Customer Reviews

Crippled Dreams

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David Rehak's books are never a clone of the familiar genre fiction we find on shelves these days. His writing style is reminscent of the 19th century and very European in flavor. Rehak's work is different, his topics off center just enough to add a sense of intriguing unpredictablity into the read. This third book by David Rehak, while a different subject, clearly
reflects his unique voice as writer.

The setting of Crippled Dreams is rural France in the 1870s. The Prussians have swept through the bucolic countryside, raping and destroying as they go. Rose Petit is one of their helpless victims. Eight months pregnant, with her husband fighting away from home, she's set upon by four Prussian
soldiers bent on claiming Rose and her farm as spoils of war. When Rose defies them, they beat her mercilessly and leave her for dead. Her first born son is physically damaged from the beating and born paralyzed in both legs.

Rose loves her crippled son, Alexandre, and lavishes him with mother love from birth. Even when her husband Paul returns from war and a second son, Gustave, is born, Alexandre receives the lion's share of her love and attention. Through such loving attentions, Rose hopes her crippled son's soul will be made fine, if not his ruined body.

As Alexandre ages, his bitterness and hopeless rage increase incrementally. He silently observes the world around him, filled with healthy, happy people with unimpaired bodies, and curses a God who picks and chooses who He blesses. He blasphemes God at every opportunity and refuses to believe
Rose's assurances of a loving Heavenly Father. His feelings of resentment come to full flower when Gustave starts courting Marie-Anne Godard. Marie-Anne is a beauty, with billows of dark hair and flashing eyes that reveal a captivating spirit.

Alexandre dreams of finding true love with his brother's fiancee but accepts her loyal friendship as a poor substitue. When Gustave discovers that Alexandre and Marie-Anne have become close friends, his temper sets off a situation that ends in horrible tragedy. In the aftermath, nothing can be done to lessen Alexandre's despair. Only God's grace and mercy can heal a crippled body, mind, and spirit, but can a loving God reach Alexandre?

David Rehak takes common situations and transforms them to uncommon through his use of words and his development of interesting characters. If you are tired of the same old genre fiction, check out Crippled Dreams.

Laurel Johnson
Midwest Book Review

sensitive author soon. It has been my pleasure to be a part of this author's growth, if only in reading his novelas.

In this soul-devining tale of a man crippled from birth and pampered by an over solicitous but well-meaning mother: we are swept along dark corridors of despair and strain our eyes and our hearts looking for that light at the end of the tunnel.

The Cain and Abel relationship of the two brothers, Alexandre, the cripple and Gustave, the 'perfect' one, becomes even more intriguing when Marie-Anne is stirred into the mix. A beautiful girl affianced to Gustave and loved by both brothers, she plays a major role in the surprise and emotionally satisfying ending.

Rehak writes with a charming simplicity and smooth seques to form an enchantingly gripping story.

I look forward to his next and hope he continues to supply us with many more hours of reading pleasure.

"Crippled Dreams" is a love story but it is also a story of conflicts. It begins with the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. After a pregnant French woman was brutally attacked by four Prussian soldiers, she gives birth to a son, Alexandre, who is paralyzed from the thigh down. Throughout his formative years Alexandre takes some solace in books but by the time he is in his early twenties he is embittered and frustrated, totally dependent, yet desperate for life experience. He can only watch with envy and resentment as his younger brother Gustave reaps rewards. Gustave is equally resentful of Alexandre, jealous of all the attention lavished on him by his pious, over-protective mother Rose, who is torn by guilt.

While Rose is deeply religious, Alexandre finds it hard to believe in a Saviour that has left him the way he is. Nevertheless he dutifully goes to church, where the minister urges his congregation to accept that a happy, full life is not to be found in the acquisition of material goods and short-term pleasures. Fame and fortune are meaningless. Faith and spirituality are far more rewarding in the long run. (This is an appropriate point to recommend the non-fiction book "Status Anxiety" by Alain de Botton.) Those who appear to have everything are in actual fact plastic and superficial, lacking the fundamental qualities that make it possible to live a truly satisfying life. The minister explains what those qualities are more fully.

The conflict between the two brothers is intensified with the arrival of Marie-Anne, who, to Alexandre's disappointment and heartbreak, is betrothed to Gustave. Alexandre is convinced Marie-Anne is making a grave mistake, not marrying because of love, but to fulfill an obligation to society.

Another conflict in "Crippled Dreams" is that of science and religion. For much of the book Alexandre maintains his scepticism, finding more credibility in the cold logic of science. Rose is desperate for Alexandre to accept God's love in order to save his soul. Alexandre is an agnostic who half hopes that there is an afterlife, because it would make all the senseless misery in the world, the suffering endured throughout history, worthwhile and meaningful. There is a comfort in believing that the life we live in this world is merely a preparation for the eternal life of the next world.

Are we supposed to choose religion over science, or can we accept both? It is a telling point that "Crippled Dreams" is set in the late 19th century. In the century that has passed since Alexandre's time, the world has become increasingly secular as science has achieved much that was once considered impossible. Today there is talk about stem cell research, a subject considered controversial by many, but having the potential to wipe out needless anguish. How would Alexandre have felt about it if he had lived in our time? If God made us in His image, giving us the knowledge to learn, grow and progress, it wouldn't be sacrilegious to perform our own miracles, would it?

I think I'm starting to ramble now so I'll conclude by saying that "Crippled Dreams" is a very thought-provoking book. Very well written.

In "Crippled Dreams" the reader is drawn into the settings of the book due to the detail that has been so eloquently painted by the author. The events, location and attention to each facet that keep one entranced not in just what the main character is doing but actually lets the reader feel the warmth of the sun, the sound of the water and the tension or tenderness in the words of the people. Despite the hardships that Alexandre faces in his life, from his brother to the townspeople, he is shown the one thing that may perhaps turn his life around, love.

The book helps the reader to review life and possibly see that even hardships can be overcome with the right attitude or the right devotion. I found this book to be an intriguing tale and certainly well worth the read despite the fact that this style of book was outside the norm for me. It mixed an immense combination of facts, life and God into a great story that led me to ponder whether the book is based on true facts or completely fiction.

I became a David Rehak fan after reading his first book, "A Young Girls Crimes." And as I continue to be one of his biggest fans with each new book he writes, I want to tell you how much fun it has been for me watching this new author grow as a writer. He is such a talent.

CRIPPLED DREAMS is a wonderful story that gives the reader a lot to think about...thought-provoking and real. Even though fiction the story reads so true to life...even if it is a life coming from the 1880's.

The characters are very believable, charcters you will both love and love to hate. The dialogue moves along at a fast-pace holding the reader's attention from the on-start. The plot will have the reader both smiling and shedding a few tears.

Mr. Rehak has a real winner on his hands with this novel to be sure!

Take a bow David, you've earned it with, "CRIPPLED DREAMS."

(Highly Recommended!)

David has done it again - an exquisite read. David knows how to write about real life and emotions without being sappy or condescending. His matter of fact style draws the reader into the story, the characters and the setting. After crying and suffering with Alexandre, the ending was such a nice surprise. I have read all of David's books, and he continues to astound me with his talent.

I can see this novel as a movie, sort of in the vein of Forrest Gump or Sling Blade, but different. The main character of the story named Alex makes it to heaven, but first he must go through hell and back.

The thing about Rehak's writing is that he's a storyteller, a brilliant storyteller. The kind of story one tells around a campfire. A real good story, a real story in the traditional sense of the word. He's not a great stylist, he won't wow you with a poetic or experimental writing style. He throws all that out the window, and instead, chooses the most clear and straightforward narrative imaginable, tightly written and fast-paced. But it's important not to read too fast and miss anything because it's all so tied together, never anywhere a superfluous paragraph, the plotline is never padded out and distracted by boring or unimportant incidents. Everything has a direct or deeper symbolic significance. Interestingly, his characters are not the main attraction, it is the story itself that takes center stage. His characters are almost simply a by-product of the story. This approach I think is quite new, or at least in the way it's done here. Today, most authors let the story evolve from the main character and the psychology of character study is key. But in Rehak's minimalistic, barebones plot-driven style, it's the other way around, characterization evolves out of the plot. I think this is very interesting, although some readers will prefer that he beef out his characters some more. But he has interesting characters, and some of the best plots I've read.

He has 4 books out in 2 years. From what I've read and from what I gather, I wonder if in his eagerness to be published, Rehak did himself an injustice by giving his first books to the first publisher to offer publication rather than wait out for the kind of publisher that would bring his work out into the public eye more and do his books justice. I hope the public at large will catch up with this innovative rising talent.

too many books have too many details and boring descriptions, but rehak just focuses on the story and these books are great fast-paced gripping little stories, well-told in a clear and straightforward sort of way. i like this simple kind of writing style because it makes it easy to get into the characters and storyline. there's real depth, but it seems hidden. unhidden and very apparent are the philosophical undertones that shine through this author's work and how he tackles difficult and controversial themes. as for the writing, i think a lot of people like it. it looks deceptively simple. but isn't. it may be easy to write in this minimalistic style, but it's not easy to do it this well as a storyteller and to pull off a story this original, trust me, and this is not even mentioning the deep spiritual humanitarian philosophical ideas explored and expressed in the early parts of this book mostly. but mainly i just love these plots and characters. i'm a big fan.

I read David Rehak's A YOUNG GIRL'S CRIMES a year ago and when I saw his name on this book in a used book store, I just had to have it.

CRIPPLED DREAMS is an unusual book with an unusual theme ... by an unusual author who dares write about subjects that most of us can only whisper about ... in very hushed tones.

I enjoyed this book very much, and empathized with Alex, the poor, physically-impaired young man who falls in love with his brother's girlfriend. Will his love be returned? What will happen when Gustave, his brother, finds out? You will be surprised! And Rehak delivers an ending that will surprise you even more.

As a teacher I must tell you it's not a flawless book, but it's different, and a good read for a rainy day ... or any day. ...

Well worth the money ... even if I had purchased it new.

CRIPPLED DREAMS is a short novel, easily read in an hour's time, which proves that the gift of writing absorbing tales can be even more important than the craftsmanship of producing a complex and polished tome. David Rehak is a name to watch and though this book is my first exposure to his output, there is enough idea base here to merit exploration of his other novels and poetry.

Placed in Abbeville, France in 1870, a time when the Prussian army is besieging France, this story begins with a young woman who is pregnant with her first child, alone because her husband is on the warfront, who is beaten and abused by the Prussian soldiers resulting in a slightly premature birth of her young son Alexandre. As the child grows his parents realize he is crippled and surround him with love and caring. In time another child Gustave is born and matures into a fully normal, handsome, athletic youth who easily captures the eye of the town beauty Marie-Anne. From his wheelchair and bed Alexandre watches his altered life with sadness, then anger, and then rage against God for allowing him to be a cripple. He becomes a recluse, only occasionally accompanying his mother to church to hear the words of the priest attempting to reconcile each individual's plight and sanctity of soul.

Alexandre reaches his twenties and sees Gustave courting Mare-Anne, resorts to reading portions of the Bible that celebrate sensuality and other books that speak of sexual fulfillment until he finally resorts to visiting a brothel where he succeeds in finding satisfaction of his desires yet realizing sex without love is meaningless. His brother loathes him, flaunts his physical acumen, and eventually announces his betrothal to Marie-Anne, the very person with whom Alexandre has also fallen in love! Tragedies occur, each one seeming to drive Alexandre further toward his nihilism, until he once again seeks the wisdom a priest and the purported comfort of the philosophy of religion. Still fighting to understand his plight he has a powerful conversation with his mother over the his soul: "Oh mother, how much longer do you plan on being drunk off the wine of self deception? It's a cozy escape....You must realize that scientific positivism is the safest avenue of belief. All we know, all we ever hope to know about anything, is completely represented by observable phenomena and scientifically verified fact......Science does have its limits. I suppose you're right. But so does religion. I suppose the limits of science begin where religion begins, and the limits of religion begin where science begins...what if, perhaps, the truly profound answer lay outside of both science and religion?...I believe that God is an enigma whose existence can be proven no more than it can be disproven....mankind ...becomes disillusioned...He turns to art or literature, or friends, and the good things in life without which many of us would turn suicidal."

As the story winds down, the events that take place result in Alexandre's ultimate changes that prove to be the fine reason for writing this story. One may quibble with the contemporary phraselogy and dialogue misplaced into the timeframe of the 1870s. One may find sections of this book to be a bit preachy, or of a religious zealot nature. One may long for more lingering on written descriptions of place, of characters, of atmospheres - all the things that grace fine writing. But no one can deny that for an author this young, he has a fine talent for creating memorable people and stories. I think his other skills will easily expand as he lengthens his stories into novels. He is a refreshing talent. Grady Harp, January, 2005