A Theatre for Dreamers by Polly Samson

*spoiler-free*

A Theatre for Dreamers by Polly Samson focuses on 18-year old Erica and her journey of travelling to a Greek island called Hydra and spending the summer there with her brother Bobby, boyfriend Jimmy and some friends. Set in 1960, Erica and her group adjust to their new life, attempting to live out their hobbies and make the most of their time, despite troubles at home that they are trying to escape. For example, Erica’s mum had died when she was younger, and her father remained difficult and often abusive. The book then sees Erica grow older, later visiting the island with her new family, and deal with new heartbreaks and despair.

I picked up this book not knowing anything about it and from the blurb, I was expecting a Mamma Mia type plot filled with romance and adventures however, for me, this book fell flat. There are so many characters referenced throughout A Theatre for Dreamers as more and more people join the island, yet it is not always made clear who are important characters. There are names mentioned once or twice and never spoken about again, which was quite frustrating. I did enjoy getting to know some of the more developed characters on Hydra such as Charmain, George, and Marianne yet I felt deprived of wanting to know more of their background.

One thing I cannot criticise is Samson’s writing throughout A Theatre for Dreamers. There are some beautiful and creative descriptions depicting the scenes of Hydra and the atmosphere this Greek island creates. Although, I would have loved this to have been intertwined with exciting plot developments. I found the first half of the book to be particularly slow and overall, quite boring. Even though Erica is the main character, Samson writes of many events on the island where Erica appears to be a side character in her own story which was disappointing to read.

Unfortunately, throughout the book, I did consider at several points to stop reading it but what got me through to the final pages was the hope for a dramatic or significant turning point, however, this did not happen. There were some events that I hoped would be explored further but there was a pattern where things that I thought would be worth discussing more, were left as just a sentence or two. As I result, I did not connect with any of the characters and felt disappointed with the hollow plot. I do normally enjoy more fast-paced books, usually in the thriller/crime genre and so this explains my frustration with this book. Sadly, A Theatre for Dreamers put me into a reading slump due to its slow pace. Without much happening plot-wise, I struggled to feel much emotion about the story.

I am pleased to say that A Theatre for Dreamers did improve in the last 50 pages as a lot of this time was focused on the dialogue between two main characters. This helped recover the pace massively, but it was not enough to redeem the whole book for me. I was excited for an exhilarating summer read but it left me feeling empty despite its appealing setting on Hydra. I’m glad I persevered with this book so I can say I gave the full book a shot, but I am looking forward to moving on to my next read.

1/5 stars