Dream Sequence
ADAM FOULDS
(JONATHAN CAPE, 224 PP, £14.99)
Tablet Bookshop price £13.49 • Tel 020 7799 4064
Dream Sequence is a finely structured morality tale set within a brilliant panorama of modern life. Its central theme of deceptive appearances links Henry, a handsome young English actor on the brink of attaining international fame (anticipating “ridiculous money, personal assistant money, multiple homes money”), and Kristin, a needy American divorcee who has fallen in love with Henry on the basis of an incidental conversation in an airport. The narrative moves in separate sections following Henry’s preparations for a big film role and Kristin’s journey from Philadelphia to London to be with him for ever. Her lonely self-deceptions, which are boosted by many internet searches, are in contrast to his professional life at the centre of agents and personal assistants. His actor’s uncertainties involve tough gym work, crash diets, casual sex and cocaine binges, all persuasively described.
