What Dreams May Come: A Novel by Richard Matheson Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of What Dreams May Come: A Novel
Book Review: if you liked the movie, you'll probably hate this book
Summary: 1 Stars
I love the movie! I went into reading the books with high hopes, but was very disappointed. I'm about to give away major plot points, so don't read on if you plan on reading the book. Firstly, in the movie, the wife loses her kids first and then her husband and kills herself. In the book, the kids are alive and she kills herself anyway. Seemed too selfish to me, she left her kids behind to deal with the lose of both parents. Nice. Secondly in the movie, she went to hell without any hope of being saved, in the book, all her husband had to wait was 24 years to be with her again and he couldn't do it. Have some patience dude. So instead of waiting he goes on his quest and finds her, and he gets stuck in her world, and somehow they get out but he's "sleeping" or something, so when he "wakes," he finds that his wife chose to be reborn.... WHAT? she didn't even wait for him to come to. She had such a hard time without him that she kills herself, he goes on a harrowing journey to be reunited with her and she goes back without even saying good-bye to him? What's that about? Anyway, I thought this book sucked. Read his other books, they are much better.Book Review: Riveting life after death...dream or reality?
Summary: 4 Stars
Richard Matheson hooked me right from the beginning. I devoured this book in a day. Easy to read, and a wonderful love story. The bibiliography at the back of the book is extensive, which shows Matheson did a huge amount of research on the topic of Summerland, and life after death.I've done other more recent reading of the afterlife, and its plausibility becomes more of a fact in my mind. The love story between Chris and Ann makes one long for love of that kind, on earth and in Heaven. A wonderfully uplifting read, though the end did not go exactly as I would have liked.
I recommend this book to those interested in learning what may be waiting for us when we die...and in Matheson's words...it sounds wonderful. I give this book 4 stars.
Book Review: Great book, better movie
Summary: 4 Stars
Richard Matheson has written an excellent treatise here of what possibly may occur in the afterlife. His descriptions put you "right there" and his explanations of how it all works are very thought-provoking. After his main character, Chris Neilsen, dies in an auto accident, he has a difficult time letting go of his physical life and moving on into the afterlife because of the love and concern he has for his wife Ann and her grief in losing him. As he begins to move on and adjust, he learns his wife has commited suicide and has, by that action, confined herself into a type of Hell. Chris feels he must help her find her way out, but is continually blocked by her inability to believe that any kind of afterlife exists. In the end, his love for her saves her. What happens after he saves her, though a little disappointing, is very much in keeping with the theme of the story. The book draws from many ideas, religious, New Age, philosophical, and meditative. It does an excellent job of blending all these. Please read with an open mind, because I doubt that any one system of beliefs would be satisfied by what Matheson sets forth here.The movie however, gave more cohesive reasons for Ann's breakdown (the deaths of their children, which never happens in the book) and her inability to conceive of happiness in the afterlife. The relationships of Chris with his children and their presence in the afterlife help cement the reality and the continuity of it, which was also somewhat lacking in the book (animals being there is different than having loved ones there). The visual displays in the movie are fantastic, which really helped me imagine the descriptions in the book. Ron Bass did a phenomenal job writing the screenplay, making a difficult story more fluid, wrapped together more tightly. All the actors in the film excellently protrayed their characters, bringing depth of emotion and evoking tremendous sympathy.
I highly recommend reading the book if you're intersted in theories on the afterlife, and I highly recommend watching the movie for greater understanding of the book.
Book Review: For the first time, the movie is better.
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought this book when I saw such as great and powerful movie called What Dreams May Come. I'm a guy who likes to hear about afterlife and reincarnation. The book failed to measure up to how good the movie was. About the first 20 pages I noticed how different the book was from the movie. Say for instance in the book, Chris's kids never died.Also more religious propaganda: If heaven is real in this book, then the bible is real, then everything the bible says is real, but this book breaks that similarity. The bible says that no man can cross from heaven to hell, Chris did to find his wife, the bible says that everything is perfect, (meaning we'd be naked in heaven), Chris and everyone else always had clothing on, the bible says that hell would be a place of fire and torture, in the book it was just a depressing life, the bible says that no man can get out of hell to heaven, Chris's wife was there for only 24 years.
That's half the reasopn I rate this with three stars and the other is that I got pathetically confused from time to time.
Overall this book was good, ok, but it could have been better!
Book Review: Please Don't See The Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
Thank goodness I read the book before I saw the movie! The book was just so uplifting, so spiritually perfect - I loved it, I've recommended it - and I WILL read it again. (The movie is horrible - if you've seen the movie but haven't read the book - you just do not know the story - or its meaning)