Machine Dreams [Hardcover]

Jayne Anne Phillips (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 19, 1984

In her highly acclaimed debut novel, the bestselling author of Shelter introduces the Hampsons, an ordinary, small-town American family profoundly affected by the extraordinary events of history. Here is a stunning chronicle that begins with the Depression and ends with the Vietnam War, revealed in the thoughts, dreams, and memories of each family member. Mitch struggles to earn a living as Jeans becomes the main breadwinner, working to coplete college and raise the family. While the couple fight to keep their marriage intact, their daughter Danner and son Billy forge a sibling bond of uncommon strength. When Billy goes off to Vietnam, Danner becomes the sole bond linking her family, whose dissolution mirrors the fractured state of America in the 1960s. Deeply felt and vividly imagined, this lyrical novel is "among the wisest of a generation to grapple with a war that maimed us all" (The Village Voice), by a master of contemporary fiction.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A beautifully patterned novel . . . an enduring literary achievement . . . astonishing."—The New York Times"Machine Dreams, in its wisdom and its compassionate, utterly unsentimental rendering of the American condition, will rank as one of the great books of [the] decade. Jayne Anne Phillips is a blessing."—Robert Stone"An intensely Ameican, beautifully written first novel. . . . It carries the strength of myth, and yet is utterly of our times."—The Wall Street Journal --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Jayne Anne Phillips was born in Buckhannon, West Virginia. She is the author of three novels, MotherKind (2000), Shelter (1994) and Machine Dreams (1984), and two collections of widely anthologized stories, Fast Lanes (1987) and Black Tickets (1979). She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships, and a Bunting Fellowship. She has been awarded the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction (1980) and an Academy Award in Literature (1997) by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Her work has been translated into twelve languages, and has appeared in Granta, Harper’s, DoubleTake, and The Norton Anthology of Contemporary Fiction. She is currently Professor of English and Director of the MFA Program at Rutgers-Newark, the State University of New Jersey. Her new novel, Lark and Termite, is forthcoming from Knopf. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 331 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult; 1st edition (June 19, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 052524252X
• ISBN-13: 978-0525242529
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #735,934 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Revealing our dreams, January 13, 2000

By 

Dora (Greece) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Machine Dreams (Paperback)

I've read Machine Dreams twice and I was completly moved. It is like a picture of modern America where everyone travels alone, like in a dream, and the same time is in the middle of a crowd into reality. Philip's talended writing expresses desires and feelings of every woman and their struggle to remain unique. But it is not a feminist book. male characters are very strong too. Its structure and the different narrator in each chapter show the different kind of characters and the different aspects of the American society

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Keep at it, December 4, 1999

By 

Annika, (Brighton, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Machine Dreams (Paperback)

I had to read Machine Dreams as part of a school course at University at first it appeared to be nothing special, who were all these characters, did I care waht this woman, was telling her daughter and who were they anyway? I read the first section, then put it away for a while. When I started to read it again it was sooo good. It does take a while to get into but it is well worth percivering. At the end of the book I was so caugh t up with the up with the characters it was unbelivable considering my initial reaction to the book. The links in the book become obvious as you read on and the treatment of time as none linear works well. There are central themes in the book, such as the strenght of the women characters and the way in which they deal with the things that happen. I was told the book was about the Vietmnam war but I don't personnaly think that this was the main point of the book, it is a key factor but how could it not be. After reading the book I was left feeling very aware of the feeling I have for my friends and family, it is difficult not to become emotionally involved in the book. Finally - GO READ IT! (And don't give up on it.) I only gave the book 4 stars because of my initial desire not to read it after the first section - This is probably more my problem than the books.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fine family chronicle, November 15, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Machine Dreams (G K Hall Large Print Book Series) (Hardcover)

Jane Anne Phillips' 1984 first novel Machine Dreams is an affecting and carefully-wrought chronicle of an American family through this century, culminating in the tragedy of Vietnam brought home through a beloved son's/brother's death. Phillips constructs the novel by focusing each section on a different family member, alternating also between first and third person narrators. Her use of language and characterizations are strong throughout. This is a fine book.