Oprah Winfrey has chosen “Dream State” by Eric Puchner as her latest book club selection. The novel delves into the complexities of life’s sudden realizations and relationships, offering readers a powerful exploration of love, choices, and the paths we take. Read more below:
Page 56-57
When he glanced up again, through the windshield, Cece had reappeared downstairs. She searched the living room, then stuck her head into the kitchen. How wonderful this was: to be looked for. He was invisible; he could spy on her from his vehicle. Then she opened the front door and went out to the porch and saw him, because of course he wasn’t invisible. He was sitting in a truck with the dome light on. For no earthly reason, Cece pretended not to notice him and then picked up the binoculars from the table and pointed them in his direction, jumping back as though she’d seen a bear. A dopey thing, a joke, and yet all was lost. It was like a compass finding north: a happiness as pure and sudden as that. She even looked different: new and strange and somehow in focus. The wild shrub of hair; the slanty, jack-o’-lantern eyebrows; the dimple on her chin that looked like a poke. None of these features were particularly attractive — on their own, in fact, they were sort of funny-looking — but put together they were beautiful, heart-walloping, a face he’d missed his whole life without knowing it.
Cece, who’d lowered the binoculars, stared at him in concern. Garrett realized he still had the keys in his teeth. He dropped them in his lap, like a golden retriever. “I have to go!” he shouted, essentially to himself. He had some trouble hand-eyeing the key into its slot. Then he switched off the dome light and reversed down the driveway and backed into a corner of the fence, which made a sound like a firecracker. Garrett sped off in his truck, then slowed once he realized how fast he was going. The empty road seemed to dangle in front of him. Good god, what had he done? The moon, that lighthouse in the sky, guided him home. I’m sorry, he said to Charlie in his head, because he’d damaged something and couldn’t remember feeling so happy.
