The Possibility of Dreaming on a Night Without Stars
a novel by Michael Kaufman.
Published by Penguin/Viking
“[A] wise and touching debut…pellucid scenes of lovemaking…a landscape evoked with assurance and palpable intimacy.” The Globe and Mail
“An engrossing story.” The Edmonton Journal
“Excellent page-turning story-telling.” Star Phoenix
“Kaufman can paint a picture with the best of them.” The Toronto Star
“Lyric magic…thoughtful and deftly written…dances with the music of its title…. an entertaining, poignant story, replete with…insightful descriptions and surprise plot twists about the vast, still mostly unexplored domain of the human heart.” The Canadian Jewish News
“Who should come to the door but Marilyn Monroe herself. Boy oh boy. Saw her with these very eyes. Wearing an apron and looking every bit like a farm wife but pretty as a picture.”
A story from a crazy old hitchhiker plants itself in Eli Schuman’s mind and won’t let go. The more he thinks about Marilyn, the more obsessed he becomes with finding the Ohio farmhouse where she supposedly lives.
Eli, a divorced high school teacher in his late forties, juggles the demands and expectations of the people in his life: his indomitable mother and broken father; Raveena, his ex-wife; his sullen teenage son and maturing daughter; his eccentric and secretive roommate John; and a woman Eli unexpectedly meets who challenges his dreams of the perfect woman. With only the bizarre lead from the old hitchhiker to go on, Eli embarks on a summer-long journey. It is a road of longing, elation, hopefulness, despair, reckless abandonment and ultimately, an almost delirious rush towards self-discovery.
The Possibility of Dreaming on a Night Without Stars is a novel of remarkable gentleness and compassion. It is the tale of one summer’s journey to the real places our dreams can take us.
