A gorgeous and vivid trip to a Greek island in the sixties makes up for a bland main character.
The first thing you’ll notice about A Theatre For Dreamers is its strikingly colourful cover. It’s swimming with Mediterranean blues, whites and greens. A young woman sits in the foreground looking over the scene. If this picture isn’t enough to transport you to the sun soaked islands of Greece, then opening this book certainly will. This is where author Polly Samson shines with her almost photo quality descriptions of the Greek island of Hydra; I’ve seen many readers describe this story as perfect summer escapism and that’s not an inaccurate description. There’s no denying that this is very much a masterclass in describing time and place.
The time is the nineteen-sixties and the story itself is both charming and fleeting. A young girl named Erica escapes rainy London and an abusive father to move to Greece for a year. The island of Hydra is bustling with artists whom Erica finds herself spending time with. Most notably of these is Leonard Cohen, who the island is closely associated with, even now.
If you have not heard of Leonard Cohen before, I suggest you start by listening to the classic song, “Hallelujah”. I am listening to it as I write this review. The lyrics and rhythm show his poetic prowess described within A Theatre For Dreamers. It is sad indeed that his version is often overshadowed by cover versions, more popular with the younger audience. A short Youtube search of “Hallelujah” places Leonard’s version fifth down the list despite being the original writer. Go and listen.
There are several other notable writers mentioned in this book. Charmian Clift plays the strong stand in mother to Erica, offering advice but hiding a vulnerable, sensitive soul. George Johnston, Charmian’s husband, who is often described as angry, bitter and drunk. Axel Jensen, one of the few successful authors who is outed as a cheating and selfish individual. There may be a theme of destruction among these characters despite the heavenly world they inhabit. You can tell that Samson has done her research and has written them in a very believable fashion, despite having not met any of them. The least interesting character is Erica herself, our narrator. This isn’t a huge problem as she is more of a looking glass in which we see everyone else, They confide in her, argue in front of her and fall in love around her. Erica’s love interest on the other hand is mildly irrelevant to the overall plot but serves as an awakening to independence. The plot of the book doesn’t really have a main focus point. Instead we are given a look into the residents of Hydra’s lives for roughly a year.
The charm of all this is that upon finishing the book, I felt like I would miss the characters and the island. I felt like I was spending time with these people. Charmians kitchen, the run down houses of the young artists and the scorching beaches they frolic in. It clings to you and this is a testament to Samson’s writing to be able to build such connections in so few pages. If you are looking for a Summer getaway then pick this one up.
The good – Beautiful descriptions of a place and time to get lost in.
– Perfect Summer escape
– Not distracted by romance or unrealistic plots
– Characters that stay with you
The bad – The main character is a little lifeless
– Not much happens overall
– Like a real holiday, it’s over too soon at 343 pages.
3/5
One Page At a Turn 