What do You think about Machine Dreams (1999)?
I wasn't sure how to review this until I happened to come across a phrase I wrote about another book: "As with many of the novels I end up really liking, I found that the ending really 'made' the book for me." That is exactly how I felt about Machine Dreams. It's beautifully written throughout, with details of a childhood and a close-in-age, sibling (older sister/younger brother) relationship I easily identified with. Before reading, I wondered if I would like a book that had the word 'machine' in the title, but none of the 'mechanical' descriptions ended up boring me. Besides, the word 'machine' is used to encompass much more than I originally thought it would; I was impressed. The metaphors of machines, dreams and other things are worn lightly and effectively.
—Teresa
An interesting novel from which some chapters or sections could be lifted as self-contained short stories. The novel spans three generations and deals mostly with a harsh passage of time; destruction of relationships, of land and of innocence. The story begins in the Great Depression and follows a family through WWII and it's haunting of Mitch, and into Vietnam. The feminism movement plays a quiet part in the story, as Bess, Jean and Danner struggle against the outwardly patriarchial culture of Appalachia. The story itself lagged at times, in my opinion, but the ending proved powerful enough to make it worth the time invested in reading it.
—Rhonda Browning White
Jayne Anne Phillips is one of my favourite contemporary authors. When I was very young, I read Black Tickets and was blown away by the beauty and power of her work.I'm now reading Machine Dreams, her first novel, and am savouring the story, the voices, the characters, the beauty and power and simplicity of the prose, which never feels forced. The West Virginia landscape and history are vivid and the story reverberates long after the covers are closed. She is truly an American beauty.I will read Lark and Termite next.
—Ami Sands
