Usually when an individual is upset and focusing on all the negative aspects of his or her life, the last thing we, as thoughtful and concerned relatives, friends, significant others, propose to them is to look at the dark side. We mention great memories to reflect upon, the ever annoying euphemism of the proverbial boat and the great opportunities that are sure to come. We never dare to suggest to dwell on the what-if’s, it won’t’s or I can’ts. We tell them to smile because life could invariably be worse and to dream; Dream When You’re Feeling Blue.
Elizabeth Berg’s Dream When You’re Feeling Blue is a novel that is fictitious in its characters, and literal plot, yet feels more real than the most non-fiction piece I have ever read. Berg’s ability to weave an intricate storyline while discovering and revealing in-depth characters is pure talent. The story primarily centers on Kitty Heaney. Kitty is what could be described as a firecracker; a dynamic personality with a sharp wit. Her interactions with her sisters, Louise and Tish, allows the reader to be transported to the kitchen where the sisters spend endless evenings writing letters to the troops serving in WWII; Kitty writing to her boyfriend, Julian, Louise to her boyfriend Michael and Tish to an assortment of young men serving their country whom she meets at the USO dances. The kitchen scene is where we see the priceless exchanges and intimate connections the sisters share along with the overall family dynamic.
Throughout the book, Kitty develops into a mature young woman with a different mentality and viewpoints while still managing to hold on to her identity as someone who cares for the troops serving her country and who wants to find true love one day. Kitty enables herself to change by quitting her job at Munson’s Jewelers and going to work at Douglas Aircraft; putting new parts on planes that are used in the war. She knows this is not respectable work for a woman and yet she has an insatiable urge to make herself part of the war effort. Kitty is setting an example for her family and it is this simple act that really defines her as an evolving young woman, enabling her to be perceived by the reader as a round character.
There are many characters within the book that demand significant attention; fickle Tish with her many interests whom she provides comfort to with her letters, serene and wise Louise, who devotes her life and heart to Michael, assuring him that he will return home to marry her. Margaret Heaney, from whom Kitty inherits her firecracker personality and sharp wit, who rules her roost with an iron fist, yet finds time to share tender loving care with her family who keeps her going, Tommy, the most demure member of the Heaney family, whose inner obligation to help the war effort perhaps rivals the most active citizen’s sense of duty. The family is comprised of many unique characters, yet the one specific person that made an indelible impression with me was Frank Heaney. His love for his family is not ostentatious, yet palpable and the reader can really get a sense of his protective love for his wife and his children. If it is sneaking a piece of Margaret’s cake, or eventually approving of his daughter’s change in employment, Frank Heaney is the epitome of a family man and he is perhaps my favorite character.
While peppered with laughs and quick-witted responses shared with us from the many characters Berg thoroughly develops, the reader must not forget the poignant undertone the novel possesses that is representative of the crucial fact that there is war taking place and lives will be lost. It is especially poignant for this author as there is a war now and lives are lost now. While feeling just a little bit guilty at benefiting from life’s creature comforts and respecting those that are fighting a war so that those comforts can continue, I take solace in my favorite character, Frank Heaney’s words, “We live but a short time, at the longest. How do we make our lives mean something? If we die in glory, with our minds and our hearts fixed on achieving a great goal, we have lived a life that mattered” (Berg 214).
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