclastic life of George Sand. Berg writes with such intimacy and compassion that I think she must have some shared ancestral DNA with Sand. I savored every page.”—Frances Mayes
 
“What a rich, heartbreaking, triumphant novel Elizabeth Berg has written! I recommend reading it with a highlighter in hand to mark the insights about love and life and being a woman that are on every page so you can reread and savor them.”—Ann Hood
 
“The Dream Lover is a historical novel at once expansively researched yet intimately imagined. George Sand may be the ultimate Berg heroine. ‘A life not lived in truth,’ Berg writes, ‘is a life forfeited.’ In this latest work, Elizabeth Berg has poured her own great gifts and her own great heart into the story of a woman determined to refuse any such forfeiture, no matter the cost.”—Leah Hager Cohen
 
“The Dream Lover is the dream match of writer to subject, Elizabeth Berg animating George Sand so vividly that you feel the Frenchwoman speaking directly to you. Infamous for her eccentricities and her passions, Sand is shown to be a touching figure, a woman needing to love and be loved.”—Robin Black

About the Author

Elizabeth Berg is the author of many bestselling novels, including Tapestry of Fortunes, The Last Time I Saw You, Home Safe, The Year of Pleasures, and Dream When You’re Feeling Blue, as well as two collections of short stories and two works of nonfiction. Open House was an Oprah’s Book Club selection, Durable Goods and Joy School were selected as ALA Best Books of the Year, Talk Before Sleep was short-listed for an Abby Award, and The Pull of the Moon was adapted into a play. Berg has been honored by both the Boston Public Library and the Chicago Public Library. She is a popular speaker at venues around the country, and her work has been translated into twenty-seven languages. She is the founder of Writing Matters, a reading series designed to serve author, audience, and community. She divides her time between Chicago and San Francisco.

Customer Reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
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See all 16 customer reviews
Still, this is a book worth reading and it has definitely sparked my interest in reading more of Sand's novels.
Cathe
Berg's writing is so stilted and the shifts in time so distracting that I often felt like throwing this novel aside in disgust.
L. Young
Elizabeth Berg's first-person narrative succeeds in bringing Sand's thoughts and feelings to life, as well as her actions.
A. J Terry
This item has not been released yet and is not eligible to be reviewed. Reviews shown are from Amazon Vine™ members.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Sadly This Dull Novel Will Kill Anyone's Potential Interest in George Sand
By L. Young VINE VOICE on February 20, 2015
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
Forty years ago I was enthralled by 19th century French writer George Sand and avidly read every one of her novels then available in English. Her novels were passionate as was her life which was filled with love affairs with famous men like composer Frederick Chopin. So I was thrilled to obtain an advance copy of Elizabeth Berg's new historical novel about Sand.

The only way to judge this book was to ask myself if I knew nothing about Sand would this novel make me want to learn about her and more importantly would it make me and other readers seek out her novels. After reading it I can only sadly sigh and say no. Berg's writing is so stilted and the shifts in time so distracting that I often felt like throwing this novel aside in disgust. After spening 300 pages cataloguing her many lovers and virtually ignoring her novels Berg finally gets to her most famous lover, Frederick Chopin. However, by then Berg seems to have run out of steam and disposes of Chopin quicky. I had high hopes that this novel would create a resurgence of interest in Sand and her work, but I fear it won't. Still Sand's own novels deserve a wider audience.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Berg Has Never Been Better!
By KDMask VINE VOICE on February 1, 2015
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
I have read all of Elizabeth Berg's novels and have loved each and every one. This historical novel is quite a departure from her normal fare but is none the less as wonderful and engaging. This is a story of a woman who's not only trapped in a marriage, she is trapped in a time where women were not encouraged to think much, let alone write down their ideas. George Sand is born from frustration, and the dreams of our heroine. . The persona jumps to life and we are swept along the journey. We meet many historical figures (as lovers of Aurore) such as Chopin, Liszt and Victor Hugo which adds to the fabric of nineteenth century Paris. The story is woven into flashbacks of Aurore's youth which was traumatic and fraught with intrigue. This book is one to read and gift to those that love a great tale. Fans of Berg and historical romances will simply adore this read!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
A rare reading experience!
By Barbara McArthur VINE VOICE on February 27, 2015
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
The author has immersed herself within the life and times of the controversial novelist, George Sand. What has emerged is a masterful definition of Sand's character, personality, innermost thoughts and cravings and a visual picture of the settings of when and where Sand lived and traveled, that will capture your attention, and imagination until the last page is turned. Yes, this is historical fiction, but Berg's research has been amazing, and the reader is given the gift of seeing clearly and believing in the life lived by this remarkable novelist in the 1830's-1870's.
This gift is tied with a bow of description, thoughts, and dialogue that has been taken from the novels and letters of Sand, and is the reader's passport for transportation to a tufted velvet chair in one of Sand's salons. No contemporary expressions here. Written in the first person, the reader becomes George Sand.

The 1800's were not good times for women - unless one was prepared to be subordinate to one's husband, and endure life as a lesser person with fewer rights than men. Upon marrying, a woman's assets and future inheritance became the property of her husband. Here, we learn that Napoleon had established a law that husbands may file for divorce, but wives may not. George is staunchly opposed to the traditional women's role, and goes so far as to dress like a man when it suits her purpose - and to change her name.

Aside from her appearance, forthright speech and the personal opinions reflected in her novels, George was really not that different from most women - she sought lasting love. Her approach to that quest was unique for the times, and she suffered from the gossipmongers. Sand's childhood is reported in detail, and builds a foundation for her craving and life-long search.Read more ›
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
worth a read
By Chel Micheline TOP 100 REVIEWER on February 25, 2015
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
While not as poetic and lyrical as her earlier novels, "The Dream Lover" is still a solid book. I've read everything Elizabeth Berg has written, and while she's one of my favorite authors, I find her books either amazing and life-changing or sort of slight and not incredibly memorable. I think "The Dream Lover" is somewhere in the middle.

First and foremost, it's a historical novel, which is a departure for Berg. There are no paragraphs full of dreamy, poetic observations of modern day life, which always moved me most about Berg's work. But the plot and narrative are solid.

And the story of George Sand is great material- she truly would have been at home in the current day, but when you think about the time period in which she lived, it really makes you do a double-take. I appreciated being able to learn more about her- even though it's a fictional account, it still made that period and its inhabitants come alive in a way the history books haven't.

So, no, this isn't as beautiful as some of Berg's earlier works. But it's worth a read.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Now I Like Sand Less Instead of More
By Just My Op VINE VOICE on March 3, 2015
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
If Elizabeth Berg's intent was to make me dislike George Sand, she succeeded. While I didn't know much about Sand, my impression was that she was a forward-thinking, daring woman. If Berg's interpretation is true, she comes across as selfish, flighty, very egotistical as well as somewhat insecure, and often mean. Not quite what I thought.

But apparently I have it all wrong. In her Afterword, Berg writes, "I supposed anyone who reads in depth about George Sand falls a little in love with her. I certainly did." While this novel is Sand's life as Berg imagined it, based partly on fact, partly on conjecture, I am surprised that Berg didn't cause me to like her more.

I do admire Sand's spirit. I found that her jumping from lover to lover, hurting herself and leaving destruction in her wake, her attitude toward her daughter, her posturing, to be quite off-puting, And despite all her activity, I found the story to be somewhat boring, especially when the first person narrator went on and on about her romances.

Even her attitude towards women's rights was odd. "...I sought to gain for women the rights they were due and denied, but in practice, I did not want to spend much with with them." Later, "And in spite of persistent misconceptions of me regarding my views on feminism, I never advocated for women choosing work over family, never advocated for taking women away from their homes and their children."

With one woman, she discusses "auditioning" a man to determine his sexual prowess. Her instantly falling in "love" with so many seemed more slutty than romantic.

While she may have been forward thinking in some manner, she trampled over people and yet felt herself the victim.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

Compelling story but drags at the end. 3.5 stars

I am not a fan of historical fiction, but I am a huge fan of Elizabeth Berg's previous novels, so I couldn't resist reading her latest work. Read more

Published 4 hours ago by Bee
A Woman Who Is Dressing As A Man?

The Dream Lover: A Novel
By
Elizabeth Berg

What it's all about...

Lovely Aurore leaves her husband to go to Paris and write. Read more

Published 3 days ago by PattyLouise
As the saying goes, "A Well Behaved Woman Seldome Make History".......

I have read a couple of books by Elizabeth Berg and enjoyed them enough to ass along to friends. In "The Dream Lover", Elizabeth Berg has brought to life Aurore Dudevant... Read more

Published 16 days ago by Melodie
A vivid fictionalized biography

The readers who will most appreciate The Dream Lover will likely be already at least somewhat familiar with George Sand's works, life, friends, lovers, and milieu. Read more

Published 17 days ago by A. J Terry
a female author who shocked society by dressing like a man

A very uneven book about an important figure in 19th century French literature was not a page turner for me. Read more

Published 17 days ago by Ms Winston
An unfortunate departure for one of my favorite writers

I gave it 79 pages, and never cared what happened next--if indeed anything much did. I loved Elizabeth Berg's previous novels, but they were set in modern times with modern,... Read more

Published 22 days ago by K. B. Fenner
Compelling and fascinating

I have read one of Elizabeth Berg’s previous novels and liked it so I was eager to see how this historical novel would be like. Read more

Published 23 days ago by Z Hayes
A challenging literary topic...George Sand...

Having heard the name of author, George Sand, I never knew her story and why she was touted and revered, particularly by women who espoused a liberation from their expected female... Read more

Published 23 days ago by An Educated Consumer
Interesting

Elizabeth Berg's The Dream Lover is a fictionalized biography of french author George Sand. Sand (Aurore Dudevant neé Dupin) left her husband and two children to go to Paris... Read more

Published 27 days ago by Cathe

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