Book · 1984 · West Virginia in fiction
Machine dreams
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I when my wife and I were just married and broke and we were in Mexico driving around and buming around and I was reading one of my favorite novels. I didn't know that at the time. Jane Phillips's machine dreams.
The best things said about it
That's the first line of Machine Dreams. Yeah. My first novel.
Why people recommend it
Machine Dreams by Jayne Anne Phillips is a critically acclaimed novel that traces the fragmentation of a West Virginia family across several decades against the backdrop of mid-century American history and the Vietnam War. Jayne Anne Phillips appeared on How I Write alongside David Perell to discuss the craft, during which they highlighted the striking opening line of her debut novel. In a separate episode of The Book Review, Dwight Garner shared a personal memory involving the book, recalling a time when he and his newly married wife were broke, traveling, and bumming around Mexico in a car while he immersed himself in reading Phillips's novel, which later became one of his all-time favorites. Both discussions emphasized the powerful resonance of Phillips's writing, blending personal reminiscences of discovery with technical appreciation for her evocative prose, family dynamics, and lasting contributions to modern American literature.
Every mention
Dwight Garner I when my wife and I were just married and broke and we were in Mexico driving around and buming around and… 1
“I when my wife and I were just married and broke and we were in Mexico driving around and buming around and I was reading one of my favorite novels. I didn't know that at the time. Jane Phillips's machine dreams”
Jayne Anne Phillips That's the first line of Machine Dreams. Yeah. My first novel. 1
“That's the first line of Machine Dreams. Yeah. My first novel.”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
Other mentions (3: passing, ad reads, own books)
“That's the first line of machine dreams. Yeah. my first novel and that's being said in the voice of the character who is the mother is the character who would have been my mother.”
“Can you read this from machine dreams?”
“Well, I I read books written at that time and I think in the acknowledgements to machine dreams I me I mean acknowledgements to nightw watch I mentioned some of these books.”