If Kathmandu were a living organism, its buildings and bridges would be its bones, and its bustling people would be the red blood cells rushing through its road-veins. City of Dreams is a striking literary debut anthology set in the heart of Nepal’s multifaceted, fast-changing capital. Rather than painting a traditional, postcard-perfect picture of the ancient city, the book treats Kathmandu as its central protagonist—a teeming, schizophrenic metropolis caught in a constant, restless tussle between age-old traditions and aggressive modernity.