A City of Dreams: A Review of the Novel Palimpsest

Four strangers meet in a city that hangs on the edge of dreams. There they are bound together by magical forces, by a creature that appears to be not quite human. Than they wake up and discover it was all a dream, or was it. Each stranger is missing something in their life and feel drawn to the strange city that feels too real to be just imagination. Than there is the strange mark that each stranger has, a tattoo of sorts that also looks like a map. The map that leads to the city of Palimpsest, a place unlike any other and getting there for good will prove to be the difficult journey that is the focus of Catheynne Valente's book named after the city the strangers search for.

Trying to write a review for Valente's books is difficult because the story is so unlike anything else I have ever read. It is partly an emotional story of four people stuck in the real world desperately trying to find themselves in a world that is quickly paling in comparison to the one they dream about. It is also about the city itself that is stunning, beautiful and terrifying all at once. It is a fantasy land at first but with every lyrical passage becomes more realized, and more filled with its own struggles. The book is deep, emotional, erotic and fantastical all at once. That is not small feat for a book that is a little over 350 pages. It has been a long time since I have been so transported by a novel.

The four strangers are all very different from each other. November is a beekeeper that lives outside San Francisco who lives an isolated life seemingly without love until she falls for a very dangerous creature in the city in her dreams. Oleg, a New York locksmith, is haunted by the ghost of his sister who died before he was even born yet visits him almost daily. Then there is the blue haired Sei from Japan who has an obsession with trains that leads her to the city of Palimpsest where the trains are living creatures. Finally there is Ludo, an Italian bookbinder that has lost his wife and believes that she is hiding in the city she took him to once in his dreams.

The city itself quickly becomes a fifth character. Half of the book is devoted to the strange neighborhoods that make up the city of Palimpsest, each one so surreal and filled with lovely details. The strangers walk the city trying to find answers along with the reader who tries to solve the riddle of the cities culture and history. These passages are the best part of the book. They are like poetry with every word and every detail of the city being a joy to read. I love that the author does not hold your hand through this journey, instead choosing to throw you into this strange land to experience it as you go. Some things don't make sense at first and your not quite sure what's going on but it is all a marvel to read about.

The half of the book that takes place outside of Palimpsest is devoted to the four main characters quest to find what they have lost. They desperately search the world for others who have visited Palimpsest for the only way to enter the city if you are a stranger is to have a night of passion with another person in the real world who is marked by the city. This means the book has a certain erotic quality to it that is just tasty enough for those types that like that sort of thing, yet tasteful enough that it will not be a distraction for those who don't. The book is less about sex and more about passion in all its many forms.

Palimpsest is a stunning discovery. It is so rare to find a book that stands on its own and is unlike anything that has become before it. I recommend it to anyone who has started to feel bogged down by books that start to feel familiar half way through. Reading this novel is going to be a totally new journey for you. It is surreal and amazing to behold. If you have an open mind at all, give it a chance. Beyond being a very interesting world and story, it is also a very well written book. Catherynne Valente is a brave author who weaves her words with deft skill in bold directions. Take a chance and get lost in Palimpsest

Sources
Palimpsest by Catherynne Valente