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The Capital of Dreams
Win a free print copy of this book!
18 days and 10:42:37
25 copies available
U.S. only
“The Capital of Dreams is not so much a novel to read but one to live (and dream) in. A dark, wistfully comic fable that's as imaginative as it is poignant. An entire world that only Heather O'Neill could create.”—Iain Reid, bestselling author of We Spread and Foe
From the hugely acclaimed author beloved by literary lights, including Emily St. John Mandel, Kelly Link, and Mona Awad, a dark dystopian fairytale about an idyllic country ravaged by war—and a girl torn between safety and loyalty.
Sofia Bottom lives in Elysia, a small country forgotten by Europe. But inside its borders, the old myths of trees that come alive and faeries who live among their roots have given way to an explosion of the arts and the consolations of philosophy. From the clarinetists to the cabaret singers, no artist is as revered as Sofia’s brilliant mother, the writer Clara Bottom. How can fourteen-year-old Sofia, with her tin ear and enduring love of ancient myths, ever hope to win her mother’s love?
When the country’s greatest enemy invades, and the Capital is under threat, Clara turns to her daughter to smuggle her new manuscript to safety on the last train evacuating children from the city. But when the train draws to a suspicious halt in the middle of a forest, Sofia is forced to run for her life and loses her mother’s most prized possession. Frightened and alone in a country at war, Sofia must find a way to reclaim what she has lost. On an epic journey through woods and razed towns, colliding with soldiers, survivors, and other lost children, Sofia must make the choice between kindness and her own survival.
In this stunning novel set in an imaginative world yet reflective of our own times, Heather O’Neill delivers a vivid, breathtaking dark fairytale of life, death, and betrayal.
From the hugely acclaimed author beloved by literary lights, including Emily St. John Mandel, Kelly Link, and Mona Awad, a dark dystopian fairytale about an idyllic country ravaged by war—and a girl torn between safety and loyalty.
Sofia Bottom lives in Elysia, a small country forgotten by Europe. But inside its borders, the old myths of trees that come alive and faeries who live among their roots have given way to an explosion of the arts and the consolations of philosophy. From the clarinetists to the cabaret singers, no artist is as revered as Sofia’s brilliant mother, the writer Clara Bottom. How can fourteen-year-old Sofia, with her tin ear and enduring love of ancient myths, ever hope to win her mother’s love?
When the country’s greatest enemy invades, and the Capital is under threat, Clara turns to her daughter to smuggle her new manuscript to safety on the last train evacuating children from the city. But when the train draws to a suspicious halt in the middle of a forest, Sofia is forced to run for her life and loses her mother’s most prized possession. Frightened and alone in a country at war, Sofia must find a way to reclaim what she has lost. On an epic journey through woods and razed towns, colliding with soldiers, survivors, and other lost children, Sofia must make the choice between kindness and her own survival.
In this stunning novel set in an imaginative world yet reflective of our own times, Heather O’Neill delivers a vivid, breathtaking dark fairytale of life, death, and betrayal.
368 pages, Paperback
Expected publication January 7, 2025
About the author
Heather O'Neill
63 books2,313 followersHeather O'Neill was born in Montreal and attended McGill University.
She published her debut novel, Lullabies for Little Criminals, in 2006. The novel won the Canada Reads competition (2007) and was awarded the Hugh Maclennan Award (2007). It was nominated for eight other awards included the Orange Prize, the Governor General's Award and the IMPAC Dublin Literary Prize. It was an international bestseller.
Her books The Girl Who Was Saturday Night (2014) and Daydreams of Angels (2015) were both shortlisted for the Giller Prize.
Her third novel The Lonely Hearts Hotel will be published in February 2017.
Her credits also include a screenplay, a book of poetry, and contributions to The New York Times Magazine, This American Life, The Globe and Mail, Elle Magazine, The Walrus and Rookie Magazine.
She published her debut novel, Lullabies for Little Criminals, in 2006. The novel won the Canada Reads competition (2007) and was awarded the Hugh Maclennan Award (2007). It was nominated for eight other awards included the Orange Prize, the Governor General's Award and the IMPAC Dublin Literary Prize. It was an international bestseller.
Her books The Girl Who Was Saturday Night (2014) and Daydreams of Angels (2015) were both shortlisted for the Giller Prize.
Her third novel The Lonely Hearts Hotel will be published in February 2017.
Her credits also include a screenplay, a book of poetry, and contributions to The New York Times Magazine, This American Life, The Globe and Mail, Elle Magazine, The Walrus and Rookie Magazine.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
Want to read
March 20, 2024I would read Heather O'Neill's grocery list if she'd let me... I am SEATED!!
September 23, 2024
4 and a half stars, rounded up.
This book really felt like a birthday present: it was released two days before my birthday, and on the day itself, my husband took me to a reading and signing by Heather O’Neill and it was the best way I could imagine ushering in my fortieth year on this fixer-upper of a planet. Thank you, Jason, and thank you, Heather! I actually met her, Julie!!
I know I fangirl about Heather O’Neill quite a bit; her book “Lonely Hearts Hotel” is one of my absolute favorite (I got my copy signed, obviously), and she writes how I wish I did, which makes me both insane with admiration and a touch jealous. I know some people don’t like her, and that’s fine, but I love her unconditionally, so you have to humor me and my gushy reviews. Suck it!
Lost children. Art. Betrayal. The meaning of storytelling. Those are some of O’Neill’s favorite elements and themes, and in “The Capital of Dreams”, she weaves a tale that includes all of them, set in a small and forgotten European country which will soon see its peace destroyed by invading soldiers. Sofia Bottom is given a delicate mission: she must smuggle her mother Clara’s latest manuscript on a train meant to take children out of the titular capital and to safety, and thereby, preserve a bit of the culture of Elysia, which might perish under occupation. But of course, nothing is quite that simple, especially in times of war, and Sofia will be put in the delicate position of having to choose between loyalty and survival when the train stops in the middle of a forest, and she is left with no other option but to run for her life. She might be 14, but she will grow by leaps and bounds as she makes her way through the countryside, in search of both safety and redemption.
The way O’Neill manages to turn dark stories into fairytales will never cease to amaze me; I have always had a soft spot for the original Brothers Grimm versions of the classic fairytales, those that kept their ominous and often darkly sensual tone amidst the quirky magical elements, and I would bet that those are the versions she prefers as well, if the idea of a young girl wandering the woods during a war with a talking goose as her only companion is any indication. I loved the deliberate vagueness of the time or place the story is meant to be set it, because what’s being captured on the page is not unique to a specific moment or location: it’s a reality that humanity has had to live through many times, all over the world. And yes, art is often one of the few ways we have left to hold on to our humanity in times of tragedy and violence. Emily St John Mendel blurbed this book, and I think that fans of “Station Eleven” might see a similarity in spirit and message between the two novels. Art keeps us human in more ways than we imagine.
This novel is also an exploration of mother-daughter dynamics. O’Neill has often written about female characters who are motherless: Baby, Noushka and Marie were all raised by their respective fathers, and Rose was an orphan, abandoned as a baby. This is the first time the mother is living, if not present, in the main character’s life. While Clara is alive, she is not a very typical mother: during the launch, O’Neill mentioned that her main inspiration for Clara was Simone de Beauvoir (one of my heroes!) who was of the (admittedly controversial) opinion that you can’t be a full-time intellectual or artist and a mother simultaneously. Clara is not a naturally maternal person: she clearly prefers her status as notable female intellectual to her role as mother, and consequently, doesn’t put the same amount of effort towards Sofia than she does towards her manuscript. Sofia loves and admires her mother, but she doesn’t feel like her mother has much affection towards her, yet constantly strives to please her and to earn her praises – which are hard won. But the way we see all our relationships change during major upheaval (as most of us have experienced during the pandemic), and Clara and Sofia’s bond is tested in many ways by the war.
I found myself thinking of Zweig’s “The World of Yesterday” as I read about Elysia; it made me think of the Vienna Zweig wrote about and loved so much, this city of artists, writers, and intellectuals, and how its very soul was crushed by the German invasion who considered the artists to be degenerates and perverts. O’Neill was very clear that her story was inspired by WWII and that she always wanted to write something set in that time and place, and I am not surprised that in her version of such a tale, the place of art in society would be a central element. I was also thinking a lot about Irene Nemirovsky’s “Suite Française”, her famously unfinished novel about a small French town during the Occupation, which had to be smuggled as a manuscript before Nemirovsky was sent to Auschwitz. It’s been years since I have read it, but I remember being quite struck with the compassion and nuanced outlook she had captured on the page, and O’Neill realizes a similar level of finesse in building characters who are multi-faceted and complex, and who live in a time where absolutely nothing is simple.
I finished it knowing I would re-read it, probably sooner rather than later: this is the sort of book that merits another visit in order to be examined more closely. It made me think a lot about the more subtle violence that is generally experiences by women during war time, especially back then, when they were very few (if any) female soldiers: it’s certainly on a smaller scale than what soldiers faced at the front, and sometimes it is much more psychological than physical, but the bottom line is really that no one makes it through a war unharmed, even if they never touched a gun. If you are a fan of O’Neill’s writing, “The Capital of Dreams” is a worthy addition to your library, and if you are unfamiliar with her, it would be a good place to start exploring her catalogue!
This book really felt like a birthday present: it was released two days before my birthday, and on the day itself, my husband took me to a reading and signing by Heather O’Neill and it was the best way I could imagine ushering in my fortieth year on this fixer-upper of a planet. Thank you, Jason, and thank you, Heather! I actually met her, Julie!!
I know I fangirl about Heather O’Neill quite a bit; her book “Lonely Hearts Hotel” is one of my absolute favorite (I got my copy signed, obviously), and she writes how I wish I did, which makes me both insane with admiration and a touch jealous. I know some people don’t like her, and that’s fine, but I love her unconditionally, so you have to humor me and my gushy reviews. Suck it!
Lost children. Art. Betrayal. The meaning of storytelling. Those are some of O’Neill’s favorite elements and themes, and in “The Capital of Dreams”, she weaves a tale that includes all of them, set in a small and forgotten European country which will soon see its peace destroyed by invading soldiers. Sofia Bottom is given a delicate mission: she must smuggle her mother Clara’s latest manuscript on a train meant to take children out of the titular capital and to safety, and thereby, preserve a bit of the culture of Elysia, which might perish under occupation. But of course, nothing is quite that simple, especially in times of war, and Sofia will be put in the delicate position of having to choose between loyalty and survival when the train stops in the middle of a forest, and she is left with no other option but to run for her life. She might be 14, but she will grow by leaps and bounds as she makes her way through the countryside, in search of both safety and redemption.
The way O’Neill manages to turn dark stories into fairytales will never cease to amaze me; I have always had a soft spot for the original Brothers Grimm versions of the classic fairytales, those that kept their ominous and often darkly sensual tone amidst the quirky magical elements, and I would bet that those are the versions she prefers as well, if the idea of a young girl wandering the woods during a war with a talking goose as her only companion is any indication. I loved the deliberate vagueness of the time or place the story is meant to be set it, because what’s being captured on the page is not unique to a specific moment or location: it’s a reality that humanity has had to live through many times, all over the world. And yes, art is often one of the few ways we have left to hold on to our humanity in times of tragedy and violence. Emily St John Mendel blurbed this book, and I think that fans of “Station Eleven” might see a similarity in spirit and message between the two novels. Art keeps us human in more ways than we imagine.
This novel is also an exploration of mother-daughter dynamics. O’Neill has often written about female characters who are motherless: Baby, Noushka and Marie were all raised by their respective fathers, and Rose was an orphan, abandoned as a baby. This is the first time the mother is living, if not present, in the main character’s life. While Clara is alive, she is not a very typical mother: during the launch, O’Neill mentioned that her main inspiration for Clara was Simone de Beauvoir (one of my heroes!) who was of the (admittedly controversial) opinion that you can’t be a full-time intellectual or artist and a mother simultaneously. Clara is not a naturally maternal person: she clearly prefers her status as notable female intellectual to her role as mother, and consequently, doesn’t put the same amount of effort towards Sofia than she does towards her manuscript. Sofia loves and admires her mother, but she doesn’t feel like her mother has much affection towards her, yet constantly strives to please her and to earn her praises – which are hard won. But the way we see all our relationships change during major upheaval (as most of us have experienced during the pandemic), and Clara and Sofia’s bond is tested in many ways by the war.
I found myself thinking of Zweig’s “The World of Yesterday” as I read about Elysia; it made me think of the Vienna Zweig wrote about and loved so much, this city of artists, writers, and intellectuals, and how its very soul was crushed by the German invasion who considered the artists to be degenerates and perverts. O’Neill was very clear that her story was inspired by WWII and that she always wanted to write something set in that time and place, and I am not surprised that in her version of such a tale, the place of art in society would be a central element. I was also thinking a lot about Irene Nemirovsky’s “Suite Française”, her famously unfinished novel about a small French town during the Occupation, which had to be smuggled as a manuscript before Nemirovsky was sent to Auschwitz. It’s been years since I have read it, but I remember being quite struck with the compassion and nuanced outlook she had captured on the page, and O’Neill realizes a similar level of finesse in building characters who are multi-faceted and complex, and who live in a time where absolutely nothing is simple.
I finished it knowing I would re-read it, probably sooner rather than later: this is the sort of book that merits another visit in order to be examined more closely. It made me think a lot about the more subtle violence that is generally experiences by women during war time, especially back then, when they were very few (if any) female soldiers: it’s certainly on a smaller scale than what soldiers faced at the front, and sometimes it is much more psychological than physical, but the bottom line is really that no one makes it through a war unharmed, even if they never touched a gun. If you are a fan of O’Neill’s writing, “The Capital of Dreams” is a worthy addition to your library, and if you are unfamiliar with her, it would be a good place to start exploring her catalogue!
Want to read
September 20, 2024Holy smokes, this book sounds amazing. 😍 Pre-ordering now.
August 16, 2024
Only Heather could have pulled this off. It’s incredible.
September 11, 2024
the capital of dreams conveys the confusing feelings that come with growing up in an uncertain world. this introspective fairytale is sad, but heartwarming, whimsical, but sensible. amid tragedy, the main character clings to her sense of wonder and finds comfort in the stories from her childhood. loved the themes and execution.
September 5, 2024
Do you ever reach an ending of a book and think "wow this is gonna mess me up for awhile."
The Capital of Dreams is a fantastical fairy tale that follows Sofia as she tries to make her way to the black market after being sent away to the country by her mother. She has to navigate the world with her talking goose companion while keeping them both alive during a war in which their forgotten country is occupied.
It expertly shows the nuance of mother/daughter relationships, coping mechanisms, and the realities of war. Heather O'Neill lets us live in Sofia's fantasy world without shying away from the more gruesome details. It's another literary tale from O'Neill of unfortunates and survival. Definitely recommend.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Available September 10, 2024
Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins for an advance review copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
The Capital of Dreams is a fantastical fairy tale that follows Sofia as she tries to make her way to the black market after being sent away to the country by her mother. She has to navigate the world with her talking goose companion while keeping them both alive during a war in which their forgotten country is occupied.
It expertly shows the nuance of mother/daughter relationships, coping mechanisms, and the realities of war. Heather O'Neill lets us live in Sofia's fantasy world without shying away from the more gruesome details. It's another literary tale from O'Neill of unfortunates and survival. Definitely recommend.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Available September 10, 2024
Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins for an advance review copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
September 10, 2024
This was incredibly different from anything I’ve read lately. The unnamed “Enemy” and “Capital” made the story feel like it could be anywhere, in any timeline- which I guess was the point. Light on the fairytale aspect, the darkness was certainly there. This was heavy but told in a lighthearted way that was almost horrifying ? I’ll be thinking about this one for a long time.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins Canada for the advanced copy!
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins Canada for the advanced copy!
September 13, 2024
As a huge fan of O’Neill’s previous works, I am actually devastated to DNF this at about 50%. I was just so bored. I didn’t find anything exceptionally interesting about this, and while it had good ideas, I felt it failed to meet its promise at execution. I normally love O’Neill’s balance of whimsy and bite, but it seemed it was missing here. Even the characters felt a little flat. Maybe if I read to completion I would have felt differently, but I couldn’t bring myself to go on.
ARC provided by NetGalley
ARC provided by NetGalley
Want to read
March 29, 2024A NEW HEATHER O'NEILL!!!!!!!!!!!
September 7, 2024
The Capital of Dreams is the first book I’ve read by Heather O’Neill, but now I know it won’t be the last. I fell in love with this beautiful and haunting fairytale about survival, imagination, and art. Our protagonist Sofia Bottom, lives in a small country that Europe has forgotten - a country full of old myths about trees that come alive, and faeries who live in their roots, myths that have given rise to an explosion of arts and philosophy. No one, however, is as revered as Sofia’s brilliant mother, feminist writer Clara Bottom. When the country’s nameless enemy invades, and the Capital is under threat, Clara turns to her daughter to have her smuggle her new manuscript to safety on the last train evacuating children from the city. But when the train suspiciously stops in the middle of a forest, Sofia must run for her life, losing her mother’s most prized possession on her way. Now, frightened and alone, but for a talking goose companion, Sofia must find a way to reclaim what she’s lost, and choose between kindness and survival.
This was a brilliant, imaginative and devastating fable, unlike anything I’d read before. It was charming, and heartbreaking, all at once, and I couldn’t put it down. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it, and I tore through it in a day. This novel masterfully explores the complicated relationships between success and love, mothers and daughters, art and resistance. It was peculiar, thoughtful, and unique, full of fantastical elements. Despite this, like any fable, its lessons and stories were easy to apply to our own every-day lives. Frankly, reading a book about a country being invaded and destroyed, but finding resistance through pockets of art and kindness was incredibly timely, as we see Palestinian people also find resistance, love, joy, and kindness through their own experiences of being invaded and destroyed by opposing forces. This book was brilliant, and I can't say enough good things about it.
I received an advanced reading copy from the publisher, in exchange for my honest feedback.
This was a brilliant, imaginative and devastating fable, unlike anything I’d read before. It was charming, and heartbreaking, all at once, and I couldn’t put it down. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it, and I tore through it in a day. This novel masterfully explores the complicated relationships between success and love, mothers and daughters, art and resistance. It was peculiar, thoughtful, and unique, full of fantastical elements. Despite this, like any fable, its lessons and stories were easy to apply to our own every-day lives. Frankly, reading a book about a country being invaded and destroyed, but finding resistance through pockets of art and kindness was incredibly timely, as we see Palestinian people also find resistance, love, joy, and kindness through their own experiences of being invaded and destroyed by opposing forces. This book was brilliant, and I can't say enough good things about it.
I received an advanced reading copy from the publisher, in exchange for my honest feedback.
September 10, 2024
Happy pub date!
Read
September 22, 2024 DNF
I fall squarely in the mindset of "too many books, so little time". Unfortunately, sadly, surprisingly the newest Heather O'Neill is going to fall victim to the DNF. I was already finding it quite repetitive and therefore feeling reluctance about picking it up when I had the chance. That's never a good situation! So I skipped over the 5-star excited reviews and found one that was written with pin-point accuracy as to exactly how I was feeling. Thank you Rebecca for summing up my very similar thoughts. Boredom, flatness of characters and absence of O'Neill's usual whimsy and bite. I'm adding repetition of content all in under 100 pages. Rebecca gave me the strength to skip to the final pages of the book and fully end my time with it.
Again, a big thank you to libraries. I was incredibly tempted to purchase this one, I mean, it was a new Heather O'Neill but instead I found that my library had a copy in with no holds on it. I can safely return it now thankful for not having to have parted with money for it.
There were however two very wonderful O'Neill-esque sentences that I read that confirm her expertise in writing about women and girls so incredibly. The first one was, "That one is not born, but becomes a woman, more or less." The second, "Sometimes a war can set a woman free."
I fall squarely in the mindset of "too many books, so little time". Unfortunately, sadly, surprisingly the newest Heather O'Neill is going to fall victim to the DNF. I was already finding it quite repetitive and therefore feeling reluctance about picking it up when I had the chance. That's never a good situation! So I skipped over the 5-star excited reviews and found one that was written with pin-point accuracy as to exactly how I was feeling. Thank you Rebecca for summing up my very similar thoughts. Boredom, flatness of characters and absence of O'Neill's usual whimsy and bite. I'm adding repetition of content all in under 100 pages. Rebecca gave me the strength to skip to the final pages of the book and fully end my time with it.
Again, a big thank you to libraries. I was incredibly tempted to purchase this one, I mean, it was a new Heather O'Neill but instead I found that my library had a copy in with no holds on it. I can safely return it now thankful for not having to have parted with money for it.
There were however two very wonderful O'Neill-esque sentences that I read that confirm her expertise in writing about women and girls so incredibly. The first one was, "That one is not born, but becomes a woman, more or less." The second, "Sometimes a war can set a woman free."
September 27, 2024
A young girl and a goose. A war-torn country. This fairy tale for today is Heather O'Neill at her finest, inviting us to find poetry in the darkest of woods. It's about coming-of-age and coming-of-art. It's about finding your own voice, and making your own freedom. It's as whimsical as it is profound. This story broke my heart, repeatedly, but O'Neill's striking metaphors were always right there to mend it, like gold dust applied to a cracked teacup.
"What if it were possible to yell and have silence come out of your throat? And your silence was louder than all of the surrounding sounds."
"What if it were possible to yell and have silence come out of your throat? And your silence was louder than all of the surrounding sounds."
September 30, 2024
this was heartbreakingly beautiful. heather o’neil is a powerhouse of a writer and this book was genuinely one of my favourite of the year. it made me cry, it made me laugh. it is a dark fantasy that delves into the reality of war and the resilience of children
September 11, 2024
3.75 RTC
September 29, 2024
Love Heather O’Neill’s book and this one did not disappoint!
September 27, 2024
the queen of hallucinogenic fairytales has done it again!!!!!!
September 19, 2024
This was a whimsical adventure full of magic, lore, and war. Sofia persevered through many vile things and it made her stronger. This book brings you back to a time when you were young and believed in fairy tales. This author is always amazing
September 15, 2024
Didn’t grab me right away, got briefly interesting, half way through I knew this was one of those books I’d regret having spent time on if I finished. HO is a fine writer but this one just fell flat for me.
September 22, 2024
This book is creative and I love O’Neills writing. I loved the last quarter of the book and will be thinking about it for a while. But overall - I found the book a bit boring though easy to read - and I was reading it to finish it.
September 24, 2024
O’Neill does it again. Her poetry in prose is instant literature. This may be my favourite book of hers yet. What an incredible simultaneous contemplation of life during wartime, the transition from girlhood to womanhood, and the trauma of growing up without a mother’s love.
September 17, 2024
A treatise on human nature, and in particular, of female nature - a coming of age fairy tale. Also, an homage to art and artists and the power of words and stories.
September 27, 2024
No one writes like Heather O'Neill. If someone else is as brilliant, as original, as magical, do tell. But I suspect Heather will still outshine them all.
I LOVED this book. It was perfect.
I LOVED this book. It was perfect.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews