Customer Reviews

Goldfish Dreams

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Eileen Greenwood is free, 18, and off to college. Well, that's how it looks on the surface. It is true that she's a freshman in college now, but she's not free. She is haunted by memories and nightmares of ... abuse suffered at the hands of her brother, Brad. No one would believe her, and her own father and sister could not understand her seemingly irrational antipathy toward Brad. She is relieved to escape her childhood home, but she doesn't find solace easily. Her roommate, Alisa, and her kind-hearted boyfriend, Patrick, don't seem to be able to help her either. Eileen is obsessed with finding out more about her brother and his life and motivations, and it's not until she embarks on a serious search that she can get to the truth of what compelled her brother to repeatedly [attack] her.

For some time there has been a growing movement in the realm of abuse and ... assault prevention: men have joined forces with women and organized to battle against [attack] and ... abuse. As a dedicated ... assault counselor, author Jim Hines brings a sensitive and compassionate viewpoint to this unforgettable story about one young woman determined to face and defeat the demons that haunt her.

This book is well-written and evocative. Not many male authors have created such a true portrait of a woman in pain and trouble. Hines has done it with effortless grace and with empathy and accuracy as well. This novel is for anyone trying to reconcile the terrors of the past with the hopes of the future. I highly recommend it.
~Lori L. Lake, Midwest Book Review

A very realistic handling of an ugly subject; this is a superb book. What I find most impressive, other than the sensitive portrayal of something that is so often painfully misunderstood by books, movies, and individuals alike (the author claims to have experience with crisis counseling and it shows), are the truly compelling and interesting characters: The guarded main character Eileen who reads Pratchett and has been fencing since she was a child, her sister whose attempts to make up for time and trust lost seem very human, and perhaps my favorite, her RA who keeps a contraband cat named Goldfish and is always there when needed with a lockpick or candid yet surprisingly sophisticated advice/mindgames be it cryptic or otherwise. I was at first disappointed with her peppy and evangelical roommate who seemed to be portrayed as two-dimensional when compared to the other characters, but you should trust the author - this is a function of Eileen's point of view as is eventually revealed. (Afterall, who really views their college roommate fairly at first...) This story has smatterings of revenge and romance, but it seems to me to truly be about the people, and the changes they (specifically Eileen) undergo, something it pulls off incredibly well.

By TT reviewer Nancy Arant Williams

The only way out of her nightmare existence is college, or so Eileen Greenwood believes as she enters Southern Michigan State University as a freshman student. The dorm room she is assigned to is furnished with a bunk bed, a strangely overemotional, but stunning blonde roommate, a broken window and no air conditioning, causing the normal freshman adjustments to be just slightly more complicated than they ordinarily would be.

She's been waiting with baited breath to leave home, but finds that her usual rigid self-control is shattered when her psych professor discusses the management of psychic wounds. When she lashes out over seemingly small issues, she finds herself falling for her Psych teaching assistant, who suggests she come and see him in his role as a crisis counselor.

For years, her tight system of controls has kept at bay the devastation wrought when her brother, Brad, molested her over a four year period. But now that system is failing her, and she can no longer cope.

Because no one believed her when she reported it, she doubts Patrick, in his role as counselor, will either. But she's pleasantly surprised when he gently helps her come to grips with her pain. Not only that, but he connects with her on a deeper level, making her feel valuable and desirable again. When Brad is suddenly killed in a car accident, she learns several things that explain his abusive behavior, but to what lengths will she go to uncover the whole truth?

In spite of Patrick's warning that she let sleeping dogs lie, she urgently needs to fix the blame, righting the wrongs of the past, but how far will she go--as far as murder?

In Goldfish Dreams, Jim Hines weaves a memorable fictional tale of abuse, secrets and regrets, but he also skillfully handles the topic of incest, giving hope to those dealing with the haunting memories and scars of the past. Some graphic scenes.

Eileen goes off to college, happy to be starting a new life and escaping the brother who has been sexually abusing her for years. But, as happens to many people who were traumatized as children or teenagers, college is not an escape, but a relatively safe place in which to face your trauma. Part of facing it, of course, involves a period of falling apart.

A thoughtful, engrossing novel about the effects of and recovery from child abuse, addressing all the major issues that abuse survivors have to face - denial, PTSD, family reactions, therapy, and well-meaning people who run right over your honest reactions and opinions in an attempt to impose their own ideas about healing on your individual self. If this sounds like a problem novel for adults, it basically is - but problem novels can also be good novels.

I liked it - it's honest, sensitive, and comes to a satisfying conclusion - but it's very definitely a book about an issue, and so of varying interest depending on how much you want to read about the issue.

While there are no graphic depictions of sexual abuse, the entire book is driven by sexual abuse. You have been warned.

Goldfish Dreams is an empathetically and vividly written story that is sure to enlighten readers about the ongoing pain and hurt caused by the main characters past, something that unfortunately many women can relate to and is often misunderstood or unheard by others. It is uncommon to read such an understanding account on this subject, especially as written by a man. Jim Hines does a wonderful job depicting the main character and her struggles in a realistic and caring manner. It is clear that he must be a kind and empathetic person. I highly recommend this book to others.