new summer read for you! in A THEATER OF DREAMERS, 18-year-old Erica’s mother has just died, so she escapes to the Greek Isle of Hydra with her brother. she finds friendship with a group of Bohemian artists and writers, but over the course of the summer things unravel in various ways. it’s a coming-of-age novel based on true events with a great sense of place, both geographically in Greece and historically in 1960. add it to your escapist summer reading!

DNF. The premise of this book would usually be something that I gravitate towards, but I just couldn't get into the this story. I definitely can see how this would appeal to other readers, but it just wasn't for me.

A Theater for Dreamers is set on the Greek Island of Hydra in the 60’s. It centers around communities of artists in a beautiful setting, living a bohemian lifestyle. There is drama, chaos, and quite a few characters to follow. Some of the characters are real-life names you might recognize. It is also a coming of age story for the narrator who travels to the island in the hopes of fulfilling her dream to become a writer. While the setting captivated me, I had trouble connecting with the characters.

I loved that this story was a mix of fiction and truth - at least based partially on true people and stories. This story followed Erica and her friends in the '60's enjoying the sun and freedom of the Greek island Hydra. They are free spirited artists finding love, inspiration and friendship in one another. The writing was extremely lyrical and the Greek setting was just awe-spiring. I found that this book really evoked the feeling of "bohemian" and makes a perfect summer read.' The relationship developed were the most interesting part, each of them really fell into a role to make the perfect make-shift family.

I personally didn't quite connect with the characters but if a traveling free-spirited artist is what you're craving you'll find it here.

*I received an arc in exchange for an honest review*.

Erica might be the protagonist you think this is about but read the novel for its portrayal of Charmian Clift and George Johnston, Australian writers who created a colony of ex-pats on the Greek island of Hydra in the early 1960s. Erica, her brother, and her boyfriend leave London for a fresh look at the world and they find it among the creative types they meet. There are multiple cameos (of a sort) here, the most famous of which might be Leonard Cohen. Clift, however, was a complicated woman who lived a big life largely unknown in the US. The utopia is not a utopia for her as she deals with the practicalities and chaos. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's an interesting read perfect for fans of atmospheric literary fiction.

A Theater for Dreamers is a love letter to the Greek Island of Hydra. The book is filled with glorious setting details but a bit lacking in story. I could envision almost every scene with clarity, but got confused by the many characters who appeared. When travel is safe again, I am certainly inspired to visit Hydra. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

What an interesting premise. This book follows the true life story of artists on the island of Hydra in the middle of the 20th century. Among them are Charmian Clift and Leonard Cohen. The story largely is based off of real life events regarding the relationships of the different artists, but with a protagonist who is (I think?) fictional. The story of Erica follows her from her home in England to Hydra in Greece and her front row seat to the drama and intrigue that occurs between all the different artists. I absolutely loved the descriptions of Greece and the islands and it made me want nothing more than to be able to travel there soon.
I would highly recommend this book, it is a wonderful read for a summer-y tale but also has some real life elements and is quite engaging.

This ebook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Fiction take interwoven with true characters who lived and loved on Hydra.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this title. I tried to get into this book but didn't find anything particularly special about the writing, and the characters/plot didn't grab me in the beginning, so I had no motivation to keep reading this book.

A Theater for Dreamers is a great book for people who love Prose and stories like The Goldfinch. For me the prose was a little much in this one. To me at times it took me out of the story trying to decipher what the author was trying to portray.

But that's just me and my own lack of knowledge with this type of writing. So I think if elegant prose is your thing you should definitely give this book a chance.

This book is about 18 year old Erica who is grieving the loss of her mother and travels to Greece. There she finds a community of artists where she feels as if she has found her place.

But there is the tumultuous times of the 60s and the struggles of coming of age that she must face.

The best part about this book is definitely the location. I want to go to Greece!!!

Thank you to Algonquin Books for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

The writing style of A Theater for Dreamers was good, but the story and characters just didn't appeal to me.

There are no bigger secrets that our parent's lives, unless it is the secrets kept between lovers.

When Erica's mother dies she discovers she didn't know her mother at all. She had only seen the woman who stayed with an abusive husband and father. How did she secretly stash money away for her daughter's future, and where did that secret car come from, and how was it used?

Erica is nineteen and in love with the older, beautiful, wannabe writer Jimmy. When Erica's previous neighbor, her mother's friend Charmain, sends her newest book and invitation to visit her on the Greek island of Hydra, Erica uses her inheritance to take her and Jimmy to Greece.

Hydra is paradise on earth, nestled between the cliffs and the sea, with marble streets and exotic foods and floral odors competing with the smell of sponges piled on the fishing boats.

Charmain and her husband Gordon are the center of a group of ex-pat young people, artists and writers and poets and their muses. Erica finds a surrogate mother in her, and Charmain tries to guide the teenager to prepare for a fuller life, warning her of the pitfalls of love and men and being bound to a supporting role.

In the early 1960s, these Bohemians are seeking meaning in a world threatened by Atomic destruction, rejecting the conformity of the 1950s. And yet, the men still hold to old fashioned ideas about women and love and sex, and the women comply to keep their men. Charmain imagines another way of living, not merely being a man's muse and caretaker to protect his creative process.

A natural observer, Erica tries to puzzle out the twisted relationships around her, noting the tension in the marriages of Axle and Marianne Jensen and Charmain and Gordon. When Leonard Cohen arrives on the island, already published at age 25, he is ready to claim Marianne when her husband abandons her and their son for another woman. She is the perfect muse and compliant help-meet for a creative man.

As relationships topple, and alcohol and drugs fuel craziness, Erica is forced to alter her idea of her future.

Hydra is central to the novel, with lush descriptions vividly rendering its beauty and challenges. The Greek traditions are observed, the seasonal changes described. I dreamed of it at night, especially after viewing photographs online of the historical denizens of Hydra during this time. Samson's descriptions of these people, their clothing, is so detailed, arising from these photographs.

I also dreamed of Cohen's music, So Long, Marianne, That's No Way to Say Goodbye, and especially The Stranger Song, from Cohen's 1967 record album that I purchased at age 16. I was surprised to learn that the songs Cohen sang at the group gatherings were folk songs like I Ride an Old Paint. I always loved that folk song, and had a 45 record of it when I was a girl.

I read this book during a cold spell in spring, immersed in the bright light and sea air of a place I will never see, but feel as if I had. I loved this book for taking me to another place, and for the interesting and deeply flawed characters, and for its insight into women's role in men's lives.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

This novel is mesmerizing, bringing all the life, love and drama of a bohemian, hippy generation to life.

It’s the 1960’s, and Ericka flees her oppressive father along with her first love, Jimmy, her brother and his girlfriend. With a small inheritance and a vague invitation from a friend of her mother’s, Ericka arrives on the Greek island of Hydra looking for a place to belong. She finds one among an expatriate community of troubled, free-spirited artists, about whom one character says, “they hop like bloody fleas from bed to bed.”

This is a character-driven novel, and I was as absorbed as Ericka in the struggling marriage of the dazzling Charmain and the angry, sickly George; and beautiful, young Marianne, torn between her love for the brilliant novelist husband who abandons her with a baby and the young poet, Leonard Cohen, who wants to step into his place.

This is a glittering story of beautiful young artists drinking, loving, making mistakes and making art against the backdrop of a beautiful island.

Thank you to the publisher for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first book to read by this author and I can't wait to read more! This book sucks you in from the get-go and you will find yourself thinking about the story and the characters long after you finish the book!

1960: 18 year old Erica escapes a dull existence in London and looks to start anew on the sun drenched Greek island of Hydra, where a world of possibilities await. She is determined to give her all to her dream of being a writer, and she's in good company. With established talents such as Charmian Clift, George Johnston, and Leonard Cohen, she tries to embrace her muse- but giving your all to art requires more compromise and sacrifice than Erica ever expected.
An immersive and vibrant tale!

Communities of artists are fascinating . . . camaraderie and competition entwined with Bohemian lifestyles, which always seems to be at odds with the creation of some beautiful, enduring contributions to the world. Hydra in the 1960s is a fascinating encapsulation of creators who came from all parts to locate the muse to coax out their offerings. This, in itself, is an enticing book plot, especially since there are recognizable names (Leonard Cohen, Mariann Ihlen, George Johnston) over sixty years later, and also some unsung heroes upon which modern feminism is built. And Polly Samson adds all that into A Theater for Dreamers, a title that references the stage-like harbor of Hydra where the story plays out through the eyes of a fictional persona, Erica, who is the daughter of a recently deceased friend of Charmian Clift. Erica's story is that of a woman coming of age in an era of birth control and regrowth post-World War II. Erica is the lynchpin for this story because through her eyes the audience runs up and down the ancient steps of Hydra from point to point, weaving together a story of growth and learning from paying attention to the lives of others. She is an observer, naive and young, with so much she does not know. Idolizing Charmian Clift, an Australian author with whom an American audience will be largely unfamiliar, Erica becomes her own woman, but as Erica grows and returns to London, she must embrace the key Beat concept of "Killing your darlings" - outgrowing your muse and moving beyond what they have to offer.
Readers will be captivated by the Greek Isles setting, drawn in by familiar names, but the takeaways on self-reliance make A Theater for Dreamers a poignant story for becoming your own person and understanding what freedom is for yourself.

A Theater for Dreamers is a beguiling book full of drama and chaos artfully set on the Greek island of Hydra in the early 60s. The cast of characters follows mostly historic (and now famous) players and artists and writers whose often fractured relationships belie or enhance their genius. For the young and innocent narrator, Erica, the book is an adept coming of age story, and her relationship with Charmian Clift is the strongest and most compelling piece of the book. Other aspects of the plot grow a little tiresome and repetitive at times. Nonetheless, the story is captivating and provides strong descriptions of young artists' searches for a muse while looking for a creative utopia.