The Dream (spoilers)

Discuss the November 2015 book of the month, Ruby's Choice by D.F. Jones
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Scott
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Re: The Dream (spoilers)

Post by Scott »

I agree with the others, first @"B3cca 3ll3r", that as a rule I don't care for the "and then they woke up" type of plot device.

I think it works at least arguably well in this story for two reasons.

1 - It isn't thrown in until the epilogue, so you can still appreciate the whole story without the dream twist. What's really usually annoying about the "and then they woke up" is it acts as a crucial part of the resolution of the conflict in the actual story arc. In other words, it becomes a cop out deus ex machina, which it wasn't in this story.

2 - Similarly, the fact that it was all a dream doesn't really change the story that much. This is because it's less of just a 'dream' and more of a premonition by someone who can see the future. While such premonitions allow Ruby to occasionally change the future, most of the events still come to pass exactly as 'dreamed' or to a similar result. In this way, the plot device behaves more like a time machine plot device in which Ruby goes back in time and slightly corrects some of her mistakes after having already made them in a context of still partial fatalism.
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Post by gali »

Scott wrote:I agree with the others, first @"B3cca 3ll3r", that as a rule I don't care for the "and then they woke up" type of plot device.

I think it works at least arguably well in this story for two reasons.

1 - It isn't thrown in until the epilogue, so you can still appreciate the whole story without the dream twist. What's really usually annoying about the "and then they woke up" is it acts as a crucial part of the resolution of the conflict in the actual story arc. In other words, it becomes a cop out deus ex machina, which it wasn't in this story.

2 - Similarly, the fact that it was all a dream doesn't really change the story that much. This is because it's less of just a 'dream' and more of a premonition by someone who can see the future. While such premonitions allow Ruby to occasionally change the future, most of the events still come to pass exactly as 'dreamed' or to a similar result. In this way, the plot device behaves more like a time machine plot device in which Ruby goes back in time and slightly corrects some of her mistakes after having already made them in a context of still partial fatalism.
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Post by Christinar81 »

I generally don't like books or tv shows that use the "dream" ending but in this case I'm glad. I was a fan of Brent but the way he was portrayed with the jealous and possessiveness made him look bad. The dream reverses all that and enables him to become a good guy.
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Post by Paliden »

Generally speaking, I'm not fond of books or movies that end with it all being a dream. But in this case, the author managed to pull it off.
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Post by kimmyschemy06 »

I think it made the story more.. charming? After all, Ruby was the Dreamer..
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Post by Bigwig1973 »

"I should have expected that!" is what I thought. It kind of makes sense. I've only read this book once, very quickly, and so since the writer is being so accepting of twists along those lines - I wonder if it was a dream (or a series of dreams that came together at that moment), or a day dream (inspired by the guys entering the store? Inspired by the woman and her little girl entering the store?), of an hallucination, etc. Either way, I was not surprised. The alternate Ruby and Reed getting together was a bit unexpected. And, then of course, one has to wonder if the second interpretation of what's going on in the store was the dream. As in, Ruby made the first choice, and then went back and imagined a second scenario.
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