Zac has a private world in his head: the Other Place, where he has always gone for retreat and relaxation. Now that he is involved with the shy schoolteacher Cecile, a woman suffering from her own traumas, he plans to give it up. However, a sinister adversary is stalking both Zac and Cecile, playing upon their worst fears and weaknesses, and Zac has realized he’s no longer the sole inhabitant of his fantasy world.
     Although the idea of a world in one’s dreams isn’t a fresh one, Jennifer Barlow’s debut novel Hamlet Dreams manages to put an interesting spin on the old tale. There are some clever and well-conceived thoughts behind the world-building: classical elements, a quest motif, Shakespeare, the idea of escapism in general, and the symbol of the labyrinth tie neatly together. The idea of Zac’s Other Place is enticing, never quite fully explained enough to take the shine off.
     Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the characters: Zac and Cecile both are awkward, hesitant, flinching and, ultimately, unlikeable protagonists, so lacking in assertiveness that they can literally be railroaded by children. Their problems, personalities, and romantic entanglements alike are juvenile, fraught with melodrama and pervaded with an almost disturbing obsession with virginity and anything sexual. The sexualizing of the characters is extreme: what is supposed to be seduction comes across as smarmy or aggressive, and the portrayal of love is merely skittishness. There seems to be no personality involved in this world’s relationships, merely sex or the lack of it.
     The prose style suffers in some ways from the same hesitancy as the characters: a lack of auctorial confidence that damages the suspension of disbelief. The prose, however, manages to hit its stride near the climax of the novel, and shows promise and a strong grasp of narrative tension in those moments. Likewise, the dialogue has moments that are extremely stilted, but when it is more relaxed reads exceedingly naturally. The book on the whole is well-paced and planned.
nbsp;    Despite the interest generated by the strong points of Hamlet Dreams, the overall lack of maturity of the piece is its major shortcoming: the demon of sexual intercourse looms over all, and every little glance is a crisis. It rapidly becomes much too hard to feel sympathy for these sex-obsessed, plaintive, inactive teenagers grown large. Yes, this is a fantasy novel, but perhaps of a different kind than one might expect: fans of darker works, romance, or erotica may find the novel an enjoyable read.

                ::Leah Bobet::


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