The Oracle of Night: The History and Science of Dreams by Sidarta Ribeiro

Sidarta Ribeiro’s

The Oracle of Night, translated by Daniel Hahn, explores dreams in a hugely thorough and multi-faceted way, looking at the biological, chemical, spiritual and cultural theories of dreams – and why they occur. His role as a neuroscientist gives him the authority to lay down the scientific understanding of dreams in great detail, but his work is more poetic than merely factual, and the esoteric significance of dreaming is discussed in an equally compelling manner. Although the work is dense and his expert understanding of the subject at an academic level is evident, Ribeiro is also a storyteller – and the appealing mystery of the topic is never lost.