A Theatre for Dreamers by Polly Samson is a captivating novel that will resonate with readers who revel in the beauty of summer, the creative spark of writers, and the struggles of growing up, making it a perfect fit for those who adore coming-of-age stories, literary fiction, and the allure of Greece.

I had high hopes for this one but unfortunately I could not get through it!

Who wouldn’t want to read about Bohemian artists, including Leonard Cohen (factionalized) hanging out in Greece in the 60s, but I didn’t really care that much about any of the characters and it was way too slow for me. Maybe my expectations were too high.

DNF at 45%.

Thank you Algonquin.

Thank you Netgalley, Algonquin Books and Polly Samson for free e-ARC in return of my honest review of A Theater for Dreamers.

It is hard to review a book that I did not get at all. I was lost int the story and characters. None of them came alive for me and I was just turning pages just to get through without of much understanding and sense of what was going on. Sometimes it felt that Polly Samson had wanted to explore grief of young Erica and how she throws herself into the community of people she barely knows to deal with feeling that she has no idea how to and no one there to help her guide through the. I tried to feel compassion toward her, and only felt irritation with the simple communication and her noisiness.

I wish I enjoyed it more, and I am glad I am finished with it.

This is just a perfect little summer read. Especially with the pandemic going on, it was so nice to get to escape to another country for awhile, even if it was just in the pages of this book. It was a small consolation for having to cancel a trip to Greece in 2020 because of the pandemic. Plus, it has me even MORE ready to go now.

While sometimes I can find bohemian-esque books (Looking at you, Kerouac) sort of grating, this one worked for me. I enjoyed the cast of characters and their relationships with one another. Although, sometimes I did have trouble telling them apart when reading, which I tend to do when there are several folks in a story.

I love that Leonard Cohen was part of this book and was one of the main draws when deciding to read this one.

With all the lush descriptions and fleshed-out characters, I could see this book not appealing to some folks that need non-stop plot, but overall I thought it was a very satisfying read.

I had really high hopes for this one. I couldn't wait to dive in because I have been loving books set in the 60s and 70s, but something about this didn't work for me. I never quite felt like the characters matched the setting in terms of development. The writing was descriptive and lush, but the characters didn't feel as detailed and real to me as they should have. I should have been steeped in their world, but I always felt like an outsider. Perhaps I wasn't interested in the Leonard Cohen angle.

Maybe I wasn't in the mood for purple prose, so give this a chance and see if it's just me.

This book had allll the feels. Beautiful writing and a story that was just as beautiful. I've seen comparisons to other recent books, but this one is in a league of it's own.

“The month was July and I was glad of my sunglasses, could feel the sting of sun and salt on my bare arms. I was growing ever more exhilarated, and fearful, my stomach lurching as the island’s first rocky shoulder swept into view. I clung to the rail, suspended between the dazzle of sea and unbroken blue sky. The boat turned and there it was! Hey presto, the sudden flourish, conjured from bare rocks by the gods and lit by the sun. A theatre for dreamers”
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If you want a novel that allows you to escape to the sun-baked terraces of Greece and if you enjoyed Daisy Jones and the Six, A Theatre for Dreamers might well be a book for you


Set on the island of Hydra in 1960, eighteen year-old Erica escapes London and her authoritarian father after the death of her mother. Hydra is the home of writers Charmian Clift and George Johnston and a bohemian set of artists, musicians and authors that gather on the Island, frequenting its bars and each other’s beds. Erica sits slightly on the edge of this artistic set well placed as an observer and the book’s narrator. Leonard Cohen, at that stage an unknown young Canadian poet, moves to the island and finds his lover and muse Marianne, a golden Norwegian girl caught in an abusive relationship


Based on real life events, the author has used Cohen’s own words for his dialogue. As the wife of a musician and the daughter of a journalist, there is a sense that Polly Sampson understands the tumult of an artistic life. I found the theme of the “muse” interesting. It’s always struck me as such a strange concept. Hydra itself inspires its creative community, but there is tension between Charmian and George, Erica and boyfriend Jimmy and even Cohen and Marianne as one ends up subservient to the artistic endeavours of the other even whilst supposedly inspiring them. Unsurprisingly for the early 1960’s, this was typically the woman. There is one excruciatingly uncomfortable scene where Marianne is objectified sexually by a room full of men whilst her art is mocked


There is shadow to the Grecian light in this book and although I found the rolling structure and large cast of characters difficult to follow at times, I enjoyed a glimpse into the bohemian life of Hydra in the 1960’s. Huge thanks to Algonquin Books for the opportunity to read A Theatre for Dreamers and for including me on the Blog Tour

Thanks to Algonquin Books and NetGalley for a free book in exchange for an honest review.

"Have some adventures...Dare to dream."

If you're looking for a dreamy, sensual summer read, Polly Samson's novel might be just what you need. Set on the Greek island of Hydra in 1960, A Theater for Dreamers follows 18 year old Erica who, along with her boyfriend and older brother, travels to the island after the death of her mother. The story explores Erica's relationship with her brother, her boyfriend, and a large group of Beat-era artists and writers, including many real-life names that will be familiar to the reader, including the writer Charmin Clift, her husband George Johnston, the poet Gregory Corso, and a very young aspiring poet named Leonard Cohen (yes, that Leonard Cohen. His time on Hydra is detailed wonderfully in the biography I'm Your Man).

As the summer wears on, the naïve Erica becomes more and more infatuated with the lives of Charmian, Leonard, and the other creatives.

This is a lovely coming-of-age novel full of lush sensory details about the island as well as its many colorful inhabitants.

My Highly Caffeinated Thought: A beautifully written escape into time on the Greek island of Hydra and a cast of characters fit for the stage.

A THEATER FOR DREAMERS is one of those books that becomes an all-encompassing read. You are instantly brought back to the 1960s on this beautiful Greek island. With the scene set, the author introduces you to a cast of characters complex in both their emotions and intertwined relationships.

What is truly captivating about this book is the author’s prose. The way Samson writes is lyrical, candid, and immersive. While I spent time within the pages of this book, I felt as if I were there with Erica, Charmian, George, Axel, Marianne, and Leonard. This snidbit of time was carefully constructed with care for the development of the characters as well as the story being told.

All and all, Samson gave us a wonderfully layered novel with heart, a bit of whimsy, and a depth to the complete emotional toll of being surrounded by artists and dreamers.

This book gives me a lot of Daisy Jones and The Six vibes with the artistic and liberating lifestyles the characters seem to live in Greece. The descriptions of the setting makes you want to go on vacation immediately and experience a more carefree existence. Despite a seemingly laissez-faire lifestyle, Erica still grapples with her mother’s death and finding her own journey in life. While it did take me a little while to get into this book and a found some characters a bit annoying (which might’ve been the point), it’s still an enjoyable read! Historical fiction lovers will enjoy diving into this 1960s coming-of-age story set in Greece!

This book was an absolute joy to read! Previously I had read Charmian Clift’s , “Mermaid Singing” and “Peel Me a Lotus”. It was interesting to read a novel about the group of writers, artists and other characters living on the island of Hydra during that time. I am so excited to read more of Polly Samson’s writing!

"The writers pull their chairs closer when they hear that he's a published poet. They are devils at a feast, tightening the circle as he talks of a little room where he might finish blackening the pages of a novel."

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A Theater for Dreamers is a coming of age story set in the 1960's on a tiny Greek island where a British teen girl, Erica and her brother land following their mother's death. They realize that their mother had a connection here to the island and they may not have known her as well as they thought. As they focus on their art and writing with their friends, they try to uncover just who their mother really was and find themselves in the process.

The writing of this novel is beautiful, especially descriptions of the island; in it you are easily transported away. It's a great read for a summer escape. The challenge for me was that they were a lot of characters and they intermingled a lot and they were all running from something and trying to be someone else. So it made for a very dynamic environment but one that was sometimes meandering and hard to follow. Erica begins to learn the messiness of adulthood and that her idea of a perfect straight line for her life may not be realistic.

I also liked that the novel really took a hard look at the haves and have nots, how those who came to the island to exploit its beauty weren't really experiencing the struggle of survival that the real residents went through.

Thanks to Algonquin Books for gifting me this novel. All opinions above are my own.

4 1/2

A Theater for Dreamers by Polly Samson isn’t what I expected and that’s not a bad thing. Written in dense prose, this story about a young English woman, Erica, who goes to the Greek Isle of Hydra with her boyfriend and brother in order to escape the mental abuse of her widower-father, is not easy to get into, especially when you’ve been reading undemanding books. Frankly, I almost surrendered it to the DNF pile and moved on. Then I grew to enjoy the rhythm of this writing, its vast descriptions that make you feel like you’re on a sweltering beach rather than your living room sofa.

I’m sorry to admit that I had never heard of Australian writers Charmian Clift and George Johnston, but I did become immersed in their lives and their sometimes brutal treatment of each other. I became fascinated by the almost primitive lifestyle on this island in the early 1960’s as well as the arrival of the then mostly unknown Canadian poet, Leonard Cohen.

A Theater for Dreamers is a well-researched story about real human beings (even the fictional ones felt real). Events aren’t glossed over, well, except that Leonard Cohen almost seems too good to be true. While I was reading and becoming fascinated by these artists and their bohemian lifestyle, I did a lot of Googling to learn more. This book made me think of those days in Paris when Gertrude Stein was holding court with the likes of Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Picasso et al. There is something eminently alluring about reading about creatives and their thoughts, opinions, and philosophies.

While A Theater for Dreamers is about writers and artists and poets, it is also about women and how they were perceived and treated by men in the early ’60s. The reader is privy to the struggle of Charmian Clift, a writer, but also a woman who feels second to her husband and his career. This idea is played out over and over from Erica who caters to her boyfriend, to Marianne (who would become Cohen’s muse) who lives to make a home for her writer husband, Axel. Clift declares over and over again that Erica should take up her pen and write, be a success for herself.

As the novel shines a light on the treatment of women, it does the same for animals. Some of the occurrences felt almost unpalatable for this reader, an unabashed animal lover. And I think they were supposed to be; for sometimes, presenting a scene at its most vile/heartbreaking is the only way to get through inertia.

Erica is supposed to be the observer, the one through whose eyes the characters and their actions are told and processed, but I did wish that more about Erica’s later years had been told. She may have been a fictional character among real life characters, but the reader did come to care about her and want her to succeed.

While admittedly the writing style won’t appeal to every reader, I found A Theater for Dreamers to be ultimately completely satisfying and I’m so glad I stuck with it.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The title of "theater" and "dreamers" conjures an image. The description of "utopia," "idyllic," and "bohemian" conjures an image. Unfortunately for me, the image scatters somewhat in the story told in a Theater for Dreamers by Polly Samson. The book is like a mosaic in which the individual pieces are interesting but, for me, do not quite come together to form a whole.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2021/05/a-theater-for-dreamers.html

Reviewed for NetGalley and a publisher's blog tour.

CW: Violence, sexual content, abortion, car accident, gore, animal cruelty, abuse, infidelity, substance use

The year is 1960, and Erica and her brother flee London after the death of their mother. They travel to the Greek island of Hydra and Erica, an aspiring writer, becomes part of a defect colony of artists and writers who make a permanent or temporary home of the island. This colony is headed by the Australian writers Charmian Clift and George Johnston, who lived next to Erica’s family when she was a child. Erica quickly learns what it means to live in this outpost, and to be a woman in the midst of this tangled mass of artists. The women around her exist largely in service of their more successful counterpart men, and she tries to figure out her place in Hydra and in the world.

It can at times feel a struggle to connection with this truly dizzying cast of characters. I think that feeling is intentional, that you can only get your fingertips into this constantly shifting group, as people come and go and come again. Erica, and by some extension Charmian’s family, are the emotional center of this book, and you’re seeing the rest of the colony through their eyes and perspectives. This is also a commentary on a time in the 60s where gender roles and social mores are changing, and those conflicts play out on the backdrop of Hydra, which is vividly and beautifully rendered here. This artist colony in Hydra really existed, and Erica is the fictional character that tells their story. It’s fascinating and infuriating and devastating, and perhaps ultimately somewhat fleeting.

Oh my goodness, the dreamiest summer escape of a book! I feel like so often summer fiction is all frothy and light with very little substance—I still want to read literary fiction on the beach and A Theater for Dreamers is the perfect combination of a gorgeous setting, glamour, dysfunctional relationships, and sophisticated prose. I can certainly see how some folks may say “but nothing really happens...”, but these are the kind of books I enjoy. I love a good deep dive into relationships. This is certainly character-driven rather than plot-driven and I can see how the Leonard Cohen stans may take issue, but I really loved this book. Readers who allow themselves to just be absorbed into this world will love it.

I had all intentions of finishing this book by its publication date, which is today. I am not done, I am right in the middle and I have no excuses. I just entered a bit of a slump and didn’t feel like reading! So be it!!

Even though I’m not done with the book, I wanted to feature ‘A Theater for Dreamers’ by Polly Samson. This book takes place in 1960 and based on true events. After her mother dies, Erica and her brother travel to the Greek island of Hydra. They meet up with a group of bohemian artists- Writers, painters, and free spirits in 1960. To name drop some of the artists: Leonard Cohen, Chairman Clift and George Johnston, among others.

This book is written beautifully but it’s a bit slow going. I’m enjoying the scenery and the Grecian vibe but it’s not holding my attention like I want it too. It DOES make me want hot summer weather and a beach vacation! Stat!

"I would still be dependent on Dad if Mum hadn't saved all that money for me. I'd like to think that being here and all this isn't squandering it. I've still no idea what she really meant when she told me to live by my dreams."

Erica, still a teen, is grieving the loss of her mother and travels to the Island of Hydra in Greece where she hopes to find out more about her mother and maybe discover herself too. A Theater For Dreamers by Polly Samson is a beautifully crafted coming of age story interspersed with real life characters living their dreams in a true paradise.

In 1960 Hyda was a creative playground for notable writers such as Australian George Henry Johnson, Charmain Clift, Norwegian Axel Jensen and his wife Mariann Ihlen and perhaps best known Leonard Cohen of "Hallelujah" fame. Through Charmain, her Mom's best friend, Erica finds herself immersed in this intoxicating group as they frolic freely through days and nights fueled hy drugs, alcohol and sex.

Through Erica's eyes we see the married Mariann become Cohen's muse. We see the beginnings of stories forming for these future writers including Erica. Living during the cusp of The Women's Liberation movement Erica realizes her dreams can become real and she doesn't have to be beholden to anyone.

There is a great deal of nostalgia throughout this book especially near the end when Erica returns to Hydra years later after the death of Cohen and others. The last few chapters are most endearing and though Erica's life is far from perfect it is her memories of Hydra that often bring a smile.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

I was eager to participate in the blog tour for this work of literary fiction and was disappointed that no sparks went off for me. This novel will appeal to those who love atmospheric fiction. The descriptions of the Greek island of Hydra are vivid. Descriptive passages abound and are comprised of blue seas as well as flowers, food and plants unique to Greece. Hydra in 1960 with 17 year old Erica at the center, a recent arrival from London who is reeling from the recent death of her mother. Erika seeks comfort and a mother figure in Charmian, her mother's old friend who lives on the island. Writers, musicians, artists and poets make up the bohemian community and in their midst is a young Leonard Cohen. There are many characters in this literary work, most chasing dreams and each other. Depression, dashed hopes and alcoholism are also prevalent. I found myself turning the pages and waiting for the big story but for me, that did not happen. Thank you to @algonquinbooks for inviting me to be part of this blog tour and to @NetGalley for the free copy of this ARC. My opinions are my own. #bookstagrammer #netgalley #bookreviewer #atheaterfordreamers #algonquinbooks #booksandmrdarcy #withhernosestuckinabook❤️📚

While this book didn't necessarily blow me out of the water, wow is this a great pick for summer! This has an INCREDIBLE sense of place and twists and turns that held my attention. Throw this in your beach bag this summer without a doubt.