The Five Times I Met Myself

From the outside, Brock Matthews appears to be a paragon of hard work and virtue: devout Christian, doting husband, attentive father, part owner of a fifty-million-dollar Seattle-based coffee company. But with his marriage slowly cracking under the surface, and his business becoming a draining tussle with his capitalist younger brother, Brock realizes something has been missing from his serene life. After a series of guilt-inducing dreams about his late father, Brock borrows a book on lucid dreaming and begins to learn how to control his dreams—going back in time to talk to his wife, father, and a younger version of himself. As he gets better at affecting his dreams, the dreams begin to affect his real life. Although the people Brock meets in his sleep appear to be dream versions of their younger selves, they also have the power to take his advice and turn the course of their future. Plot tensions are sometimes too convenient, and Brock’s unimpeachable fidelity and overall naivety rings false at times—especially set against his hard-nosed brother and ruthless business adversaries. Despite the often clunky plotting, Rubart infuses raw passion into his characters’ struggles with faith, loss, regret, and missed opportunities. A fine plunge into the psychological depths of married middle-age life. (Nov.)