Imagine if dreams were tangible, allowing you to walk through them at will. Reading Paper Souls was like that for me - I felt like I was walking in someone else's dreams, namely those of Emily Colt, the protagonist. Without using quotation marks, the dialogue seemed muted, further lending to the novel's dreamlike quality, and I liked the way it read.

Emily is a character I'll still be thinking about long after the end of this book. She's certainly flawed, but we all are and this made her even more likable to me. It's annoying to read about a protagonist who's made out to be basically perfect. Emily has been in some extremely dangerous situations where, really, she's lucky to still be alive. Anything could have happened to her those times.

I have my B.A. in Psychology, though I'm currently not doing anything with my degree, and I was always fascinated by schizophrenia in my classes. Schizophrenia is easily misunderstood, and the media doesn't help with the general public's confusion surrounding it. This illness is complex and multi-layered, just like Emily. Allie Burke handles this topic with the utmost sensitivity while simultaneously laying bare the illness and what it can do to one's quality of life.

If you've been curious about schizophrenia and want to find out more about it without having to read a textbook, I highly recommend Paper Souls. The way this book is written is exquisite, and I could never hope to come close to adequately describing how beautiful and utterly heartbreaking this story is. You'll have to read it and find out for yourself.

Before I start the review let me set context. First, a 5 star from me means that this is a book I would recommend to anyone to read (over 18) regardless of what genre they typically read. Second, this is a review, not a book report. If you want a plot summary, you won’t get it here. Third, this review is for an advanced copy, so the one you read might have a few subtle edits.

This is a difficult review to write because the book contradicts itself. Masterfully. It is short book and it reads easy, but it is not an easy read or short on development of the characters. What makes the book read so easy is the craft of Ms. Burke. Her words draw you in, the rhythm she creates lulls you just long enough and then the tempo changes. Within each section she is true to the tempo, that underlying rhythm, but you are on edge because you know another change is coming. That suspense for what will happen next is not overused. It is a cloth woven with the temperament of the characters and the vivid imagery she creates. It is funny that very little of the environment is described, yet I always felt like my mind was fully in whatever space the characters occupied. There are twists to the plot that do not follow a typical, umm, I’m not sure how to classify the genre of this book. It is its own type. The plot twists don’t go where you would expect them, but neither are they contrived. As each new scene unfolds you gain more insight into Emily, the main character, and the people whose lives intersect with hers. It is no spoiler that Emily has schizophrenia. I’ve read some novels where a character had this disorder and they were portrayed as in one state or another - normal or serial killer-like. This is the first book I have read where I felt what it must be like to have that constant presence of a shadow whispering to you from a dark corner. There are times when Emily steps outside of herself and sees her actions as if watching a play. In the hands of Ms. Burke, Emily shows us what it must really be like to be inside a mind that shares its space with other consciousness. The twists and turns in the plot and interactions are a reflection on the conflict and semi-reality that Emily experiences. Her anomie is as much an outcome of her clear perception of those around her as it is of the affliction she has. In order to move forward she has to stay disengaged enough not to not get pulled into her own deeper conflicts.

Emily has a lot to deal with. People around her are just as broken as she is, but in different ways. All are three dimensional and feel very real. What Ms. Burke does with elegance and grace is weave the lifelines of these interesting people together into a tapestry that has weight and substance. To say the work is character driven sounds almost trite. Without the characters there would be no story. That sounds even more trite. It is also why I would recommend this to any of my friends or acquaintances. The pages drip of human sweat and sexuality, of our duplicity and self centeredness, of our anger and kindness. Without preaching a deeper literary theme, she captures the essence of the human condition. How we find strength even when we are frail. In its own way this is a very positive and optimistic work.

Let me close with saying that reading the words was a treat. Emily is a complex person surrounded by complex people and having to deal with complex issues. Yet, Ms. Burke conveys all of that complexity in prose that is clean and stripped of excess. That takes immense talent.

Read this book. By the end of the first paragraph you will be hooked. Don’t stop there, it only gets better as it shifts and turns through the lives of the characters.

Paper Souls by Allie Burke reads like a modern version of The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. What does it feel like to have schizophrenia? How do you manage voices that want to be heard? How do you differentiate reality from fiction? Burke's skillful writing draws the reader into the narrative and makes the reader feel upset, disrupted, confused, and unsure. Her writing is powerful enough that it evokes the sublime in the reader. As a Professor of Literature who also worked in the mental health field for many years, I appreciate the way the author depicted mental illness and used literary device to evoke the same discomfort in the reader.

Paper Souls is a richly woven tale that follows Emily, a beautiful but conflicted young woman, through one of many dark periods in her life. Emily is a bookworm, a part-time drug addict, beautiful, and painfully confused about love, men, and friendship. She breaks up with her boyfriend, Seth, at the beginning of the story then begins a confusing roller coaster ride of a relationship with Brendan. Brendan and Emily have an amazing sexual bond, but his narcissism and womanizing make you wonder why Emily even likes him--aside from the fact she is mentally unstable and a bit self-loathing.

All the characters in the story are brilliantly described, making them seem real. But just when you think you know and understand Emily and the rest of the characters in the book, the author springs a trap on you. Just like Emily, the reader struggles to determine what in Emily's life is real: are her lovers real? Are her friends real? Are her adventures to Moscow real? Written in a literary form, Burke's work provides clues as to what we should and should not believe . . . such as the use or lack thereof of "dialogue tags" . . . but in the end, what you assumed wasn't real may be real and you, the reader, feel as unsure. Burke is quite genius at making the reader feel like they are part of the story. We are just as baffled as the characters around Emily . . . and Emily herself.

Despite its strengths, Burke's literary style won't be for everyone. Nothing is spoon-fed to the reader. Her choice to tell rather than show certain sections of the book might not sit well with some readers, but it is clear this form is intentional. As well, the pace of the story is a bit slow at first. It picks up midway when the plot really begins to reveal itself. An impatient reader might not be able to wait for the plot to unfold. The myriad of characters, the whirlwind of events, the jarring use of dialogue, the steamy and somewhat violent sex scenes, and the darkness in the novel leave the reader unsettled. This is intentional. This novel is beautifully disturbing. If you like a book with brains, this is a story for you!