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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
Barely any
Some Goblin Market violence; the cost of breaking the market's rules
Language
Barely any
Mild language
Sexual Content
None
No sexual content
Substance Use
None
The market's 'fair value' creates a debt-substance metaphor
Emotional Intensity
A lot
The devastating cost of indecision; a protagonist who keeps deferring the choice between two lives; the ending is bittersweet
What this book is about
Katherine 'Lundy' Lundy finds a door to the Goblin Market—a world where everything is fair trade and debts must be paid. She returns again and again, staying longer each time, until the choice can no longer be deferred. In an Absent Dream is about the value of a life fully committed versus one held always in reserve.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Bittersweet/sad ending
The psychological weight of deferred choice across a lifetime
Reader Verification
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