Simply brilliant! After I completed the novel I went to the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge and gave the following the toast: “From the state that brought you Willa Cather, the city that brought you Henry Fonda and the high school that brought you Alexander Payne and Richard Dooling, we welcome Kennedy into the Pantheon of the Gods. To Kennedy!”
Only problem was that Meryl Streep wasn’t with me and the author was in Australia.
By way of full disclosure, M. Reese Kennedy a/k/a Mike Kennedy and I attended Omaha’s Jesuit high school for two years before Mike went to an east coast prep school. Jeremy, a main character in the book, was my freshman year lab benchmate in science. The author has a very good memory as Jeremy was knowledgeable about both urban architecture and future Cornhusker footballers. The final incident in the book regarding Jeremy was well known to me and somewhat infamous. I sure would like to know who the other grade school classmates were including Eileen O’Reilly.
The Omaha of the 60’s and its geography is also accurate. I attended the Catholic grade school to the southeast of his and we also had schoolyard fights started with the challenge of “Choose.” One minor and forgivable error is that the main staircase at Barat Academy of the Sacred Heart is not marble but wood. The school is little changed from the author’s short time there as a grade schooler.
His Grandfather Andrew’s house sits across the street from Barat; the highest elevation in all of Omaha. Andrew, Sr. did, in fact, walk two miles to work six days a week. He was a stern taskmaster but reputedly very kind to all children.
Putting aside my Omaha and personal connection to the author, this really is a great novel. And recalling our days together in high school, it is also his authentic voice. Lots of laughs and three very clever plot lines brought together at the end.
The big question is whether The Plague of Dreamlessness is a Deep Metaphor, something somewhat grounded in historical fact or something Mike completely made up. Hard to say and all three options are plausible.
Turning dreams into a commercial enterprise seems like it could be the next big thing. Same for really, really extreme body piercings for fun and profit. There is a madcap sense to the novel but as we have seen in modern times, stranger things have happened.
— David D. Begley
Kennedy’s amazing debut novel demonstrates all the elements required for a great book – intriguing subject material, fascinating characters, a well-engineered storyline and beautiful prose. He explores the nature of dreams, relationships and spiritual issues in captivating style. Remembrances, in particular, offers deliciously descriptive writing, plunging the reader into the curious world of a young boy in Omaha past; a character who proves integral to the common theme of coma.
Kennedy masterfully orchestrates this triple narrative symphony – the three narrative streams, distinctly different in tone and pace, allow the author to punctuate the reader’s experience and adeptly create tension. These cleverly intertwined threads ultimately reach an exciting and synchronous climax and achieve a very satisfying resolution.
— Louisa Heard