8. Marianne Dreams

By Catherine Storr     

I had heard of the British film, Paper House (1990) but over the years, it had become rather obscure so I assumed I’d never watch it.  When by chance I discovered it on Prime, I immediately decided to order the book that it was adapted from, Marianne Dreams (1958).  I wanted to read it first, but as I was reading, I became curious about the film because I knew it had a contemporary setting, so watched it at the same time I was reading it.  Book and film were fairly different animals, and each medium ended up complementing the other.

The short bio described author Catherine Storr having practiced medicine for fifteen years, but she never forgot her ambition as a writer.  She wrote her first children’s books for her three daughters.  “She loves writing for children because they understand that fantasy and reality are not opposites – but different ways of looking at the same thing.”

My seven year old daughter was intrigued as soon as she saw me reading it.  She asked me what it was about and I told her the premise: a lonely, bedridden girl discovers she has the power to make her drawings come to life in her dreams.  A very intriguing premise indeed for a girl who loves to draw.  

Knowing that I had already read a few chapters, my daughter asked me what happened next in more detail.  Then each day she kept asking me, "Have you read Marianne Dreams yet?"  If I did, I’d have to tell her what happened.  If I hadn’t, then she would order me to read at least one chapter so I can then tell her what happened.  Bossy kid!

At some point, when I was more than halfway through the book, she started reading it herself from the beginning.  She would still ask me what happened, and even if I replied, but you’re going to read it soon anyway.  She’d then say, I don’t care, I want to know what happens.  Olman thought the book might be a little too advanced for her, but my thinking was that if the kid can read on her own, any children’s book would be fine. And my summary of the narrative probably helped set things up for her in advance.

The past week had been hot and humid, and this kind of weather made me listless, so my reading had slowed way down, even though I had a few chapters left.  Before I knew it, the kid was catching up to me.  When she was one chapter behind me, I read a couple more chapters.  Then on Saturday morning, when she saw Olman reading on the front porch, just as I had one and a half chapters left of the book, she took Marianne Dreams and joined her dad reading out front.  Fortunately, I had some hebdos to catch up on, so I wasn't bereft of reading material.  When she came back inside, she went, “Guess what, Mommy?’ And then proudly declared, "I finished Marianne Dreams."

She seemed to like it.  I don’t think she found it awesome, and I think some of the dream-world stuff was a bit too abstract for her, but the kid completed one of her first chapter books all on her own.   AND because the kid had read it first, and Mommy read it second, then Daddy had to read it too.

Paperhouse was also quite good.    There was a cool scene with the elevator (not in the book).  There were quite a number of major differences.  First, there was no The Pencil.  There was no THEM, but there was a HIM.  Marianne is Anna.  There was a very disturbing scene where Nightmare Dad was pounding on Anna’s chest.  The ending was different, very bittersweet as it had to do with loss – childhood, innocence, love.  Perhaps it’s because it’s set in 1990 with more modern themes, not to mention the Paperhouse kids are a couple of years older, pre-teen instead of pre-ado, like Marianne.  I’m glad I saw the ending of Paperhouse first because the ending of Marianne Dreams was much more hopeful, innocent and happy.