This family saga is filled with memorable characters in an amazing setting. An exploration of love, grief, identity, and family that pulls you in and takes an emotional choke hold until its strong finish. A masterpiece tale of searching for meaning and relationships built and broken, Dream State is a fresh novel not to miss.

Dream State by Eric Puchner is a stunning and sweeping character driven story that takes us along through the lives of its three central figures -Cece, Charlie, and Garrett.

This story begins in Salish, Montana where Cece is preparing to wed cardiac anaesthesiologist Charlie at his childhood home. Charlie asks long time friend Garrett to officiate the ceremony. Cece is not thrilled with Charlie's wish for Garrett to be a part of their nuptials. Garrett is a scruffy mountain man who doesn't really believe in love and the constitution of marriage. However, in the weeks leading up to the ceremony, Cece and Garrett are drawn to each other in unexpected ways. Cece is left with a choice - one that will take her life down different paths, affecting generations to come.

All of this sets the stage for a novel that will take you into the complexities of relationships, loyalty, and love. I absolutely loved how Puchner take you into the mundane moments of these character's lives..and effortlessly makes their experiences love life, marriage, parenthood absolutely the opposite of mundane.

I have to say that I was very much drawn to Cece's character and that of owning her own independent bookstore. I felt the narrative shared there was exquisite and expertly written. So down to earth and realistic, yet troublesome and flawed.

This would be a great pick for any Book Club due to the varying degrees of culpability these characters present to the reader. If you enjoy multigenerational novels, stunning landscape writing, and stories about love, regret, an the secrets that lie in relationships - this will be a perfect book for you. This was the first Eric Puchner work I've read and (not in comparison) heard Jonathan Franzen throughout mty reading. This was such a comfort to me as some of the narrative here can be take your breath away. Because I could follow the writing style so easily, I felt the end of this book would satisfy and leave me in a state of wonderment.

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the opportunity to read and review this unforgettable book.

This novel explores relationships, the intertwining of lives, and how our choices affect everything. Told from the alternating viewpoints of several characters, the story follows people across lifespans, from the early 2000s into the near future. I loved Puchner's description of the environmental changes we are experiencing now and what those will look like in the coming decades, and how he aligns these with the characters' experiences.

Oftentimes I’m eager to dive into a book where the plot whisks me away, with unique circumstances or “WHAT” moments keep me flipping page after page.

Less often, I sink into a book because I just want to sit in it. Sit in the characters. Sit in the emotions. Sit in the way an author can put words to feelings or experiences that I didn’t know anyone but myself had ever felt. It takes a special wordsmith to accomplish this, but when it happens, it’s more powerful than any other kind of book I read. “Dream State” by Eric Puchner is that kind of book.

The book centers around a group of characters whose paths weave in and out of each other’s lives in both natural and drastic ways as they stumble through the decades. The author strips down marriage, friendship, parenthood, and coming of age to their most raw forms that demonstrate just how universal the human experience is.

If you are searching for your next novel full of complex characters, this is it! You know the saying, “I’d read anything they write, even their grocery list?” Eric Puchner is my new grocery list author.

Dream state by Eric puchner may very well remain my top book of 2025 when the year ends! This is a fantastic read that feels epic in scope, yet intimately told. The novel opens up with Cece and Charlie preparing for their upcoming wedding in the early 2000’s. Charlie has asked his college roommate, Garrett, to officiate their wedding . After the tragic death of their friend, for which Garrett blames himself, he has become a recluse, caring for his dying father. Against his better judgment, Garrett agrees to serve in his old friends wedding, thus setting off an unforeseen chain of events that alter the course of cece, Charlie, and Garrett’s entire life to follow.

The novel spans generations as it follows this three throughout the rest of their intertwined lives, covering different moments small and large-births, deaths, sickness, addiction, parenthood, jobs, love, friendship-it’s all covered here within these beautifully told pages. The large moments read as they do in life-events that happens as part of day-day living for us all. The writing is beautiful and the pacing of the book allows you to savor it. The characterization is excellently and keenly drawn and you feel for the characters and it feels like you are watching old friends from the sidelines as their lives develop.

I can’t recommend this enough! I am excited to see where puchner does next and will follow him whoever he goes!

Thanks to the publisher for providing this arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the eARC.

This book reads like an epic. The sentences are lenghty and grandiose, there are many characters, and there is a plot that spans years and years. All that to say I enjoyed it at times and felt tied to it at others. It was good and it was also not my favorite. Regardless, I am glad I read it.

Oddly enough, I’ve never read an Oprah book club selection. DREAM STATE by Eric Puchner has the Oprah Book Club in its title; it suggests a fundamental choice to let the book ride on Oprah’s considerable popularity. The book is an expansive and far-reaching tale about a romantic triangle and the myriad ways it plays out over the life of the protagonists. The tale itself is a good one, although it’s a real slog sticking with it. Author Puchner uses every opportunity to describe, report, ruminate and consider the varied setting and time changes in the book. Some of these lengthy descriptions are lovely while others increasingly slow the plot and obscure the action. I was interested enough in the characters and their actions to continue but I began dreading the constant verbal renderings of the lake house. The book is a mixed experience and best suited to readers who love description more than action. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

It is the summer of 2004, and Cece is spending a month at her fiancé’s parents’ vacation home in Salish, Montana to plan her wedding to Charlie Margolis, a cardiac anesthesiologist. Charlie’s best friend from college, Garrett Meek, had grown up in Missoula, and had recently moved nearby to help care for his gay father who was dying of pulmonary fibrosis and to soothe his wounds after the untimely death of a friend for which he feels responsible. Garrett had been recruited by Charlie to chaperone Cece and to be the officiant at their wedding. Cece’s reaction upon meeting Garrett was that he was “a strange and awful man” who “might be mentally ill,” and Garrett’s impression of Cece was just as negative. Not surprisingly, their mutual distaste morphs into a mutual attraction. Despite an apparent change of heart, and the fact that norovirus felled the groom’s family prior to the event, the wedding proceeds.

The novel then loops back to how Charlie and Garrett met in college. Garrett was a know-it-all but seemed to catch the attention of the beautiful girl in their philosophy class, Sabina Gonzales. Charlie, the overachiever athlete and student, was shocked that Garrett didn’t seem interested in Sabina who was “everyone’s type.” The duo then became best friends with the handsome Elias. They assumed that they “would be famous, and financially okay, and would end up with beautiful, horny, brilliantly intelligent wives.”

The novel then moves forward, and we focus on Charlie and Cece’s children (saying more would give away major plot points). What initially seems to be an old-fashioned literary romance has some surprising twists. It spans 50 years, is set against a backdrop of climate change resulting in wildfires and vanishing species, and wrestles with the question of life’s choices. Thank you Jess D. of Knopf Doubleday and Net Galley for an advanced copy of this sprawling and captivating family saga that was just selected as an Oprah Book Club selection.

This was a beautifully written novel. The story started off strong for me but the novel was on the longer side and I felt like the middle was too long. It ended strong but I wasn't sure it was totally worth the length.

3.5 stars but rounding up.

Thank you for the advanced reader copy Doubleday Books | Doubleday and Netgalley.

Dream State by Eric Puchner is one of those books that really makes you think about life, choices, and whether success or failure is ever as simple as it seems. Set against the stunning backdrop of Montana, it explores friendships, relationships, regrets, and the climate crisis in a way that feels deeply real.

Cece and Charlie are about to get married at Charlie’s vacation home in Salish, Montana. Cece arrives early to plan the wedding, but meeting Garrett, Charlie’s best friend sets off a chain of events that changes everything. Spanning years, their lives take unexpected turns, and through them, the novel explores the meaning of love in all its messy, complicated forms.

At first, this felt like a solid but ordinary story about three people. I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t particularly gripping. Then came the last few chapters and they hit like a storm. The emotions, the depth, the way everything came together it completely changed how I felt about the book. The love, forgiveness, and friendship between these characters (and their wider circle) were incredibly moving. This isn’t a cozy read by any means, but it’s powerful. The climate change aspect is woven in naturally, adding another layer of realism that I really appreciated.

And that ending? I’m still thinking about it.

Thank you, Doubleday Publishing, for this book!

This is a novel that explores three central characters and the people caught in their orbits over the span of fifty years, through love, betrayal, regret, loss, and enduring friendship.

We first meet Cece as she prepares for her wedding in Salish, Montana to Charlie at his childhood home.

While there, she meets Charlie’s troubled best friend, Garrett, who he has asked to be the officiant. Cece can think of no one less suited than this scruffy mountain man who doesn’t believe in love or marriage, a man who infuriates her ion sight.

Despite everything, in the weeks before Charlie arrives, Cece finds herself drawn to Garrett in ways she’d never expected, and she faces a difficult choice - wed Charlie and have the life she’s mapped out or follow her heart into the unknown.

The reverberations of her choice - of all of their choices - are felt among their when Lana, Garrett and Cece’s daughter, and Jasper, Charlie’s son, become intertwined.

All of this sets the stage for delving into the complexities of relationships, loyalty, and love. It’s told mostly in chronological order but without time stamps, by multiple characters, forcing the reader into the action without a moment to catch your breath. Big reveals and tiny nuances, all, revealed with similar flourish. And while the issues examined - young love, promises made, enduring marriage, lifelong friends - Puchner has crafted rich and deeply flawed characters with imperfections that enliven the story.

The book propels you forward, as you seek an ending that is satisfying, if not difficult to bear.

There’s also a climate change thread woven through the novel that I’ve seen some complain about; however, I saw it as a natural extension of half a century spent in the wilds of Montana.

If you enjoy Franzen or Napolitano, this book is for you. It would also make for a fantastic book club choice with so many moral questions to debate.

This story is timely yet unique and wildly grounded. It depicts the joy of getting marriage amidst turmoil and uncertainty. Every main character has a fulfilling character arc. I attribute some of the slower parts of the book to compliment the setting of the story being in Salish, MT.

Thank you Netgalley & Doubleday Publishing for an eARC ♥️

The story centers around Cece, a woman who's about to get married, but her heart is elsewhere. I won't lie, I was totally invested in her love triangle with Charlie and Garrett. Like, I was screaming at the pages, "Cece, what are you doing?!"
But here's the thing: this book isn't just a romance. It's a deep dive into the human condition. Puchner explores the complexities of relationships, the pain of betrayal, and the beauty of impermanence. It's like he's holding up a mirror to our own lives, showing us the flaws and the beauty that make us human.
What really got me was the way Puchner writes about the consequences of our choices. Cece's decisions have a ripple effect on the people around her, including her daughter, Lana, and Charlie's son, Jasper. It's like Puchner is showing us that our choices aren't just about us; they're about the people we love, too.
I'm still shaken from this book, to be honest. It's like Puchner has left me with more questions than answers. But that's what makes "Dream State" so beautiful. It's a book that will stay with me for a long time, haunting me with its beauty and its sorrow.❤️‍🩹

This is an epic love story than spans 50 years. Cece, Charlie. and Garrett are tangled together from the moment Garrett meets Cece, who is engaged to Charlie his best friend. Cece leaves Charlie, marries Garrett and always doubts herself and her decision. Charlie never settles, marrying twice more. This is their story and it's also the story of Lana, Cece's daughter, and Jaspar, Charlie's son. And it's a portrait of life in Montana. A simplistic synopsis for a complex novel that's heavy on character and atmospherics and which doesn't put its secrets up front. It's also topical, not only in terms of Garrett's research into wolverines (climate!) but also Jaspar's addiction and Cece. This is heavy on their collective early years and then zips through decades (to be fair, this is quite long enough and the time skips work). As infuriating as these characters can be (Cece can be surprisingly annoying) they are also very real. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. An immersive, engaging and compelling read.

Dream State is an existential, dark comedy that captures the heartbreaking reality of how messy life can be, and for that I absolutely adored it.

The characters are deeply complex, their trials and tribulations painfully relatable. Eric Puchner navigates themes of anxiety—especially around climate change and its impact on wildlife—with a sharp, honest perspective. The setting is one you want to stay immersed in; his writing about Montana’s mountains and lakes and natural beauty is stunning.

The ending was bittersweet, but this book made me feel seen, and will stay with me for a long time. I already know this will be one of my favorite books of the year.

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Astonishing!! This is a truly fascinating, epic novel that is heavily character-driven, spanning the lives of its three main characters over a 50+ year period of time.

The book starts out in 2004, with the wedding of twenty-somethings, Cece and Charlie, spanning a lifetime of trials and tribulations; its timetable ending when its characters are well into their septuagenarian years.

Author Eric Puchner depicts very flawed characters in a new and refreshing way; it is the story of Charlie, Cece, and Garrett that is exquisite in both beauty and heartache--a haunting amalgamation of love, regret, friendship, and deception. I believe there is much to unpack in this heartrending story, from its atmospheric mountain town of Salish, MT, to its tragically flawed players; it would make a great discussion for book club members. My apologies for this rather cryptic review of this all-encompassing publication, but it is difficult to reveal without revealing too much. The book is due to be published on February 18th, 2025, and it is my belief that it will stay with me for quite some time.

Thank you to Author Eric Puchner, Publisher Doubleday, and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this advanced reader copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are wholly my own.

Dream State is a gorgeous, sweeping character study and meditation on marriage, friendship, and the choices that come to define our lives on our burning planet.

We meet Cece at the beginning of the novel while she plans her wedding to Charlie Margolis, an ambitious young doctor. Cece is enamored with Charlie's family lake house in Montana and with the idyllic family life it represents. She decides to spend a month leading up to the wedding preparing alone at the house, so Charlie asks Garrett, his local and somewhat-estranged best friend from college, to check in on his fiancé. Garrett and Cece develop feelings for one another, and their bold and reckless decision to try and build a life together sets in motion the rest of their lives.

Spanning decades, this novel traces Garrett and Charlie's friendship from their college days in Vermont through their old age in Montana. Over the course of the story, we see the two men and their friends from college progress into adulthood, find partners, become parents, and decline with old age.

I especially loved the beautiful, thought-provoking commentary on marriage, parenting, and what a good, meaningful life can be. The novel begins in the 90s and expands another half century into the future, imagining a world increasingly ravaged by a warming climate, expanding wildfires, and vanishing wildlife. The natural world and the landscape of Montana are almost a protagonist in the story, with ski slopes, wolverines, a beloved lake, a cherry orchard, and more playing key roles in the story and in the characters' lives. I was impressed by Puchner's subtlety in showing how life will continue amidst tragedy as our environment is increasingly destroyed, with its many impacts on people and animals alike.

This book is perfect for anyone who loves a character-driven, literary family story. It felt especially poignant for me as I prepare to begin my marriage later this year, but I imagine it would be very meaningful for any married person or parent. I rated Dream State five stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced digital copy of the book in exchange for my honest review!

This family saga that spans 50 years has everything - humor, sadness, tragedy, and a peek into the inevitable climate crisis that will probably be here sooner than later. This story and its characters will stick with me for a long time. Highly recommend!

The title of this book was apt, as I felt like I was in some kind of dream state as I was reading it...in the best possible way. This was an incredible character driven story in which I got so immersed in the lives, spanned over decades, of Cece, Charlie, and Garret. The story opens in 2004 when Cece and Charlie are getting married at Charlie's family cabin in Montana. Right after the wedding, however, Cece and Garret, Charlie's best friend from college and officiant of the wedding, run away together. We spend the rest of the book understanding why, and how that one day changed the rest of all of their lives in unexpected ways. A really interesting part of this book is how climate change is portrayed, as much of this book takes place in the near future. I thought that was so cleverly done, and probably quite accurate too. This was a great book to read in the winter, when all you want to do is escape and inhale a story that you can't put down.

Dream State is a book about relationships of all kinds, friendships, romantic partnerships, and familial relationships. The story begins in Salish, Montana, where Cecie has arrived one month early to plan her wedding to Charlie. Charlie is a doctor who can't get away from work, so he enlists the help of Garrett, his best friend from college, to help with the planning and show Cecie around Montana. Garrett is a cynic, who is perhaps not the best person for the job. He dropped out of college after a tragedy, then moved back to Montana to look after his sick father, working as a baggage handler at the airport. Garrett sees something in Cecie, though, an optimism that he is drawn to and doesn't want to let go of. The events the occur during and after the wedding send shockwaves throughout the rest of these characters' lives, testing their relationships and influencing all of their choices.

I really, really enjoyed Dream State. I love books that focus on relationships between characters and I really enjoyed the way that this story was told. It spans decades, but will zoom in on certain events in the characters' lives to show what exactly is going on at that point. The characters changed as the years went on in a way that I found to be really realistic. None of them were perfect people, but I found their flaws to be relatable and authentic. As the story moved on into the future, the background became sort of apocalyptic as the environment had been ravaged by global warming. This was an interesting setting, but there was slightly more focus on the environmental repercussions that I felt could have been aimed at the characters a bit more. That being said, this will be a great book for anyone who enjoys stories that focus on relationships, particularly complicated relationships, and readers who enjoy character studies will certainly want to check this one out.