Silja:
I went into this book wanting to like
it and with willingness to get to the end- while I got to the end I can’t say I
particularly enjoyed it. There was so much about it that niggled at me: firstly
the story was very confusing- things seemed to come from nowhere and I constantly
found myself having to skip back chapters in order to understand what was going
on. I also found the structure of the book dissatisfying- I felt like I worked
to keep up with Matheson rather than him helping me along- I don’t like books
that are a “struggle” to read.
Secondly I found the content and
general theme of the book to be quite a massive feat to take on and challenge-
the bibliography in the back was quite pretentious and I found Matheson to be
quite judgemental in the way in which he envisaged heaven/hell/the afterlife
and therefore that’s how it will be for everyone. Heaven for me lacked a sense
of place- he only talked about people and dogs being in heaven- but where were
the other animals? I didn’t buy the story at all.
Thirdly I struggled to visualise the
characters and their surroundings- I wanted to feel grounded and have a sense
of place but the book lacked those characteristics for me- I also thought this
book was aimed more towards the male population- it was full of science when in
essence it is a love story.
Overall I didn’t come away from this
book feeling satisfied (especially with the rushed ending!) I want a book to be
like a nice meal and you come away from it after having coffee and mints not a
doughnut shoved in your face!
Would I recommend it? Sure I guess-
but only to men!
Wendy:
I didn’t like this book in the
slightest. Firstly the whole direction and structure of the book was so
disjointed I found myself regularly confused about who was talking to whom and
what was going on. The book didn’t flow as well as I would have hoped- it often
felt rushed- it’s like Matheson had read hundreds of books on religion and the
afterlife and cut and chopped pieces up to form What Dreams May Come-also the beginning where it stated “only the characters are made up” unsettled
me.
I think the book could have been made
into a possible trilogy- firstly with Chris going to heaven, secondly him going
into hell to find Annie and thirdly their rebirth and finding each other again-
why rush?
This book did make me think about my beliefs though which I applaud
Matheson for doing- maybe the purpose of this book wasn’t to sell it by the
masses but to challenge and stretch people’s minds and views about religion and
the afterlife?
Overall I was very unsatisfied with
the book and wouldn’t recommend it.
Ann:
Unfortunately I agree with the
majority for this book- I did not enjoy it. I couldn’t connect or visualise
with any of the characters which made me repeatedly skim past chapters until I reached
the end! Sorry to say I wouldn’t recommend it or watch the film.
Margaret:
I have mixed opinions about this
book- while there were some parts I enjoyed- especially the short and snappy
chapters- others I did not. The beginning I found more understandable but it
was a bit creepy and unnerving when I wasn’t expecting it. The ending I got totally
lost and I couldn’t really connect with the characters. I wouldn’t recommend this
book.
David:
I really enjoyed this book- it is my
kind of genre so knew I would enjoy it and I love the film. Don’t get me wrong
there are some flaws to the story- the predetermined ‘fate’ of suicides
(especially when all suicides are different and within their own context like
grief etc.) and the end where Chris went (literally) through hell to find his
wife and then when she returns he doesn’t see her anyway? All of that for
nothing??
I loved the reading references at the
end- it linked so nicely to other religions and philosophies which I will
explore.
While I think I was heavily influenced
by the film – the characters I could visualise and I could picture heaven and
hell like the film portrayed- I did enjoy it and would definitely recommend it
(but the film first!).
Sharon S:
I don’t have too much to say about
this book- I think I imagined it to be completely different so when I read it I
was shocked- the story was not how I anticipated! I did start off enjoying it
but I grew progressively despondent as it went on. I would not recommend this
book or watch the film.
Nick:
I have made my feelings clear about
this book with my full review- I like it a lot and it is my sort of taste and
interest. I enjoyed hearing the other’s members opinions though and do agree
that there was possibly too much research and not enough imagination.
I would definitely recommend this
book- perhaps to like-minded people though.
Sharon C:
There’s not really much to say about
my thoughts on “What Dreams May Come”, except: hated it, hated it, hated it - overly
long and boring.
The main character, Chris, is killed
in a car crash and his devastated family are left to grief. However, Chris is ‘on the other side’
watching them and wants to prove to his wife, Ann, there is an afterlife – she
is sceptical of life after death. The story
is apparently conveyed to a Medium who writes down Chris’ story and gives it to
his brother, Robert, who Chris refers to regularly and I found this quite
distracting. Unable to cope without
Chris, Ann commits suicide. Chris is
desperate to be with her again and sets out to find her. However, because she has taken her own life,
she is not in a good place, leaving Chris to plummet the depths of the
afterlife to ‘convert’ her, so they may be together again. Ann’s character didn’t really develop, so we weren’t
able to form much of an opinion about her, but I must say I didn’t like either
character particularly. Chris, to me,
seemed to be seeking his chattel; he and Ann had the same interests and did
everything together – she appeared weak with no definition and their
relationship had no apparent contrast.
The reader is lead to believe this
actually happens and is lead through the glories of Heaven and what being
‘good’ could bring us on the other side, then given the contrast of being cast
into the fiery furnace of Hell, for those who have not lead such impeccable
lives as mortals. Much of the time I
felt I was just reading long passages of description just there to push home
the contrasts of the two options available after death.
The story idea was an interesting
concept and I was keen to read it, but what I thought was going to be a tender
love story with Chris reaching out to Ann, turned out to be a religious
diatribe trying to convert the reader to the concept of the good going to
Heaven, leaving the rest of us in Hell.
Comments
Post a Comment