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Dreaming In English [With Earbuds] (2011)

by Laura Fitzgerald(Favorite Author)

3.74 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

1611065569 (ISBN13: 9781611065565)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Playaway

review 1: Dreams of love and freedom are very common topics in literature because they are an essential part of who we are as human beings. Regardless of circumstance or background, we all have dreams, and we all crave love in some form or another.Finding common ground between human beings of different backgrounds, showing how in the small ways that truly matter we are all similar is an obvious theme of the novel. However, what usually makes a book that revisits a well worn story line worth the time, are the characters, their individuality, their ability to take you down the a familiar road while simultaneously making you feel that you are seeing things from a new light, theirs. Sadly, there was little about Tami, or any of the other characters in this novel that was unique, special... more, or even interesting. The novel was fairly well written, although in my opinion a little drawn out, given that the plot was highly predictable to anyone who has ever seen a romantic comedy or read a fluffy love story. The characters felt to me as stereotypical as the plot, which basically boils down to the following: A young, sweet, insecure girl from an underprivileged background (In this case a woman in a repressive Iran), comes to America in search of her dreams of love and freedom, falls in love with the first blue eyed American boy she meets at her local Starbucks, and of course even though he doesn't know her, he falls madly in love with her and saves her like a knight in Shinning armor by marrying her in Las Vegas days before her visa expires. Don't worry, I haven't spoiled the plot because that happened in the first page or two of the book. What follows is a typical cast of characters, down to the manipulative and conniving woman who threatens to stand in the way of the marriage, parental disapproval, doubts, and emotional reunions, culminating with a predictable happily ever after. To me, the characters never came close to feeling like real people. They are presented as near perfect people with no true bad intentions or ill feelings towards others, and even when they do act in a selfish or evil way, the author frames it as if love, fear, or some other understandable emotion is at the root of it, thereby glossing over the few parts of the characters that would have made them feel relate-able, or at the least realistic. Tami's biggest flaw and the biggest threat to her marriage is her lack of self-confidence and ability to understand her self-worth. That was my favorite part of the novel, I felt there was a lot of potential in that idea, and got genuinely excited at the potential that the novel would really dig deep into the ways that growing up under an oppressive system, whatever its form, has deep rooted consequences for a person's sense of self-worth. I wanted to hear more about the small ways lack of freedom erode your sense of who you really are. To my great disappointment, the author didn't expound on this idea nearly enough. Even though there is a point in the book where the narrator briefly changes from Tami to her mother, and that begins to explore that issue more deeply, even those parts seemed superficial. The mother is a very interesting character, who voluntarily gave up an opportunity to live in America to return to Iran and later suffered under the oppression of a failed revolution. There were glimmers of what the novel could have been when you read the narration from her perspective. But then she starts saying things that are shallow, and the author seems to undermine her own efforts of giving the character complexity and instead she comes across as a contradictory rather than complex character. Nonetheless, it was entertaining and easy to read. It was a good superficial distraction, and if you like love stories, and don't mind a predictable and clichéd plot, it is worth checking out. If however you are seeking substance or a read that is truly worth your time, I would search elsewhere.
review 2: I really enjoyed 'Veil of Roses' (which I recommend any reader to read that first before this sequel) but 'Dreaming in English' was really the icing on the cake of Tamila Soroush's story. There were a few minor loopholes in the story and there were a couple of story lines that weren't quite as fulfilled as I would've liked (e.g., Tami's finale with Ike's mother was very brief after all the tension was built up throughout the story). However, this was a definitely wonderful ending to the story. I enjoy all the characters and Laura's writing brought them all to life vividly in my mind. It was an enjoyable journey to take with interesting additions to the story that kept it lively and fresh. Truly was a great read. less

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