Daniel's Dream

by Peter Michael Rosenberg

Daniel’s work as a photo-journalist has taken him all around the world. But following a serious accident in which a colleague is killed, his injuries – both mental and physical – prevent him from going much further than the end of the street. Depression, anxiety and horrendous nightmares plague him for months, and neither doctors nor friends – nor even his lovely wife Lisanne – seem able to do anything for him.

Then in a moment of reprieve, Daniel wakes from a dream unlike any other he has ever experienced – a wondrous dream which takes him back night after night to the blissfully idyllic Greek village of Atheenaton.

Before long, Daniel is living a double life – a life in which his dreams start to take precedence, much to the concern of those around him. And the night be meets the beautiful, captivating Veronique, he determines to find some way of staying there.

But when Daniel’s requests to extend his stay are refused, and his questions continue to be ignored, he begins to suspect that Atheenaton may not be the paradise it seems after all, but something altogether more sinister…

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 1996

Reviews

[Eva Wierzuchowska · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Impossible Dream.

I first read this book many years ago, long before anyone had dreamt of kindle devices and e-books. I found it at the library, searching for something about lucid dreaming, a subject dear to my heart, and one I could relate to. However, the story was so compelling, so poignant, so reminiscent of similar experiences on the Greek Islands; leaving a lasting unforgettable impression. Reading it again was equally enjoyable though the end seemed somewhat baffling. Not a happy ever after with neatly tied up loose ends. This took lucid dreaming to a whole new level...destined to be beyond our limited Western minds, as portrayed by the ordinary and mundane, contrasting sharply with the magical subconscious where a reality of a different kind truly exists. Perhaps mental illness inadvertently holds the key to tapping into a alternative awareness and convenient escapism from cruel and painful normality. Several years have passed since my personal experience of controlling the events of a dream. Unfortunately however, very short-lived, as if I was never to be allowed to have too much of a good thing. Flying over the ocean was my favourite. Particularly the pungent smell of sea spray and the wind in my hair.

[Jason Maurer · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting idea, dreams. What do they mean? Where do they come from? Why do we have them in the first place? Do we need to sleep in the first place? Perhaps we need to sleep in order to dream?

The idea of lucid dreaming -that is, knowing you are having a dream and the ability to control it- is something that has fascinated me for several years. This story explores what could happen if someone were to become caught up in the "reality" of a dream.

The lesson is a hard one- your life is precious and should not be wasted trying to live in a world that simply does not exist.

Overall, a great narrative. The ending poses some unanswered questions, but my overactive imagination made up for the rest.

[Katherine Holmes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recovering from the death of a female colleague while a correspondent, Daniel becomes more entranced with his dreaming than with his wife, Lisanne. I found myself absorbed with the correlations between his serial dreaming and his trauma on the reality side. This is a psychological story while the dreams become more vivid than life for Daniel. Still, the relationship with Lisanne seems more sympathetic than those of the persons in the dream series.

Daniel becomes drawn into the dream community which, while it's more concrete than usual dreaming, contains characters that have only the dimensions of escape. Yet he neglects the real world in a teeter totter to his slumbering world. His guilt about the death of woman he's had an affair with causes his close ones on the real side to become more vital. The reader sees that, not Daniel, and the story finally surprises in its morbidity, because Daniel does not see that.

[Vicky · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this story to be an interesting idea - the idea of grief and depression sending you into a dream world that is more real than your real life. But on the whole I felt it was somewhat unsatisfying as a story.

At the start I struggled to keep interested, but by the end I felt I had started to understand Daniel. Unfortunately his wife was just starting to become really part of the story and it was over. For me, the story had only just begun at the end. Maybe this was the point, that the real heartbreak of a tragic accident is the unseen ripple effects on those who are not directly involved, and how it can eat into and dissolve their lives. I just can't help feeling there could have been more here.

[Denise · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read the first chapter of this book and THAT took me two and a half hours because I kept falling asleep. Normally for me, I try to read at least three chapters because if a book doesn't suck me in by then, it isn't going to. There was no way I could get through three chapters of this book. Talk about a first rate SNOOZEFEST!

[Trish Bloom · Rating 2 out of 5]

sluggish... I kept waiting for it to pick up but it never really did.

[Liz McBee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, I was intrigued but it really never went anywhere...