Customer Reviews

The Dream Lover: A Novel

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!

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. Although she loved her children, her relationship with them was peppered with estrangement. Perhaps the reason that Sand comes vividly alive in this novel, not discounting the skill of the author, is the fact that she was a real person who lived the life described.

I have not read any of Sand's novels, but I did come across a DVD several years ago (amassing, I confess, everything I could find with Hugh Grant in it) - called Impromptu - with Judy Davis playing George Sand, and Grant as Chopin. I didn't know then that the story I was seeing was a very accurate (albeit fictional) portrayal of Sand's relationship with Chopin. If reading The Dream Lover stokes your interest in spending more time with George Sand, I highly recommend the DVD.

It isn't that often these days that we readers say we despair that a book is ending. This reader feels genuine despair, as it was such a pleasure to walk the paths that Sands walked at her country estate and to sit in candlelight before a crackling fire listening to Chopin playing one of his Preludes. Thank you, Elizabeth Berg, for a great reading experience!

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.

Before reading this book, I knew only a few sketchy details about George Sand - such as- she was a female writer in the 19th Century who had taken a man's name and often dressed as a male and was Chopin's lover.
Through Elizabeth Berg's brilliant research and writing, I was introduced to a complex, gifted woman who longed to know love and would stop at nothing in her search for it. Her encounters with other luminaries of the era are rich in detail.
Now when I think of George Sand I find the rough sketch has turned into a full-blown portrait.

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.

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. Like some other readers, I enjoyed the earlier part of the book more than the later part. I think Berg did an excellent job of portraying Sands' childhood, and I found many of the descriptions quite evocative. Reading about her life in the French countryside, I was reminded of how I felt watching the early seasons of Downton Abbey. I got a vivid sense of a life very different from anything we know now, and I felt almost transported to that time. I also really cared about the characters and I found them all interesting. As the book progressed, however, I found myself becoming detached in a way not unlike how I felt about the later seasons of Downton Abbey, when the plot had to change to accommodate the reality of various cast members deciding to leave the show. I found myself becoming less involved with the characters, and more aware that there was a writer pulling the strings. I felt the quality of the writing deteriorated, both in the t.v. series and in this novel. With the exception of Sands' one relationship with a woman, her affairs seemed kind of boring and repetitive, and the writing about these relationships seemed much less compelling. Perhaps it was an accurate portrayal of Sands' lack of growth and insight, and her unconscious repetition of old patterns, or perhaps she just didn't prefer being with men. If either was true, maybe it was harder to write about these relationships in an emotionally gripping manner. Since I don't know what is historically accurate and what is the product of Berg's imagination, I don't have any insight into the reasons for this change in tone. For all I know, it might have been a book deadline. All I can say is that the latter part of the book did not engage me as much as the earlier part. I might have stopped reading, but I kept looking forward to the introduction of Frederick Chopin. I was ultimately disappointed at how little of the book was devoted to that relationship, but perhaps he just wasn't as major a figure in her life as I thought he was. Since this is historical fiction, there is no way to know what is factual without doing some research.

I would give this book 3.5. stars, but since I have to choose an even number, I am giving it 4 stars in deference to Berg's excellent body of work.

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. What George Sand was really like, I do not know, but the George Sand of this book is someone I would not have wanted to be near.

The writing was good, the wordsmithing certainly nothing to complain about. The story jumped back and forth in time, so the reader initially has to pay close attention to the timeline. I do like the frequent appearance of other historical figures - Chopin, Liszt, Flaubert, and several more artists of the time.

For me, a quote from the book made me laugh because it is so close to how I feel about this novel.

"It had become the book one had to have, even if one did not read it."

I was given an advance reader's copy of this book. The quotes may have changed in the published edition.

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. These readers will be best able to sort out the known facts of Sand's life from author Elizabeth Berg's well-researched and plausible extrapolations. Those not already familiar might benefit from at least a quick read of an online biography.

George Sand (Aurore Dudevant neé Dupin) left her husband and children for the bohemian world of mid 19th-century France. She wrote numerous novels, essays, and plays. She is also well known for her assortment of famous lovers, especially the composer Frederic Chopin and the writer Alfred de Musset. She was a friend of the writers Gustave Flaubert, Victor Hugo, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and of the composer Franz Liszt. Sand shocked society by wearing men's clothing and by publicly smoking tobacco. Then there was her relationship with actress Marie Dorval . . . . Sand's unconventional behavior subjected her to considerable criticism.

Sand's life supplies plenty of colorful material for a historical novel. Elizabeth Berg's first-person narrative succeeds in bringing Sand's thoughts and feelings to life, as well as her actions. Five stars.

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 nee Dupin. Aurore left her husband and 2 children to fulfill her desire to be a writer and find love. The first item was accomplished under the pen name of George Sands, and the second I will let the reader discover where her love life leads her. Aurore was also a woman before her time in that she dressed as a man first to achieve low cost tickets to the theater, and she found she liked being treated as a man and all the freedoms it brought into her life.
This story easily moves between her childhood and her adult life, as the reader gets to know the main character. However, I did have trouble staying engaged, I especially had difficulty with the last quarter of the book. Having said that ,I think George Sands is an interesting historical person and the book well worth reading. The author deeply researched the character and the time in history, especially exploring what a woman's life was like.

The Dream Lover: A Novel
By
Elizabeth Berg

What it's all about...

Lovely Aurore leaves her husband to go to Paris and write. She changes her writing name to George Sand...she dresses as a man in order to have a more exciting life and says she can pass as a man because of her low voice. She finds a boyfriend/lover. She loves her Bohemian Parisienne apartment and her life in Paris. The only flaw in her life is that she has to return to her country home every three months to be with her two children. No matter what...her awful husband was still " the boss of her". Her childhood was fraught with inconsistencies...trying to keep her mother's love...dealing with her grandmother...being "sold" by her mother to her grandmother.

My thoughts after reading this book...

This book alternates between Aurore's childhood and her adult life. Often the 3 months in Paris are just not enough for her...she loves her time in Paris...writing and having fun and engaging in adulterous relationships. Then when she returns home to spend time with her two young children while her husband has a break...to hunt and also engage in adulterous relationships...she is bored and frustrated and can't wait to leave. Aurore had to live this kind of life because her husband controlled their money...even though the money is mostly her money!

What I loved best...

Hmmmm...what I loved best about this book turned out to be the behaviors that irritated me...Aurore lavishing attention on her children and then getting totally bored with them...and then getting her feelings hurt when they didn't want to spend time with her. Her daughter later turns out to be a mess. Aurore's own relationships...with women as well as men...are usually disastrous.

What potential readers might want to know...

If you love historical fiction...this book takes place in the early 1800's...you will enjoy Aurore/George's story...I did enjoy it at first but then I sort of didn't love it towards the end. But...I was getting restless with that era and all of these people and their issues. Elizabeth Berg's writing was flawless. She made this story an interesting one. I also loved reading about the real George Sand...there is a ton of information about her in the back of the book.