Customer Reviews

Overheard in a Dream

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

 

 

I have read just about all of Torey Haydens non-fiction books and really loved reading about how she deals with children with problems.

I found out she wrote her first fiction, a novel titled, Overheard in a Dream. For some reason Amazon calls it, Hidden Things, which I don't see on this cover.

Anyway I liked it. I'd say it's not as good as her non-fiction books. She did write about a child with problems and that was the good part. The part that I didn't like was the story of Torgon. A imaginary friend Laura talks about in her mind to the therapist. I skimmed through that part and enjoyed the part about a boy and his therapist who tries to figure out what his problem is. It's a good read nevertheless. Torey Hayden has good writing style and knows how to keep the readers interested.

I gave 4 stars because of the Torgon part, otherwise it could have been a 5.

THIS REVIEW IS NOT A SUMMARY. IT DISCUSSES WRITING STYLE AND CHARACTERIZATION.

Part of the problem going into this book was that I bought into the hype. I was intrigued at the prospect of a book being "too novel", according to the publishers, for what they perceived to be the average English speaker. Having appreciated a few of the insights Hayden offered in some of her nonfiction works, I figured she would bring that to bear through well-developed characters, vivid writing, and other staples of good novels. Because of the long wait for English publication, however, maybe subconsciously I expected it to be not only entertaining, but something I would keep on my shelf and return to. I mean, there must be some unheard-of creative jewel in there somewhere to make us wait that long, right?

Not exactly. The setup is certainly intriguing -- the son of the famous author Laura Deighton ends up in a psychiatrist's office presenting autistic-like symptoms and communicating increasingly cryptic things via a stuffed cat. Despite the fact that you have no idea what he's talking about until the last third of the novel, Conor is actually the most well-rounded character in this book, which -- considering that you know him only by his monosyllabic utterances -- doesn't bode well for the portrayal of the other characters. However, the boy's words taken alone are eerie, and along with psychiatrist James you might find yourself rooting for Conor as you try to make sense of them.

Unfortunately, this book really isn't about Conor. Conor himself takes up maybe a fourth of the book. The other (very thick) three fourths of the book are taken up by Laura's sessions with James, which alternate with whole chapters in italics -- Laura's story about a being called Torgon. When Laura talks to James, even though her words are in quotes, it is not believable human speech. I know Laura is a writer, but even writers have to speak like us poor normal folks sometimes. An occasional sentence fragment or "Um" or a more relaxed vocabulary wouldn't have hurt. She's already forcing him and us to read her writing (more on that in a moment), and now she's making him listen to an audio book too.

Considering she narrates her life like VC Andrews, this isn't a good thing. I could go into litcrit mode and say that the pretentious narration might be a reflection of Laura's arrogance, but I don't think so -- it just comes across as pretentious writing for lack of better dialogue. I may have been able to swallow it better if the quotation marks had been left off, and it were simply understood that we were in Laura's point of view then -- like a flashback or something. Then I wouldn't have to suspend my disbelief that people used so many adverbs and stage directions -- let alone verbatim dialogue -- in real life, out-loud conversation. Phrases like "I retorted indignantly" or "he smiled warmly" look weak and redundant even in writing, but they feel especially out of place in what is supposed to be speech.

The stories of Torgon intersect quite obviously with the story of Laura. I cannot tell you how tempted I was to skip those sections. Laura even warns James when she gives him the papers that they aren't very good, because she wrote them when she was a teenager. Believe me, Laura wasn't kidding. I hate to say it, but the chapters that are supposed to be so pivotal made the whole book a drudgery. The chapters dealing with Torgon read like bad teenage fan fiction: the only form of writing I can use to describe the quality of stilted dialogue, melodrama, and faux-medieval characters. They have no personality. These parts bogged down the parts I actually mustered some interest in, such as the villain.

Much of the conflict was interesting in itself. Unfortunately, it was so glossed over. The other children were only given cursory treatment, so that the end lacked impact. All of the characters were cardboard, even the imaginary ones. I read the book because I wanted to find out what happened to Conor, but believe me it was very long, very annoying hard going. Worse was James' gushing over the character development in Laura's books, and Laura telling him "My books are quality literature." This book isn't so lucky.

This book was a great dissapointment to me.

I am an enormous Torey Hayden fan and have read ALL of her other books, which I usually devour in a matter of hours.

I cant put my finger on what it was that I didnt like about the story but the style is not the same, and it certainly wasnt as interesting as her previous books.

I do not recommend this book.

Child therapist James, divorced father of two is nonplussed upon meeting his 9-year-old client, Conor McLachlan. Diagnosed with autism at 2, Conor's speech remains negligible and he is inordinately attached to a stuffed cat. He also insists on coming equipped with wirelike attachments fastened around his waist. His sister Morgana, 6 appears to have some understanding of Conor's cryptic form of communicating.

James is equally nonplussed by Conor's mother, Laura Deighton. A renknowned author, Laura is initially described as distant, but proves to be anything but. Her marriage is at an unstable point, although the husband Alan, takes an active part in the childrens' lives.

Conor approaches treatment as cautiously as he appears to approach life in general. He uses his stuffed cat as a "scanner" and often talks through it. Clearly bright, Conor reads labels and correctly identifies each object in the playroom. He expresses his fears which center around a "ghost man" under his rug; death and finding trees on the moon. He identifies this place as "terria," which has the Latin root for "earth." It makes readers wonder if it is the world in general the boy finds frightening.

Over time, James learns more about Conor's cryptic view of the world. On an eerie note, Conor's mother reveals a paracosm she created as a child. Her paracosm, or "parallel fantasy world" was quite involved with highly developed characters; language and society. The era in which her paracosm, or "parallel world" is set appears to be a pre-Christian era or possibly the early 1000s, the days of Viking raids. Torgon, a carter's daughter elevated to holy status was the figure with whom Laura most identified.

Indeed, Torgon and the Forest World in which she lived became deeply enmeshed in Laura's own life. The paracosm is as wide-spread as the Forest in which it is set and involves many people.

James has his work cut out for him. He, his two children, Becky, 8 and Mikey 4-5, become involved with Laura and her family. Their children play together and in time, they all develop the tools they need to see the Forest for the trees.

This book makes me think of the Beatles' 1967 classic "Strawberry Fields," when John Lennon sang, "Strawberry Fields, nothing is real and nothing to get hung about, Strawberry Fields Forever." Readers are left to determine for themselves what is "real" to the characters and what is "metaphysically" or "intrinsically" real to them. Readers might also view this as a bit of a philosophical book.

This is an excellent work of fiction that has been created from a gifted and fertile imagination. This is an unusual novel in the sense that it incorporates many elements of good fantasy, such as those of Ursula K. LeGuin's Earthsea quadrilogy. It is always a real treat to see authors being given a chance to spread their literary wings and soar into different genres instead of being boxed into only one.

i ADORE TOREY HADEN AND HAVE READ ALL HER BOOKS AT LEAST 2X. I WAS A LITTLE DISAPOINTED WHEN I GOT THIS AND FOUND OUT IT WAS FICTION UNLIKE THE OTHERS I HAD READ BUT ONCE I STARTED READING I WAS TOTALLY SUCKED IN AND DON'T WANT TO PUT IT DOWN. I LOVE THIS STORY.

I have not read this book as yet, but I have read several of Torey Hayden's books and have enjoyed them. She is an excellent author!