THE DREAM COLLECTOR

Meek’s historical novel encompasses Sigmund Freud’s early medical career and the milieu of the Impressionist painters.

Julie Forette has no desire to stay in Marseilles and do laundry for a living, like her mother. Instead, she develops an unusual ambition: to collect things that are ephemeral and intangible. She “forage[s] for dreams,” asking neighbors to tell her their most memorable ones and searching for truths concealed. Arriving in Paris in 1886, she talks her way into a job as a transcriber for renowned doctor Jean-Martin Charcot. Of particular interest to her is his research hospital, Salpêtrière, which houses neurologically impaired patients. At one of Charcot’s lectures, Julie meets and befriends intern Sigmund Freud. They share cocaine-fueled insights and an interest in helping sensitive young Salpêtrière inmate Sabrine Weiss. Charcot regularly showcases Sabrine in demonstrations, triggering her to pass through stages of a “hystero-attack.” On a walk, Julie notices a painting in a shop window: a still life by Paul Cézanne, which becomes her entry into Impressionism. Fascinated, Julie eventually meets the reclusive painter and poses nude for him in exchange for one of his dreams. Other artists she encounters include Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet, and Paul Gauguin. Julie’s main objective, though, is saving Sabrine, with whom she’s revealed to have a deeply personal connection. In this novel, Meek skillfully entwines the worlds of Impressionism and 19th-century medicine; both worlds are compelling, and the back-and-forth between them ensures that the narrative never flags. Settings, from Charcot’s opulent house to Cezanne’s one-room studio, are well described, but it’s the memorable characterization that anchors the story. Julie’s intelligence, independence, and beauty attract admirers, and she pursues sex without shame or guilt. Freud could easily have become a caricature, but he’s portrayed sympathetically as struggling to balance the physical and psychological sides of healing. Even minor characters shine, such as Degas’ muse Suzanne Valadon, who yearns to be an artist herself.

A smoothly written tale of 1880s art and medicine with engrossing characters.