The House of Discarded Dreams
| Author | Ekaterina Sedia |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Audrejs Pidjaas/Fotolia. Design by Sephen H Segal |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Urban Fantasy Fantasy |
| Publisher | Prime Books |
|
Publication date
|
November 16, 2010 |
| Media type | Paperback |
| Pages | 301 |
| ISBN | |
| Preceded by | The Alchemy of Stone |
| Followed by | Heart of Iron |
The House of Discarded Dreams is a 2010 fantasy novel by Ekaterina Sedia about a college student who experiences many fairy tales and legends as she finds her place in the world.
The main character, Vimbai, is a young college student studying invertebrate zoology who is trying to escape her Zimbabwean culture and her overbearing immigrant mother. After skipping class and taking a walk on the beach, Vimbai finds an ad for a house to rent in the sand dunes. The opportunity comes at the perfect time and Vimbai decides it is time to leave her parents house to find herself. She moves in with Maya, a bartender in an Atlantic City casino and Felix, whose life is a mystery, and strange events being to take place causing the reader to question its reality. Vimbai finds a psychic energy baby living in the telephone wires and discovers that Felix has a pocket universe instead of hair. As if things couldn't get any more strange, her dead Zimbabwean grandmother begins doing dishes in the kitchen. Strange beings start moving under the porch and the house continues to grow and drastically change to include forests and lakes as it sails off into the ocean. Creatures from African urban legends all but take over as the house gets lost at sea. Vimbai has to find a way back to the real world and turns to horseshoe crabs in the ocean for help in getting home. In order to do so, she finds that she must come to terms with her past... A past that only exists in discarded dreams. Zimbabwean urban legends appear frequently throughout the novel. The overall effect of the novel is dreamily compelling rather than preposterous and Sedia shows how competing natural and supernatural worlds can enrich each other.
Vimbai, the main character of this book, is a college student of African descent who moves out of her parents' house and into the House of Discarded Dreams, where she begins to find herself.
Maya, Vimbai's new roommate, is an Atlantic City bartender who adapts well to the house's supernatural transformation.
Felix lives in the house of discarded dreams as well. For the most part, he is an isolated person. The type of guy who has a “Do Not Enter” sign on his bedroom’s door. Yet, his background and hair are very intriguing. If he wouldn't have his abnormal knowledge and hair, he would have to pay rent in a different way.
Vimbai’s Grandmother is a spirit who vimbai brought to our world. She could be better classified as a ghost. Her stories and cultural obsession have a big impact on Vimbai's roots and story itself.
Maya’s grandmother is a spirit brought back to our world as well. She was the only family Maya had; Maya loves her so much that she would still grieve at times.
PEB or Physical Energy Baby is a psychic baby who, besides his looks, is an adult. Don’t get fool by his rough voice and many fingers. He is friendly and could be very helpful at times.
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