I am going to start this review by talking about the one thing that caused this to be a 4-star book rather than a 5-star book. That one thing is the author's note at the beginning. Now, I almost never read author's notes or introductions, because I find that they inevitably ruin some aspect of the book for me. Whether it is a spoiler, or an introducer's opinion which causes me to think of the book in a certain way, or interpret things in a certain way, or whatever the case may be, it lessens my enjoyment of the book. I never know whether I would have thought of the interpretation on my own without the thought having been planted, for instance, and therefore I feel as if I have been cheated out of the full experience of reading, absorbing and pondering the book. I enjoy that part as much as a good story. So, with that in mind, I avoid anything written about or pertaining to the book which I am reading, at least until after I have read the book proper. But in this case, no matter which order I'd have read it in, the author's note would have annoyed me and caused me to take a star off. Matheson doesn't spoil anything, technically, nor does he really change the way I interpret the book (honestly!), but what he does, is claim that everything in the book, except the characters, is true. This is a book about the afterlife. Generally speaking, it's impossible for any of us to know anything about the afterlife until we're no longer living our present life. I know that there are people who hold strong beliefs in the afterlife, or who believe that their religion holds the key to their afterlife, and even those who have died briefly and have come back to tell about their experiences. And these may be similar in nature, but it doesn't make it true. There is no proof to back up the statement that this book makes, which I will get to in a moment. And while it is true that "the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence", any claim of "truth" regarding something that cannot be proven by anyone still alive feels very irresponsible. I don't think that there is anything in this book that would physically harm anyone, and I do think that everyone should be exposed to ideas from all different walks of life, not just their own belief system, so I don't mean "irresponsible" in that way. I just mean that stating something as true when it is virtually unverifiable, and very subject to belief, is a fine line to walk when your career and livelihood depend on not alienating people by your beliefs. I don't happen to be a religious sort, so in that respect, I was kind of wary of reading this book, given the claim of "truth" that I mentioned before. But I decided to read it as I would any other, and go from there. And while Matheson does touch on "God" and "The Creator" briefly, it is in very general terms, and does not specify any further than that. In fact, he even goes so far as to show people of the Christian faith as being a bit closed-minded in the afterlife that he depicts here, in that they are unable to imagine any other belief system as having an afterlife, and making demands, etc. Nothing outright negative, just that they weren't as open to possibility, so to speak. So I was pleasantly surprised that I wasn't preached at, as I was half-expecting. So, anyway. Now that I've covered the one thing that bothered me, I can move on. For those of you who know anything about my afterlife beliefs, you'll know that I believe that what happens after a person dies is dependent on their own personal belief system. For instance, a Christian who has led a good life and expects to get into Heaven, will. For an atheist who thinks that there is nothing after death, there will be nothing. For someone who believes that they will make it to Valhalla, they will. A follower of Islam who believes that they will make it to Paradise, will. And so on... I don't really know how long I've held this belief, but I do know that it makes the most sense to me. There are so many religions, and so many sects among each one, that it seems like no two people ever believe the exact same thing. We all interpret religion differently, if we follow one at all, so who's to say what's right? Why fight and kill and hate over a belief? My theory, they're ALL right. Whatever you personally believe is what you will experience. It's kind of comforting, right?Matheson's book is similar to this, but different in a few major ways. *********Possible Spoilers Below*********His book states that there is a sort of ethereal energy plane which occupies the same space as Life, but on a higher level. People who are receptive to higher planes of existence, those who meditate, for instance, are sometimes able to travel in this plane, never realizing it is real, but thinking instead it is a dream or a vision. The higher in the plane we go, the more knowledge we acquire and "divine" we become on our way to rejoining God or the Creator. ("Divine" is my word, not Matheson's.)What makes his afterlife similar to my theory is that the afterlife plane is a sort of template, onto which the recently deceased imprints their expectations of afterlife. There are certain laws, supposedly handed down from the Creator, which make lower levels (those closer to earth) into a sort of Hell (although there are countless Hells depending on what sort you create for yourself). People who have lived violent lives, for instance, aren't able to rise to the higher levels because they wallow in the misery that they've caused others, and do not seek to better their souls. Sometimes, they aren't even aware they're dead, and just go on living horrible, bleak existences until they ask for and receive help to change and try for more. The higher levels, of which we only see Summerland, a sort of way station, is adjustable depending on the wishes and beliefs of the individual soul. If your idea of heaven is to have a library full of books in a house by the sea, you have only to create it. So, the higher levels are templates that are adjustable by will, whereas the lower levels are templates that are pre-written by the life you've just led, if that makes sense.It's a nice thought, that we will all survive death, in a way. It gives us hope that there's not just a one time shot, and if we blow it, or it's taken from us, that's not all there is. We aren't just forsaken and lost forever. It makes me hope that something like this is true, and that I will see my loved ones again when we're gone. This again is a major theme in this book. Love transcending death. This, I must say, is the facet of the book that most touched and affected me. Matheson's writing about relationships is mesmerizing. He is able, with so few words, to convey to me a lifetime of love and trust and intimacy between Chris, the main character, and his wife Ann, that at times I felt almost like I was spying on their lives. The way that he shows their love made me hope that when my life ends, I can feel as though I've had the kind of connection they shared. Chris's thank you to Ann for being everything to him was heart-rending, and I read it with a pain in my chest and a lump in my throat. Yet I didn't feel like it was contrived or fake, or that I was being manipulated. I just felt as if I was party to his goodbye. Matheson's writing is simple, but he is a master at depicting life in all its glory and ugliness. He is quickly becoming a favorite author, and despite the fact that I disliked the truth claim, I'm sorry that I put off reading this book for as long as I did. I will definitely need to find and read more Matheson in the future.
I’ve often been disappointed by a movie based on a book I like. However, when I find that a movie I like is based on a novel I haven’t read, I often find I like the novel. After the death of Robin Williams, I thought about his movie What Dreams May Come. I love this movie, which is based on the novel by Richard Matheson. I’ve loved everything I ever read by Matheson, but had never read What Dreams May Come. So naturally I decided to finally read it.The book is told from the point of view of Chris Nielsen, a man who has just died. It begins by chronicling his journey from death into the afterlife. Being a good man, Chris eventually finds himself in a place that most readers will recognize as heaven. These opening scenes are classic Matheson, very tightly focused on Chris, very fast moving, and with a tense and thrilling atmosphere.Once Chris reaches heaven, however, I was very surprised to find the book bogged down over the course of the middle section of the novel. Matheson did a lot of research for this book about the nature of afterlife, which he references in a bibliography at the end, and he uses this middle section to basically deliver what he feels the afterlife must be like. By itself, I have no problem with an author doing this. In fact, when done well, a novel can be the perfect vehicle for bringing an author’s concept of reality to readers in an exciting and engaging way. Unfortunately, and much to my surprise, Matheson’s attempt at this felt very forced. The whole middle section felt like a confusing mish-mash of new age concepts.In the final section Matheson pulls out of his nosedive and finishes strong. In fact, the end section is Matheson at his best. In this section Chris finds that the beloved wife he left behind has committed suicide and damned herself to hell. Chris is told that there is noting he can do for her, but he cannot accept this and decides to try and rescue her. He is told that not only is this impossible, but that he himself could well end up damned by even attempting it. But he won’t be dissuaded, and journeys to hell to find her.He does find her, but she doesn’t recognize him and cannot be pulled out of the fatal depression that caused her suicide and has damned her. Chris is relentless, but the longer he is with her the more he is overwhelmed by her despair. This is what he was warned about, that he would be swallowed by despair and end up trapped in hell by it. At the last moment, when he realizes that he must leave now or be damned, he consciously decides that he would rather be with her in hell than without her in heaven. This moment of decision, in both novel and movie, is stunning.I’ve thought about Chris’s decision over and over. I am repulsed by the idea of someone abandoning their loved one to hell while enjoying heaven. In fact, I find it hard to believe that such a person could ever be worthy of heaven. It seems the only moral decision is the one Chris makes. What a conundrum! In the story, this sacrifice is the catalyst to finally rouse his wife from her despair and save them both. The reader, however, is left pondering many hard questions. Given the way Robin Williams end up, it just adds more fuel to the moral fire.Overall, because of the middle section, I find that the movie was better than the novel. I can’t remember ever saying this before (excluding, of course, the always awful novels written to rehash a successful movie). However, if one considers just the beginning and ending sections of the novel, one gets the excellence expected from Matheson. In the end, I’d recommend seeing the movie first and only consider the novel afterwards. But be ready for some serious moral turmoil.
What do You think about What Dreams May Come (2004)?
I did not like this book. The most upsetting (and I suppose liberating to some) idea presented is that we, as human beings, are destined to create our own heavens and hells simply by our mental patterns. It struck me, as a trained social worker, that it is distinctly unfair that the mentally ill who suffer throughout an entire life time with depression/self-doubt/schizophrenia/etc. are limited by their very diseases to an eternity of post-mortem agony. Upsetting to say the least... If half the women in the US are struggling with some sort of disordered eating or distorted body image, will they create their "prisons" of extra weight and self-loathing following their deaths? I think I need a book club to discuss this one. I can say that I loved the movie based on this book, and am grateful (grudgingly) to the author for taking on a fascinating topic. It gives others a place from which to start discussions, internal searches, and perhaps further study into the various themes presented. Honestly though - those could come from simply watching the movie, which I think is the better use of time.
—Megan Lillian
This book was VERY different from the movie, though much of it was very similar. The book shies away from the idea of a "God", where as the movie has very heavy theological tones and even goes so far as to state that there is a God. I can't really say which one I liked better. I feel like the movie was was so... well, moving. It is difficult to watch it and not cry most of the way through it. The book is a far more intellectual endeavor, no doubt aided by the hefty reference material in the bibliography. I don't want to really give anything away, as I think the differences also make each piece an individual masterpiece and I wouldn't want to rob anyone of the discoveries in either. I do recommend this book, especially to fans of Matheson's other work. If you have read I Am Legend, you know how twisted Matheson's imagination can be. Now if you take that to the afterlife and let it run wild, you will end up with something very close to What Dreams May Come.
—Rachel
Μια γλυκοπικρη ιστορια της απολυτης αγαπης,του ερωτα και της αφοσιωσης...Ιδιαιτερα συγκινητικο,μιλαει στην ψυχη και στην καρδια σου..Σε βαζει σε σκεψεις και σε κανει να αναρωτιεσαι αν ολα αυτα για τα οποια ο συγγραφεας μιλαει τοσο πειστικα και λογικα,υπαρχουν!Η αληθινη αγαπη παντα βρισκει τον δρομο της,οτι κι αν γινει,οσα εμποδια η οσες ζωες κι αν τη χωριζουν..Αν μια φορα βρεις τον ανθρωπο σου,το αλλο σου μισο, τοτε ποτε μη φοβηθεις οτι θα τον χασεις..Μπορει να μην το ξερεις,να μην το θυμασαι και να μην το καταλαβεις ποτε,αλλα θα ειστε για παντα μαζι..Ευχαριστω τον Richard Matheson για το "παραδεισενιο" ταξιδι που μου προσφερε,ακομα και στην κολαση! “Heaven would never be heaven without you.”
—Nelly Petrianidi
