THE HOUSE OF DISCARDED DREAMS

Vimbai is a student of invertebrate zoology in New Jersey who moves into a house on the beach to find some relief from the intense personality and scrutiny of her Zimbabwean mother. Her two new roommates are unique. The house is strange—its interior changes with the dreams of its inhabitants and then drifts away toward Zimbabwe. Robin Miles’s steady, easy presentation of the mundane details of daily life creates a subtle contrast with the bizarre events unfolding. Whether it is Vimbai’s dead grandmother fixing breakfast for the roommates or Vimbai attempting to restore the souls of sea horses, Miles bestows a sense of the ordinary that helps the story and characters stay grounded. J.E.M. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2011]