Reality and Dreams by Muriel Spark (1996)

A movie director, injured while on set, soon finds his real and creative lives in conflict, as are the economic and sexual aspects of the lives of his family, friends, and colleagues.

Book Review:  Muriel Spark is unsubtle here: this really is a book about reality and dreams. Normally I think of plot as secondary in a Spark book, and focus more on her excellent writing, keen wit, and sharp observation.  But she was trying something completely different in Reality and Dreams, and her plot intertwines the real and unreal in every paragraph, every situation, every character.  She has woven a tapestry of the real and the unreal as metaphor.  Everything in Reality and Dreams can be labeled real or unreal.  For example, the main character has two daughters one unreal (Cora) and one real (Marigold).  But Marigold has two parts one real (female), and one unreal (male).  Et cetera.  One can argue whether each element is the real or the unreal.  Perhaps she did this as an exercise, but the reader is confronted with this double vision on virtually every page of Reality and Dreams.  After my first read I was a bit puzzled (I love Muriel Spark's books) and felt as tho I had missed something. On my second read it all fell into place, and viewing everything through the real/unreal lens made it much more enjoyable and intriguing.  A.S. Byatt's back cover quote gave me the needed clue to understanding.  Thank you Ms. Byatt, and thank you Ms. Spark. [4 Stars]