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Reviewed by Karen Pirnot for Readers' Favorite
Leon David Dunn has written an intriguing novel in Dreaming Annapurna. The main character, Joseph, is a somewhat directionless young man who applies for volunteer work in Nepal, having no clue as to what the experience will provide. The era is the millennium in which the Maoist People's War has begun. Joseph finds himself inadvertently drawn into the dynamics of the Maoist takeover of small villages which are being torn apart and dissembled at random. Joseph is drawn to an orphaned girl named Kunjana, without any understanding of the consequences of his involvement with the child. His mind is frequently clouded by the effects of alcohol or hashish but he seems to act from the heart, without adequate knowledge of the circumstances of his environment. He impulsively makes a decision which will haunt him in times to come and that produces the second part of the story.
I found Dunn's characters to be authentic and striking in their development. The author's choice of words draws the reader in and makes for a page-turning story. Dreaming Annapurna is potentially every reader's opportunity for an agonizing process of self-exploration following an experience which is dissonant to the life known. "What if?" is question one of the second part of the book. The second dilemma is that of "How do I face the consequences of my actions" versus "How can I protect myself from the knowledge of what I have chosen to do?" This is a beautiful but difficult read and many will search their own inner beliefs in order to bring closure to the story.
