Book Review: Domingo Zapata’s The Beautiful Dream of Life
Synopsis: World renowned painter Rodrigo seemingly has it all: a multi-million dollar loft in SoHo; a talent for creativity that seems never ending; a recurring invitation to the exclusive modern art exhibit Art Basel; and lovers by the dozen. But what his longtime admirers don’t see is Rodrigo’s deep frustration with the world around him: the wild and sinfully luxurious parties have lost their luster, those who worship him and those who work for him seemingly do so out of greed, and worst of all, his art has lost meaning. As he begins to slip further and further into the rabbit hole of despair, so begins his descent into madness, culminating with a beautiful, pristine vision in the shape of the perfect woman: Carlotta. As the lines between reality and fantasy slowly begin to blur and fade, Rodrigo finds himself at a very difficult crossroads: will he choose to live in his imagined world with the woman of his dreams by his side, or make a swift return to sanity, success, and the life he was always supposed to live?
The Beautiful Dream of Life by acclaimed artist Domingo Zapata is as particular as its protagonist,Rodrigo Concepción. While most novels, especially debut, want a likable lead and a clear setting, Domingo aims to guide readers through the unclarity of a man as hateful to himself as he is to others. The question is, “Will you care?”
What I like about The Beautiful Dream is that I did not like the protagonist, but yet I followed him through his journey. Rodrigo is a wealthy, acclaimed New York artist, and is also prejudice, petulant, and pompous. He tussles between seeing the world as his playground, while feeling like he is choking in the monkey bars. There are times throughout The Beautiful Dream where you want to go on Facebook and troll Rodrigo. He is the epitome of everything people imagine and hate about “the rich”. He lives a lavish lifestyle with drugs, women, expensive things, and art at his beckon, but, as the book progresses, he becomes a textbook example that the source of all brood and boredom is a gapingly, bitter loneliness. As Rodrigo consumes “luxury” like he is engorging himself through an over-stuffed fridge, you cannot help but squint, at times, especially with his treatment of women. He numbs himself, but then mourns how unfeeling he is as he marches through his own life. Zapata writes Rodrigo as someone who wants to be better, but does absolutely nothing for his cause, which is why, as a reader, you grow frustrated but watchful of Rodrigo. We all want to see a “bad guy” redeem himself because we all feel like a “bad guy” waiting for redemption, and Rodrigo symbolizes every person’s battle between will and desire to better him or herself. Hence, his visions of Carlotta and living in Florence are reflective of his want to “be better”, but his desire to stay in these hallucinations over his reality is testament to his own spiritual vacancy/ laziness.
We all dream of happiness, but not many actually try to make it real. Rodrigo, despite having it all, has nothing, and his dreams of Carlotta turn her into a sensual delusion of what “happiness” is to him, Yet, they do show his struggle to feel fulfilled by emptier routes. There are times when Carlotta or even the settings/ people that cross Rodrigo’s path, teeter between character depth and dryness. Yet, it all stems from Rodrigo, as well. It is hard to aim for better thing in life, like real love, over finer things like, a mansion. Moreover, Rodrigo never fully grasps a sense of mindfulness over matter, despite how desperately he needs to do so to begin self-healing. Zapata’s writing plays to this notion by being painting beautiful, but uncertain pictures. He writes as if he, himself, is scribbling visions, which might throw readers off. Hence, The Beautiful Dream is one to read for its overarching themes and messages like an art piece. Sometimes, it is not about the specifics of the colors or technique as much as how everything comes together. To Buy Domingo Zapata’s The Beautiful Dream Of Life Click Here. It is 330 pages, and was published by Gallery.
