Dream Angus: The Celtic God of Dreams [Paperback]

Alexander McCall Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 27, 2007

“Elegant . . . Spare, polished . . . Smith fluidly weaves in contemporary vignettes.” —Publishers Weekly
The latest addition to the Myths series from Canongate, now available in paperback, is a beguiling tale from the beloved author of the best-selling No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. Angus is one of the earliest Celtic deities and one of the most cherished to this day. Like an even more handsome combination of Apollo and Eros, he is the god of love, youth, and beauty. Just the sight of him has made people fall in love, and he has the power to reveal a person’s true love in a dream, if asked politely. Alexander McCall Smith has turned his renowned storytelling talents to crafting irresistible stories from this ancient myth. Five exquisite contemporary fables of love lost and found unfold alongside Angus’s search for the beautiful Caer, the swan maiden he met in his dreams. McCall Smith unites reality and dreams, today and the ancient past, mesmerizingly, leaving the reader to wonder: what is life but the pursuit of dreams?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Angus is a god of dreams and love, and the Celtic mythology spun around his life and acts is cherished in both Ireland and Scotland. Clearly aware of the ramifications of taking sides, Page delivers his narration in a studiously neutral British voice. However, it is no surprise that the Scottish Smith, who currently writes two Edinburgh-based series, sets the five contemporary stories that parallel Angus's life in Scotland. For these sections, Page rolls out a hearty Scottish brogue and performs the characters in a lively fashion. Page is less successful with the narrative voice itself. The story is told from the perspective of Angus's mother, Boann, a water nymph. The peacefulness and sweetness of mother and son, combined with Page dropping his voice for the end of each sentence, might lull the listener into the dream state so favored by Angus. Nevertheless, this is one audio the entire family can listen to: it's perfect for a long winter evening by the fire with some hot cocoa. Simultaneous release with the Canongate hardcover (Reviews, Aug. 21).
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Review

“Lyrical. . . . This slim, elegant volume is further evidence of [McCall Smith’s] consummate ability to blend wit, wisdom and heart.”
—Booklist (USA)

“May well be the most enjoyable of the [Myths] series to date. . . . McCall Smith brings to the Angus story a sly and deceptive simplicity, combined with a charm that has a line of tight, sharp wire running all the way through it.”
—The Guardian (UK)

“[A] gem-like piece of work, slim and polished.”
—National Post


From the Trade Paperback edition. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Canongate U.S.; First Trade Paper Edition edition (July 27, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1847670156
• ISBN-13: 978-1847670151
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #581,174 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Dream to Read!, September 30, 2006

By 

Amy Graham (Scottsdale, AZ) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dream Angus: The Celtic God of Dreams (Hardcover)

I am not all that familiar with Celtic mythology and had actually never heard of Angus (god of dreams and love), so I was a bit worried that some bits of the story would be lost on me...but I need not have worried. Dream Angus is a quite a wonderful retelling of this myth. After doing a bit of research, I find that McCall Smith has kept the bones from source material and dressed them up in contemporary garments and he has, I believe, done it a very likeable and compelling way! Like a couple of others in this series, we are presented with vignettes which weave back and forth between ancient mythological settings and more contemporary ones; giving us the opportunity to hear Angus tale from birth to finding his own true love while also being given a glimpse of how he is still relevant in the modern world...for Angus, it seems still bestows upon us his precious and wonderful dreams! We find that Angus touches the lives of someone in each little story, and each is compelling and beautiful in its own way. I was particularly amused to see Angus cast as a psychotherapist using lucid dreaming to help his patients...a nice little twist! I would definitely recommend this as a light, but amusing retelling of Angus, Celtic God of Dreams, I don't think you'll be disappointed! I'm certainly glad to have read this and I'm looking forward to seeing more in this series!

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Life is but a..."?, August 7, 2007

By 

Patricia Tryon (Longmont, CO United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dream Angus: The Celtic God of Dreams (Paperback)

Perhaps you are owed the disclaimer that I will read with pleasure almost anything written by Alexander McCall Smith -- some titles with more pleasure than others, but anything with his name on the cover is practically guaranteed to provide gentle humor, sharp but never acerbic insight about people, and a view into worlds I have not previously been drawn.

"Dream Angus" hits all those marks and one more: it looks at the playful serious curious business of dreams and the purposes to which they might be put.

There are all kinds of serious words that can be delivered about a little book like this and probably there are treatises about whether Smith has written down the "One True Angus" or the one that he has simply invented. But I am not an aficionado of myth. What I recommend with some fervor is this optimistic invitation to open oneself to possibiliities offered by the good, but perhaps unconventional scenarios of our dreams.

Your minister or mother or physician could issue this invitation (or imperative) to you, but it would not be as much fun.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Dream Angus is no Dream, May 29, 2008

By 

Gypsi Phillips Bates "bilbiophile" (Tennessee) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dream Angus: The Celtic God of Dreams (Paperback)

Dream Angus is part of a multi-author series, "The Myths", in which contemporary authors retell various myths. Loving Smith's other works, and being fascinated by Celtic mythology, I thought this would be a winner. I was wrong.

Smith's format is to tell the myth of Angus side by side (actually chapter by chapter) with short stories. Each short story has an incident, theme or something else connecting it to the previous chapter about Angus' life.

While the idea was stunning, the result was very unsatisfying.

There is only one memorable character, Bodb; he is the only one in the myth that is given any personality. So many lovely opportunities to flesh out a myth, to make the gods human, is missed. With the exception of Bodb, it reads more like a straight telling out of a Bullfinch type anthology, instead of a retelling.

The accompanying short stories are drab and, though emotion is intended, they just don't fulfill that promise. The ending, again intended to be emotional and fulfilling, quite frankly left me cold and disappointed.

Overall, it was a poor effort on Smith's part--in a hurry to meet the deadline?--and I was glad this is not my first time reading him, or I wouldn't again.