Publishing day review! The Capital of Dreams by Heather O’Neill🪿

An imaginative and whimsical but fairly dark fairy tale/fever dream of a novel that follows Sofia—a fourteen-year-old from the small European city of Elysia—who is forced to flee the Capital when the Enemy invades. Her mother, who is a well-known feminist writer and speaker, gives Sofia a mission: carry the manuscript of her memoir to safety. Her mother is convinced that this memoir will convince others that the people of Elysia are enlightened, intelligent artists who are worth saving. Sofia loses her mother’s manuscript almost immediately, however, and begins a fantastical journey to find the Black Market, where she’s convinced she’ll find the manuscript again. Meanwhile, the Enemy is arresting and killing dissidents, burning and banning books, and closing schools.

I would categorize this book as magical realism (a genre I love; The Night Circus is one of my favorite books of all time!). This book is grounded in reality but with some magical elements; for example, one of the main characters is a talking—highly intellectual—goose. The Goose is my favorite character that I’ve encountered in some time!

I think what I loved most about this novel was the way it examined the ordinary complexities and dangers of being girls and women even in the extraordinariness of wartime. The question of whether you are pretty enough or smart enough or special enough. The ways men silence women. The struggle to be taken seriously. The demand for girls to be “good.” The intricacies of mother-daughter relationships.

This book also reminded me a bit of Station Eleven, in that it focused on the importance of art even in the darkest of times.

Thank you to @harperperennial and @netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Book Review The Capital of Dreams by Heather O’Neill

A coming of age story with a feminist fairy tale quality that grapples with what it means to be a woman, motherhood, as well as survival and humanity during war. As always I am blown away with the brilliance of O’Neill’s writing in capturing hard hitting moral issues in insightful, creative and humorous ways. The backdrop of war was used to depict how universal it is to fear difference. What is not known or understood is to be feared, despised and rejected. There is no right, there is only wrong. The symbolism and metaphors were so cleverly built into the story.

Sofia must figure out who she can trust and what is she willing to do to survive. This journey both metaphorically and literally is the heart of the story. As only O’Neill can do this internal struggle is portrayed through Sofia and her relationship with her talking goose. But also in the complicated relationship with her mother.

“What kind of survival was she choosing? Living right now required a certain ugliness.”

“You seem more frightened of the idea of her being alive than dead.”

This book captivated me and made pause and think! It’s a great bookclub book because there is so much to discuss.

I can't really describe why or how, but I really came to enjoy this book.

It was weird and beautiful and imaginative and depressing all wrapped into one. It is about war and family and growing up and place and language and more. At first I didn't like the narrative voice but Sophia, and her relationship with her mother, grew on me. The goose is a genius character; so odd and yet compelling.

Still thinking about what it all meant...

Heather O'Neill writes the perspective of a 14-year-old girl like she's still living in that weird phase.

This is a magical and mystical story and no one could have written something this beautiful.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

When the tiny country of Elysia is invaded by its neighboring country (known solely as the Enemy), the famous artist and writer Clara Bottom puts her fourteen-year-old daughter Sophia on a train heading out of the country, along with her last manuscript, which is hidden in a book of fairytales. When the train is intercepted by a force of the Enemy’s troops, Sophia escapes into the forest, only to discover that her mother’s manuscript has gone missing. Though she and her mother have had their differences, Sophia vows that she will do whatever it takes to find the manuscript and so she and a talking goose embark on a journey through the woods where creatures out of myth haunt the trees. But the monsters Sophia spies out of the corner of her eyes aren’t nearly as dangerous as the people she encounters.

Though Heather O’Neill is a respected literary figure with books like The Lonely Hearts Hotel and Lullabies for Little Criminals, I hadn’t read any of her books before I picked up The Capital of Dreams so I didn’t know what to expect.

Honestly, I’m still unsure of what to expect from O’Neill’s writing. Is The Capital of Dreams typical of her work, or is it an outlier?

See, the story is written with fairytales in mind. Sophia grew up on fairy stories and is reluctant to let them go- understandable, as such tales provide plenty of consolation in hard times. What threw me off was O’Neill’s prose: though Sophia is fourteen and reaching toward adulthood, the book is written as though it is meant for a younger audience (for nine to twelve, perhaps) when it is definitely an adult story. It makes for a very disjointed reading experience when, on one page, Sophia is chatting away with the Goose about childish things, and then a few pages later, Sophia has a series of very frank thoughts about sex and sexuality. Still other times, Sophia comes face to face with death and descriptions of horrendous violence, but the prose sets all of this violence at a distance- until it doesn’t. There seems to be little rhyme or reason to it.

And yet it all feels like O’Neill did it all on purpose. Sophia’s only defense mechanism to stay sane amidst the extreme violence she witnesses is to escape into a world of fairytales. With that in mind, it’s easy to understand why O’Neill’s prose is written the way that it is, with children’s stories in mind.

For all that, I can’t say that I liked this book or found it compelling. Part of it had to do with the prose, which I quickly found irritating every time I picked it up again, and part of it had to do with the flashbacks. Nearly every other chapter flits away from Sophia’s journey through the forest and back in time to Sophia’s life with her mother before and during the war. Do those chapters help the reader understand Sophia’s choices by the end of the book? Yes. Did I find them completely aggravating? Also yes. I’m not a fan of flashbacks in general, though, so your mileage will vary based on whether or not you find them as annoying as I do.

Overall, I can’t say The Capital of Dreams is a bad book. It’s not. O’Neill clearly knows what she is doing with her work, but it is not a book that I liked or enjoyed though I can understand why others would.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for the free ebook in exchange for an honest review. Receipt of the ebook did not affect my opinions.

This was such a cool little book! Whimsical dark fairy tale-esque. I'd say 3.5 stars, but I'd definitely be interested in checking out this author's other work! Longer rtc on my goodreads!

Sofia is fourteen and charged with smuggling a manuscript to safety during war. She loses the prized manuscript, and is alone and needs to find her way.

This was certainly a very unique story that is a mashup of a few genres. It’s coming of age story in a time of war and trauma but reads like a dark fairy tale. There are so many great quotes and passages that make you think. While the entire story is set over war and turmoil, there is still some humor in the form of a talking goose. Lots of sad moments, but a worthwhile ending.

“What was more important? The lives of all the citizens of the Capital. Or one girl feeling loved?”

The Capital of Dreams comes out 1/7.

This book is well written, but unfortunately, I could not get into the overall story. I didn't realize this book was a folklore retelling of sorts. I thought it would be more literary fiction since I've read from this author before. I enjoyed the characters; they were very vibrant and full of personality. The story has this dream-like quality to it, but overall, I just felt confused by all the magical realism. If you like that particular genre, then you will love this.

The Capital of Dreams was my first introduction to O’Neill’s work, and I find myself quite impressed. The novel follows fourteen-year-old Sofia at the start of a war, navigating both her adolescence and the challenges of civil unrest.

Sofia’s story is told as a dark fairytale – equal parts realistic and magical, the trials she faces are specific and yet still vague enough to happy at any time in history, past or present. O’Neill has created complex characters in Sofia, her mother Clara, and her companion the Goose, a bird that can talk through both talent and belief. O’Neill’s writing is whimsical and grim, and manages to accurately capture discussions of mother-daughter relationships, the importance of art, a young girl’s personal beliefs, and the havoc war can wreak on the country and the individual.

The writing style absolutely killed me with this one. I know it is meant to be from the perspective of a young child, but there is only so much boring sentence structure and use of passive voice that a person can take. This was disappointing, because it had all the other elements that I usually love: use of magical realism, complex metaphors, vaguely WWI related geopolitical landscape . I think I was going into this expecting something more similar to Cathrynne M. Valente's "Dealthess", and ended up with Deathless: the kidz-bop version. I found the message got lost in the author's mission for reading atmosphere, and not even one that landed particularly well.

tbh the most fairytale like thing about this novel is that there’s a talking goose but other than that, it really is just about a 14 year old girl (sophia) trying to survive in a world where people are constantly out to get her. there’s something about the way the author writes that makes the atmosphere feel so soft and dream-like even though sophia is going through this procession of traumatic events. i absolutely love the author’s writing style.

the most interesting part of the book was her relationship with her mother, as she continually goes back and forth between feeling love and contempt for her. this dissonance honestly is what makes the plot twist so jarring, and i feel like this quote very well sums up not only the war going on around sophia but the one going on in her mind as well

“once there was a girl about her age who wore a sparkling leotard and rode her bicycle across a high wire. they had to travel to faraway places to find poor people who had been neglected in this particular manner. no mother had worried about this child dying. sometimes neglect can help you discover your potential.”

i loved the book but was expecting a bit more fairytale/fantasy elements. overall i do think this is an amazing novel with beautiful prose and i will def be recommending this book, tysm to netgalley and the publishers for the arc!

The Capital of Dreams is a unique and captivating read that lingers in the mind long after the final page. The book masterfully blends dark, whimsical tones with a fascinating mix of reality and imagination, creating an immersive world where it’s delightfully unclear whether the narrator’s descriptions are to be trusted. One standout character is the goose—a surprising highlight! The author gives this animal a vivid, strong personality that brings both humor and depth to the story. Starting this book, I didn’t know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised by how it unfolded. The unexpected twist at the end caught me off guard in the best way, adding a satisfying conclusion to an already intriguing journey. For readers who enjoy books with a touch of the fantastical and a dash of the surreal, The Capital of Dreams is sure to leave a lasting impression.

Following a young girl separated from her mother during wartime as she attempts to find safety and retrieve her mother’s lost manuscript. First of all: there’s a talking goose!! And it’s one of my favorite characters I’ve read in a long time. This is a fairytale like story about the necessity of art and complexities of mother/daughter relationships that manages to feel both historical and futuristic. Pretty different from what I usually read and I loved it!

I’m actually all out of words for how magical Heather O’Neills writing is. The way she makes an insanely depressing situation whimsical is just simply brilliant. I will never shut up about how much I love her books.

The Lonely Hearts Hotel and When We Lost Our Heads are two of my favorite books of all time so I screamed when I saw she was coming out with a new book and it did not disappoint. Fantasy isn’t ever my go-to genre so I was a little nervous that The Capital of Dreams was being described as one but outside of two slight aspects, I wouldn’t consider it fantasy really.

We join Sofia as she navigates her new world while her country is at war; watching her grow up and survive against all odds. Devastating, spellbinding, heartbreaking, beautiful.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

4.5 stars! What an odd book this was! This was my first Heather O’Neill and I have a feeling it won’t be my last. While this does have a strange modern fairytale feeling, I wouldn’t necessarily call it a fantasy. For me the only true fantastical element was the talking goose. Despite it not being my typical genre, I really enjoyed this. It was weird. It was thought provoking. It was completely heartbreaking at times. The book paints a detailed portrait of growing up as a young girl and the difficult transitional period of puberty. As if that wasn’t hard enough, the main character is also grappling with her world being torn asunder due to war. Following Sophia’s journey was at times difficult to read, because I could see myself and my naivety from when I was younger. I knew what difficulties she was going to face and what hard lessons she was bound to learn and I hated that for her. But it made her story and growth all the better. What I loved most about this story was the discussion of complexities and difficulties of a mother daughter relationship. The book asks the difficult question “what if your mother doesn’t even like you?” I highlighted so much in this book. It will stick with me for a long time.

"From the hugely acclaimed author beloved by literary lights, including Emily St. John Mandel, Kelly Link, and Mona Awad, a dark dystopian fairy tale about an idyllic country ravaged by war - and a girl torn between safety and loyalty.

Sofia Bottom lives in Elysia, a small country forgotten by Europe. But inside its borders, the old myths of trees that come alive and faeries who live among their roots have given way to an explosion of the arts and the consolations of philosophy. From the clarinetists to the cabaret singers, no artist is as revered as Sofia's brilliant mother, the writer Clara Bottom. How can fourteen-year-old Sofia, with her tin ear and enduring love of ancient myths, ever hope to win her mother's love?

When the country's greatest enemy invades, and the Capital is under threat, Clara turns to her daughter to smuggle her new manuscript to safety on the last train evacuating children from the city. But when the train draws to a suspicious halt in the middle of a forest, Sofia is forced to run for her life and loses her mother's most prized possession. Frightened and alone in a country at war, Sofia must find a way to reclaim what she has lost. On an epic journey through woods and razed towns, colliding with soldiers, survivors, and other lost children, Sofia must make the choice between kindness and her own survival.

In this stunning novel set in an imaginative world yet reflective of our own times, Heather O'Neill delivers a vivid, breathtaking dark fairytale of life, death, and betrayal."

Just saying, losing that manuscript might be a dealbreaker in getting her mother's affections... Which means she deserves a better mother.

Heather O'Neill is one of my all-time favorite authors. When We Lost Our Heads is one of my top books ever and I loved Lonely Hearts Hotel. The Capital of Dreams felt like a big departure from O'Neill's other works that felt more rooted in reality, while still being incredibly whimsical. Capital on the other hand felt more directly like magical realism. I wasn't sure how I felt about the book until about midway through, then it began to pick up for me. The ending really sealed the deal. I really enjoyed this one!

The novel switches often between the past (Clara and Sofia at the start of the war and Enemy Occupation) and the present (Sofia’s journey with the Goose as they see more of their fallen country in the hands of the Enemy, and they run into other survivors). I’d sum this book up as a portrait of war and occupation through the eyes of a lost young girl—Sofia’s conversations with the Goose are rather philosophical, and he acts often as the voice of reason which she ignores. The horrors of the war are at times partially muted because Sofia doesn’t fully comprehend them, because she is still hopeful that she can somehow make amends to what she sees as a betrayal of her mother. The narrative and writing style wasn’t always easy to follow, in part because the writer makes you work to understand, to question our young protagonist’s unreliable perspective. The book reads like a blend of a fable and a documentation of the dystopian horrors of an Occupation—a little trippy at times, but somehow both bleak and beautiful. It was hard not to see real-life echoes in the horrors Sofia was witnessing or in her hope for help from the outside, in what is going on in far too many places around the world—the hope to be seen as human enough to be aided as a collective, versus the individual hope to escape to save yourself.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: Jan. 7, 2025
Heather O’Neill’s new novel, “The Capital of Dreams”, is a dark and dystopian coming-of-age story about sacrifice, creativity and hope.
Elysia is a small European country, known for their artistic creations and fantastic stories of trees that come to life and faeries that live among the roots and branches. Among all of the opera singers, musicians, artists and writers, no one is more well known that author Clara Bottom. Clara’s daughter, fourteen-year-old Sofia, has never been able to win the attention of her mother, and has spent years living in her mother’s shadow. When the war begins, Clara counts on Sofia to smuggle her life’s work, a manuscript, out of the country but, Sofia loses the manuscript after running for her life. Desperate to reclaim what she’s lost and finally earn her mother’s appreciation and respect, Sofia knows she must travel, alone, through ravaged and war-torn countries, in order to find what she’s been missing.
O’Neill is the Canadian author of “Lullabies for Little Criminals” and “The Lonely Hearts Hotel” (among others). Her unique writing style has always captivated me and her character-driven, well-developed plots stand out among the crowd. “Capital” is a coming-of-age dystopian tale that is both dark and emotional while still being both magical and fantastical.
“Capital” is dual-timeline, narrated by Sofia, in the times before the war and after. The times before focus solely on Sofia’s relationship with her formidable mother Clara, so readers can understand the choices Sofia makes on her post-war journey. There are some clues that are dropped in the current timeline (such as the piece of paper Sofia has in her pocket) which are talked about but not totally revealed until the final pages, so there is always a hint of underlying mystery hanging about as well.
“Capital” has many underlying relevant themes, including feminism, the importance of art and the many facets of a mother-daughter relationship, especially during the formative years. This is a novel that had hints of C.S Lewis (think, talking Animals) set in similar fashion to the numerous World War two novels told from the child’s perspective, with a dystopian aspect thrown in (think “Divergent”), all with O’Neill’s incomparable writing style and talent.
O’Neill’s “Capital of Dreams” is not a light read, but it will captivate and enthrall, and it checks all the boxes if you’re looking for a beautiful and creative story with an unassuming young protagonist.

This was such a great dystopian fairytale story that I wanted and enjoyed about the genre. The characters were everything that I wanted and enjoyed the overall feel of them in this world. It had that plot element that I was looking for and was glad I got to go on this journey with the characters. Heather O'Neill has a strong writing style and can’t wait for more.