Another unbelievable reading experience! Mary Doria Russell continues to astound the reader with incredibly personal experiences with her characters and settings. Dreamers of the Day permits the reader a fictional view into a time and place little discussed--1921 in Egypt--with a very current theme--the Middle East and Arab peoples. With every one of her novels, she leaves me breathless for more...more of the characters, more of the story, more of the culture. And yet, rather than succomb to the series, she thrills us with variety in her stories. Futuristic or historical, I know that when I open to the first page, I will be enthralled until the last word.

If I had stopped on p. 234, this would have been a
wonderful book! I was thoroughly involved with the
characters and the situations, and I thought everything
had been resolved beautifully. This author is truly
a superb writer, but she lost me with the final twist.
It's the story of Agnes Shanklin, schoolteacher, and
how she grows and changes through the years. I loved
reading about her life and the lives of those around
her. The characters were all so believable, even though
I know it's a work of fiction. Mary Doria Russell is
a most gifted writer....I would have rated it a five
star...but the ending ruined it for me.

I listened to the audio CD version of this novel. The reader, Ann Marie Lee did an excellent job creating her character - the book is written in the first person from the point of view of protagonist Agnes Shanklin.

The reader gets a history lesson along with the story of Agnes S., who loses her entire living family to the influenza epidemic in 1919 and travels to Egypt in 1921. It's clear that the author is illustrating for the reader how some of the critical decisions and actions made by the West at that time set the stage for current conditions in the Middle East.

I enjoyed the story of Agnes Shanklin as well as the trip through history (and a tour of Egypt). My only reservation is that, for some reason the author decided to tell the story "from the grave." Agnes is narrating from the afterlife - in the present time. I'm assuming this device makes it easier to have Agnes comment on the quagmire that is the Middle East today. I think there might've been a simpler and smoother way to accomplish that - because the ending doesn't fit very well with the rest of the book and just seems bizarre.

Dreamers borrows from The Lovely Bones in its perspective, but without the cause or skill: the last section undermines any serious intentions of the earlier ones and oddly truncates the heroine's story.

Historical fiction, especially when real and fictional characters intersect, often sacrifices narrative for cleverness; in this case, the narrator even claims to be an unnamed women in a photo with Churchill's party in Egypt. Still, Russell writes well even while she strains credulity and has done her research. It's a fascinating, if slightly biased look at the Cairo Conference, and I want to go back and reread A Peace to End All Peace and find Howell's biography of Gertrude Bell that has been lingering unread somewhere on my bookshelves since I bought two copies of it years ago with good intentions. (Two copies because I forgot I bought the first.)

Russell tries too many things in Dreamers, including a thinly disguised take on the current Middle East crisis, so that readers end up straddling three time periods and know they are being led. Russell should have stuck to developing her character and telling the story. Try Russell's A Thread of Grace for a better read.

The only member of her family to survive the influenza pandemic of 1918, former fifth grade schoolteacher Agnes Shanklin and her dachshund Rosie set off from Cleveland, Ohio on a cruse to Egypt "...to escape from the sadness." She arrives in 1921 to find the local population in a state of agitated turmoil over the impending meeting of their new British governors. They are torn between a desire to kill the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Mr. Churchill and admiration and awe for the war hero who did so much to liberate the Arabs them from the rule of the Turks, Colonel Lawrence. She also arrives to find that dogs are not welcome in first-class hotels in Cairo.

Fortunately, she is rescued from her predicament by members of the very same English that are causing such a stir, Gertrude Bell and T.E. Lawrence. She soon makes the acquaintance of Winston Churchill and a very charming German gentleman who proves to be a very attentive friend and sympathetic listener. Thus the author skillfully sets the stage to portray the men and women who literally shaped the modern Middle East. As the fictional Miss Shanklin puts it, "my little story has become your history." She might have added, "and your current struggles."

Dreamers of the day is a fascinating work of historical fiction and an extremely satisfying read.

Having just finished The Perfect Summer by Nicolson, Dreamers of the Day was a perfect counterpart. World War I history escapes me, but Russell has brought it alive through her story. She has an amazing repertoire of stories - and this is no exception. Lawrence of Arabia and Winston Churchill as they might have been (or as they probably were). Enjoy reading this one!

This book unfortunately wasn't as emotionally involving for me as was Thread of Grace and The Sparrow. That said, it was a good read. I really loved the acknowledgment at the end to Doria Russell's English teacher. Diagramming sentences is a key to unlock the mysteries of your own language, to writing (as Doria Russell states) and to learning foreign languages. It gives you a basis for everything language-related. Too bad it isn't pursued any more. Doria Russell lovingly honors this mentor which I found very touching. Tribute also to my own Lillian Pindyck who did the same for thousands of students also in the 60s but in Queens, NY.

It saddens me to give this book such a poor rating as Mary Doria Russell is one of my favorite writers. When I was only 100 pages into The Sparrow, I was hooked on this author. The sequel was even better, and then comes A Thread of Grace, a very different kind of story, but beautifully written, and very moving, with characters we come to care about. Like many fans, I waited with great anticipation for Dreamers of the Day, and purchased it as soon as it was available. But, alas, while informative, I found it disappointing and a very dull read.

It seems as if Russell couldn't decide if she should be writing a non-fiction history of the era and events that transpired, or a novel. In the end, this book fails on both accounts and just seems contrived. Agnes Shanklin, the main character, is "described" to us through her narration about herself and her life, but we never feel we really know Agnes. In fact, we don't really get to know anyone, nor invest any feeling in any of the characters. Each and every one of them, from the the nobodies, to the history makers, come off as nothing more than summaries of themselves and their world.

This is a very short book, and an easy read, but it drags, so seems much longer. Russell could have made this such a better book. Had it been 2, or even 3, times longer, with fleshed out characters and more fictional imaginings woven into the history, this could have been a truly great book. Clavell, McCullough, Rutherford, George, Penman, Follett and many, many more - all have written much more gripping and engaging stories that kept the reader involved, even riveted, against a background of very real historical facts.

Though this is Russell's 4th book, I consider it a first attempt in the historical fiction genre . I am very surprised by all the great reviews this book has garnered. I just hope Russell doesn't believe them all and gives us something more worthy next time.

Excellant background information of the 1920's. Learned a lot about historical figures in an interesting format. I really identified with the main character.

In spite of some fine writing throughout the book, the ending is a disappointment. I certainly don't mind the dead narrator nor the main character's ability to "Forrest Gump" her way through history. Still, the ending (which I won't reveal) is annoying. Russell squanders the goodwill she has earned through some fine writing and character development in order to cast some retrospective foresight on current events.

Having enjoyed Maria Doria Russell's Thread of Grace, I was looking forward to her latest offering and wasn't disappointed. In "Dreamers of the Day", we are introduced to Agnes Shanklin, a 40 year old spinster schoolteacher living in Ohio at the end of the first World War. A tragedy in the form of the flu epidemic robs Agnes of all her family members and also brings her into an inheritance that sets the stage for her to realise her dream of visiting Egypt.

Agnes finds herself playing more than the role of a simple tourist as she gets a peek into the machinations behind the Cairo Peace Conference of 1921 with its interesting cast of historical figures [who happen to be staying at the same hotel as Agnes, the Semiramis]. Agnes finds herself hobnobbing with illustrious figures such as T.E. Lawrence, Winston Churchill etc, and also experiences romance as she is pursued by Karl Weilbacher, a German spy.

I loved how Ms Russell vividly captures the essence of the period with wonderful descriptions of the time and place, and of course characters. It is an absorbing read that will appeal to those who love historical fiction.

Mary Doria Russell brings us a historical novel that takes place during the momentous Cairo Peace Conference of 1920, a three-day event that will change the world as we know it today. Three individuals --- the young Winston Churchill, then a mid-level cabinet officer; world traveler Lady Gertrude Bell; and Colonel T. E. Lawrence --- will carve Mesopotamia into Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Israel following the defeat of Germany during the Great War, ironically called the "war to end all wars."

The world was still staggering from the ravages of World War I and the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 that had cost millions of human lives. Agnes Shanklin, a single Ohio schoolteacher, had nursed her extended family through two waves of the deadly Spanish flu, only to lose them one by one. Still recovering from the effects of her own illness, Agnes settles her family affairs and with a modest inheritance decides to follow through on a suggestion by her late sister to visit Egypt and the Holy Land. Her sister, a missionary in Palestine, had written glowingly of good friend Neddy Lawrence and had urged Agnes to look him up if she ever got to the Middle East. Agnes signs on to a Cook's Tour and embarks on the long voyage with her faithful companion, a long-haired dachshund named Rosie, to trace the steps her late sister and family had followed.

Upon her arrival in Cairo, Agnes is swept up in street rioting by waves of protestors against Churchill. She was booked into the same hotel as the convening dignitaries but is unceremoniously and noisily ejected because of Rosie. Colonel Lawrence, who recognizes her from her sister's description, comes to her rescue and escorts her to a suitable hotel across the Nile River. There she meets Karl Weilbacher, a charming German spy, also in Cairo for the conference. Observing that Lawrence has taken Agnes under his wing, Weilbacher attaches himself to her through the affections of her dog.

Mary Doria Russell began her career as a paleontologist with a firm grasp of human relationships and theology, themes that run through her works of fiction. Her fans will remember the hauntingly beautiful story of THE SPARROW, her award-winning bestselling futuristic first novel. She wrote a sequel, CHILDREN OF GOD, and a third novel, A THREAD OF GRACE.

Here, Russell weaves a story of world-altering politics and history as seen through the eyes of the naïve, sheltered 40-year-old spinster. DREAMERS OF THE DAY is at once a fascinating and romantic travelogue and a spiritually challenging journey of self-discovery, especially in Jerusalem where Agnes experiences the clash of cultures in the ancient city.

--- Reviewed by Roz Shea

Mary Doria Russell's wonderful new novel "Dreamers of the Day" serves to remind us that much of what we rail against today such as lying politicians, "spin", jingoism, sloganism, manipulative advertising, fear of a flu pandemic and xenophobia, aren't new phenomenon at all. Yet we repeat the same mistakes. Ultimately this is an eloquent novel about our human addiction to war.

Speaking from somewhere beyond the grave, our protagonist, Agnes Shanklin, a very plain spinster schoolmarm from Ohio, takes us through WWI, the Spanish Flu pandemic and finally to Egypt on the brink of the Cairo Conference where, somewhat arbitrarily, the Middle East was divvied up and which set into motion the history that we are now experiencing. Of course we have perfect hind-sight, but that makes Agnes' observations all the more interesting. And then there is romance...just the right amount for this sweeping story and completely within context and character of our delightful narrator.

I've been a Russell fan since a friend urged me to read a novel she said was about "Jesuit priests who go to a distant planet"...and I thought to myself "is she KIDDING?" I agreed to give "The Sparrow" a try and then couldn't put it down and raced out to get the sequel before I was half-way done. Her novels get better and better, and though I tried to make this one last by slowing down...I couldn't. Now I'm sad because I have to wait for the next one which can't come soon enough for me.

While reading this book, one is forced to wonder how much it is meant to be a commentary on the current situation in the Middle East. And indeed, the political and historical expositions can be a little heavy-handed. And yet I found these easy to forgive, due mainly to the engaging voice of Agnes, our narrator. She has a very fresh and conversational tone that allows the reader to take in the information without feeling bashed over the head with it. And, I have to say, a lot of the description of how the Middle East was divvied up after WWI was very interesting in light of what's happened since in that region.

Most of the book is just good narrative. Agnes tells us her story as though we were sitting down over a cup of tea, and her conversational tone draws the reader in right away. Her tales of meeting Winston Churchill, T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia), and the others at the Cairo Peace Conference are wonderfully told, and her descriptions of Egypt, Jerusalem, and the other places she visits make them come alive. And of course, the way she tells us about her beloved dachshund Rosie are simply delightful!

I've been a big fan of Mary Doria Russell's books since I discovered them, and this one did not let me down.

I consider Russell's "The Sparrow" to be the finest SF novel, and perhaps the best first novel in any genre, of the last 15 years. Her next two books were also excellent.

"Dreamers" is very different from any of the three, and defies easy categorization. But it has the same thought-provoking quality of content and consistently fine writing.

This book also helps to grasp how the Middle East came to be such a mess in the 20th Century.

I studied The Sparrow in college and focused a good number of papers on her first historical fiction work but this time Russell has disappointed me. I found the story to be a bit predictable and terribly slow. I waited with eager anticipation the arrival of this book counting down the days and yet it took me nearly a week to finish this rather short tale. The majority of the work is dedicated to provided an almost history text summary of the events in what is now Iraq before W.W.II. I was hoping for characters that I could become attached to and a story I could linger in. I was altogether disappointed with this work and hope that forthcoming works will have a more developed story line.

I had never heard of this author prior to picking up this book. I noticed this book only because of the attractive cover. I am so thankful I read it. I thought it was masterful. Russell's prose is lovely, her story-telling capability superb, and her descriptions so real you feel as if you're walking right alongside each character. This is a book that will stay with me long after I've read it, and I don't say that about too many books. I highly recommend you give this story a try.

"I suppose I ought to warn you at the outset that my present circumstances are puzzling, even to me. Nevertheless, I am sure of this much: My little story has become your history. You won't really understand your times until you understand mine." These words that are ironically so true begin Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell, a novel primarily set in the Middle East in the years just after World War I. The Cairo peace conference is underway as Europeans decide how the Middle East is to be carved up. Better to not let the natives do the job themselves.

Present are such leaders of the day as Winston Churchill (though this is before he became larger than life itself), T. E. Lawrence, and others. It is into this group that our protagonist Agnes Shanklin falls. Losing her family to the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918, Agnes decides to tour Egypt and the holy land and arrives just in time to witness history.

Agnes Shanklin is a wonderful character; vulnerable to the whims of fate on the one hand, but strong and sure of herself on the other. Let's face it, how many women in 1921 would travel to the Middle East on their own? Russell has shown this ability to develop great characters in all of her earlier works but especially in The Sparrow. Also, electing to place the story in and around Cairo of the 1920's is brilliant. What an intriguing and mysterious place.

Finally, Russell is a first rate researcher. Not being a Middle East expert myself, I'm not in a position to comment on the accuracy of her story, but it sure reads true to me.

I suspect that Dreamers of the Day is destined for the silver screen. Certainly, it will be around for years to come.

Dreamers of the Day is fiction, but it reads like really fascinating non-fiction. I'll couch this review by saying I know next to nothing about Middle East history or in its politics. But I got so wrapped up in Agnes' story, I found myself zipping along through all the factual information, and this book whet my appetite for more books set in the period, both fiction and non-fiction so that I might learn and understand more about the 1921 Cairo Peace Conference.

The story is told in first person by Agnes Shanklin, an unwed, middle-aged woman who finds herself an heiress after her entire family dies in the 1918 flu epidemic. Agnes is left with enough money to take the trip of a lifetime to the Holy Land, and so she remakes herself (with the help of Bob Hope's future wife, Millie) and takes a long dreamed of trip to Egypt and the Holy Lands. There she finds herself in the company of Winston Churchill, Gertrude Bell and the infamous T.E. Lawrence (aka Lawrence of Arabia), as well as romantically involved with a German spy, all gathered for the Cairo Conference of 1921 at which decisions with far-reaching impact will be made regarding the post-World War I division of the Middle East.

I have to say that the plotline is a little unbelievable - that this ordinary woman from Ohio would find herself socializing with such prominent political figures, but surprisingly, it works. Russell also did a fantastic job of witting about what travel would have been like for someone in the 20s, and it was fascinating to read Agnes' impressions Cairo, Jerusalem, and the Nile. Agnes is a very likable heroine, and Russell's usual strong characterizations, straight-forward writing and gift for telling a story are strongly in evidence. Dreamers of the Day has a bit of everything: history, romance, humor, even a bit of mystery. As with The Sparrow, the characters and situations will remain in my memory for years to come.

I'd also like to recommend an equally complex and wonderful novel from this year, which I've put on my staff-pick shelves: Pieces of My Sister's Life is a glorious novel about the bond between identical twins, beautifully written, both funny and heartbreaking, with such escalating tension that it was almost impossible to put down.

In her prior books, Russell has clearly shown that she knows how to delineate very real characters. With this book of historical fiction, centered around the events of 1918-1921, this attribute shows just as clearly, with a fine portrait of Agnes Shanklin, her protagonist, but perhaps even more significantly, her pictures of historical luminaries such as T. E. Lawrence and Winston Churchill.

Agnes has quite an inferiority complex engendered by her mother's constant criticism, a lack of self confidence about her looks and her abilities. The first section of this book, details her upbringing and shows just who she is, a living, breathing person. Almost as a sidelight to this exemplary characterization, this section informs the reader of effects of the Great Influenza pandemic of 1918-9 and is a great depiction of the mores, customs, and daily life of that time, making some great commentary on just why that way of life disappeared so suddenly, to be replaced by the `roaring twenties'. But this first section of the book is merely an introduction, for when the flu kills off everyone else in her family, leaving Agnes the sole inheritor of various estates, she decides to take a trip to Egypt and the Holy Land, inspired by her late sister's forays in this area of the world.

The second section is the heart of this novel, as Agnes arrives in Egypt and through some fortuitous circumstances becomes a distant part of the group of people present at time in Cairo, from Churchill and Lawrence to Lady Gertrude Bell, who would eventually determine the political landscape of the middle east for many years to come, and the effects of which are still being felt today. It is a little bit unbelievable that such a relatively `minor' person such as Agnes would become part of this group (such things are always a problem when trying to insert a fictional character into a historical setting), but Russell does a good and somewhat humorous job of setting this up, and it must be remembered that the European `community' in Cairo at this time was quite small and insular. Once you accept that Agnes has been `adopted' by these luminaries, the rest follows quite logically, and this is where this book shines. Russell's depiction of the sights, sounds, smells, climate, and history of this region are remarkable, even if some of the history takes the form of essays - these blocks of expository material fit very well with the rest of the story, and give the reader a lot of context for current events.

Right alongside this travelogue is her depiction of the people surrounding her. T. E. Lawrence comes across as a far more complicated man than the character shown in the Lawrence of Arabia movie (although Peter O'Toole's finely nuanced depiction did much to hint at the depths of the man), and the Churchill shown here is not the famous Prime Minister of WWII fame, but rather the fairly lowly government functionary still trying to live down the debacle of Gallipoli. At the same time as this Cairo peace conference was making its way to becoming history, Agnes herself blossoms, becoming romantically involved with a local German, and finding that her thoughts, opinions, and actions are important, that she can be more than just a mouse.

The final section, which details some of Agnes' life after returning to America, is not as strong as the rest of the book, as it is told from a metaphysical viewpoint that doesn't quite jive with the tone or feeling of the rest of the book, with a strong `message' component that is probably not necessary - Russell has already gotten this message across in the earlier sections, and much more effectively by `showing' rather than `telling'.

This book was clearly well and heavily researched, bringing to life a period of history that few Americans have any knowledge of, even though the events depicted here have a strong influence on our current involvement in the region. Russell provides a decent bibliography of her sources, a great aid for anyone wishing to find out more about this time and place.

An excellent book in many ways, perhaps not quite as strong as her The Sparrow, but definitely worth reading.

---Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)

Having begun her fiction career with two novels of science fiction, Mary Doria Russell now offers her second volume of historical fiction, Dreamers of the Day. The protagonist of our story, Agnes Shanklin, has lived through the Great War and the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918, although her family did not. Finding herself an unmarried heiress at 38 and unable to continue teaching because "There were so many demobilized soldiers needing work that we ladies were often simmarily dismissed from employment," she remakes herself (with the help of Bob Hope's future wife, Millie) and takes a long dreamed of trip to Egypt and the Holy Lands. There she finds herself frequently in the company of Winston Churchill, Gertrude Bell and the infamous T.E. Lawrence, not to mention romantically involved with a German spy, all gathered for the Cairo Conference of 1921 at which decisions with far-reaching impact will be made regarding the post-World War I division of the Middle East.

Taking her tale from the days of peace, progress and prosperity before the Great War through the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression, Agnes Shanklin remains a likable heroine you will want to stick with to the very end. Russell's usual strong characterizations, straight-forward writing and gift for telling a story are again strongly in evidence in Dreamers of the Day, a book I highly recommend.