Official Review: Dying Dreams by Jon Broderick

[ananya92]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Dying Dreams" by Jon Broderick.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Dying Dreams: A Remarkable Journey Through Life by Jon Broderick is a book in the fiction genre. Though the book is placed in the fantasy genre, it is more of a story about a family coping with a crisis in their lives, with a little supernatural help.

Since the age of four, Evan Shea could sense the presence of people from the ‘other side’, people who were supposed to be dead. As Evan grows up, the infrequent presence of these strangers decrease. Evan excels in sports, especially water skiing, during high school and college, and eventually ends up being a member of a world-class sporting organization known as Cypress Gardens. After tasting success in his non-academic endeavors, Evan decides to return to college and finish his degree. He meets Jeanette, who is from Brazil, and knows it in an instant that she is the one for him. They get married after they finish college, and Evan begins his career as a successful business person. Evan leads a happy life with his wife and three children, until one day an appointment with his family doctor changes everything. Evan discovers that there is a fast-growing cancer in his brain and he has only two months left to live. This is when the departed spirits make a reappearance in his life. Who are they and what is their role in Evan’s life? How are Evan and his family going to get through this crisis?

The description of the book is long-winded because the author narrates the story of Evan’s life from the beginning to the end, and even beyond. The author’s writing style is descriptive and infuses life into the various episodes from Evan’s life. Evan’s story has it all: romance, adventure, emotional upheaval, and the supernatural. The author does a wonderful job of combining all these elements into one story, which flows seamlessly from one part to the next. The first part of the story, which covers more than one-third of the book, is the happier section of the story, where life is a bed of roses for Evan. The more serious story begins in the second part where Evan confronts his impending demise.

The author gives us some believable characters in this book, and the story itself is quite relatable. Evan’s sufferings, the pain his family has to go through, and how Evan almost begs to be freed from the pain, is portrayed in a heart wrenchingly realistic way. Cancer is a disease which does not allow its victim to even die a dignified death, forget about living out the last few days with some dignity. The author’s portrayal of this phase is painfully exact. The twist in this tale is the supernatural angle, which blends wonderfully with the rest of the story. There is one particular scene which I really liked, where a pastor questions Evan about his interactions with the spirit world, in the hope of finding some reassurance that he has not been living a lie his entire life. The wisdom and help Evan receives from the spiritual world are expressed in a beautiful manner by the author, especially a scene where Evan helps a wandering spirit who was accused wrongly of a crime.

The only glitch I found with the book was that, it could have done without certain portions, which were not integral to the central plot. The last fifty pages or so could have been tacked, to give the book a crisp finish.

I recommend this book for readers who like stories about familial love and survival, with a spiritual angle. I rate the book 4 out of 4 stars, for its poignant yet hopeful story.

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Dying Dreams
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[debo9967]

Sounds like the fantasy angle is woven quite well with the rest of the story. Good review!

[bluemel4]

Great review. Not my kind of book, but it does sound like an interesting character study.

[ananya92]

Thanks, both of you