River of Hidden Dreams

by Connie May Fowler

"HEARTBREAKING...COMPELLING...The story carries you like a slow, implacable current."
--San Francisco Chronicle
Forty-something Sadie Hunter is a loner. But more than that, she is afraid of not being alone. Ever since her mother and Native American grandmother died together when she was a child, dancing cheek-to-cheek in a saloon in the middle of a violent storm, Sadie hasn't let anyone get too close. Not even Carlos, a passionate Cuban who sees the rich soul that Sadie tries to hide from herself.
Cynical and loveless, she becomes obsessed with learning more about her unacknowledged identity, torn apart by tragic family legends she can't quite believe. And although she tries to fight it, she half suspects that with Carlos's help, she could find the truth of the past, and it could set her free....
"A fluid, fun read--a story of self-discovery told by a woman haunted by female forebears while struggling to learn love....A work of accomplished introspection."
--The Philadelphia Inquirer

Genres: Fiction

334 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading just one Fowler novel, I was smitten by her story-weaving. She creates intense and endearing characters that stay with you after you close the book.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that hit so close to home that I cried. First book I have done that with. Loved it!

[Elizabeth Neily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing imagary and quirky characters. this book sold me on Fowler's work.

[Kristal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sadie Hunter lives a life of solitude. Both her women, mother and grandmother, were killed when she was only 9 years old. She now lives in Key West, Florida, taking people out on excursions in her fishing boat that also serves as her home. The excursions take her customers into the swaps and Sadie retells the stories that she heard while growing up. But after each trip, she deposits her cargo safely back to land, never getting close to anyone. Even her boyfriend, Carlos, is always kept at a safe distance. Yet she begins to wonder after telling all the folktales, if any of what her mother and grandmother have told her is true. Carlos is determined to help Sadie discover herself and together, the two of them set off on a voyage from Key West all the way around the tip of Florida up to St Augustine.

I absolutely loved this book! Ms Fowlers has created some truly memorable characters in not only Sadie but her kinfolk as well. This is a remarkable coming of age story as well as a uplifting love story.

[Barbara Nutting · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ghost of Marjory Stoneman Douglas was constantly drifting in and out of the pages of this Florida novel. So beautifully written you see every sunset and feel every mosquito bite!! A poignant look at the plight of the American Indians from the viewpoint of a very angry woman. I give the author a big plus for using sea gull rather than seagull (there is no such bird) but she is a Floridian who knows better. As usual, there is nothing happy or uplifting in Fowler's writing but her stories are a compelling read. I am confused by her bio that says she is of a multi-cultural background - she is very fair and blonde and yet her characters tend to be black/mulatto/Indian etc. would love to know more about her. PS - when I finished the book I didn't read the story at the end - just thought it was a teaser for her next book. Glad I went back to it as it answered all my questions about her heritage.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an oldie but a goodie that I’ve had on my TBR shelf for a long time. This story takes place in Florida and is about a middle-aged woman who has let life create a tough shell around her. Sadie is a loner and she has a hard time letting people in her life. The books goes back and fills in the story of her grandmother, who was Native American and her grandfather, who was half black/half white. Their sad story is the reason she is trying to make sense of her past so she can learn how she fits into the picture. The books starts off a little slow, but soon picks up. What I liked was the plot and the characters which were so interesting and different, including a sexy Cuban lover who has his own sad story. The author’s depictions of Florida’s nature and wildlife are beautifully described.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I given out a spoiler, so beware.

River of Hidden Dreams is set in Key West, Florida (I've been). I also live in Florida (the last 5 years). Sadie Hunter is a loner. When she was 9 years old her mother and her grandmother died together when a roof crashed down on them. Her father built a boat where she presently lives and where she has her own business; taking people out on excursions into the swamps retelling the stories her mother and grandmother told her. She has no friends, she has people issues, she keeps everyone at a distance, even her Cuban lover, Carlos. Then she starts to wonder if all the tales she was told as a girl is true. Sadie and Carlos set sail to St. Augustine where all the stories she was told began: Her grandmother was an Indian, captured and jailed at Castillo de San Marcos (I've toured the fort two years ago). Along the way, Sadie grows and she realizes she deserves to be loved and to give love. It's a wonderful story!

I'll be looking out for more of Connie May Fowler's books now that I've read River of Hidden Dreams. I love her writing style! I loved it!

[Emanuela Myrtezaj · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first novel I've read by Connie May Fowler and I enjoyed it a lot. The author beautifully describes how human being desire to connect their past, present and future together, and find meanings of their existence. Sadie, the main character on the book, has experienced traumas on her past life when she lost her mother and grandmother by a natural phenomenon. I felt so sad that she struggles to find herself and understand her own roots and heritage. We are connected to our past, this is what define us and help to get better and move on. Sadie is so fragile, so confused and impatient to have answers for her questions and doing all these led her into forgetting herself. Discover Sadie's journey with full of emotions in rediscovering herself.

[Debra McCann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story floats through Florida waters on a vintage home-made boat. A young woman (Sadie) has trouble connecting with her lover (Carlos). This is a legacy from her displaced plains Indian grandmother and her mixed race mother. I enjoyed reading the family history, though there was injustice and sadness there. I enjoyed hearing the point of view of her grandfather, Mr. Sammy, as he tried to win the love of her grandmother. I enjoyed Sadie’s give and take with Carlos, a refugee from Cuba, who has a soft heart that echoes Mr. Sammy’s soft heart. I also enjoyed being wrapped in natural Florida and it’s beautiful land and waters.

[Maggie Shanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mystical story of family memories, love and the choices people make. Sadie lives on her boat built by her grandfather, bringing tourists out to the keys. Carlos loves her, he works as a commercial fisherman. One day they find a dead baby in a box and they begin a journey into Sadie's past. The story was a bit of a slow build to the journey into the past and then it ended kind of oddly, but it was a good book with lots of wisdom from Carlos.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another oldie, picked up at the library book sale, is actually 4.5, the half-point deduction is the wearying aspect of 40-something Sadie’s overly emoted angst. But the rest of the book contains beautiful, lyrical writing and illustrates a shameful time in U.S. history re: Native Americans, specifically the Plains tribes in the late 19th century.

[Diane]

I tried twice to read this book and just couldn’t get into it.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the grandparents tales and history of Native Americans in this country. Didn’t like Sadie’s story at all really.

[Wendy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe it's me, but this is the second book today that I find I'm not interested in enough to finish.

[Karen Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never wanted the story to end. Beautiful.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some writers have a knack of weaving a story that draws a reader in so seamlessly that it's difficult to put the book down. That is what Connie May Fowler did with River of Hidden Dreams. Her second novel, published in 1994, River of Hidden Dreams is the story of Sadie Hunter, a forty-something woman whose past haunts her, keeping her captive, even as she keeps Carlos, her passionate Cuban lover, at arm's length.

As a child, Sadie lived on the boat that her Mulatto grandfather built with her mother and Cherokee grandmother. Years after her women die, dancing, during a storm, Sadie is back living on the boat, giving tourists rides while spinning stories of her history. Even as she is afraid to let anyone close, fearing another unbearable loss, Carlos, a man who has experienced his own heartache, loves her, helping her to finally face her demons in order to heal.

Weaving Sadie's voice with those of her mother and grandparents into a beauty story, River of Hidden Dreams is a story that will haunt the reader well after the book is finished.

[Gale · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book you'll want to read every few years. On my second read, I saw so much more of myself in each character. If you read for a deeper understanding of your own roots and heritage, if you love Florida's once pristine world, if you want to travel there again, curl up with this beautiful novel.

[Gerry Durisin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow-starting, so much so that I almost gave up on it. But well-worth persisting -- Fowler has written a story out of her own family history, about several generations of women torn from their roots, and the journey back to acknowledge the past.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book knocked my socks off. I gave it to everyone I knew (at the time).

[Sarah Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

slow during some parts, stunning during others. this book moved me.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wonderful story, set in Florida.

[Rachel Pollock · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author takes a lot of bold, risky chances in the writing of this book, and even though i wouldn't say it was 100% successful, i finished it with admiration for her bravery in its writing.

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book about a loner. The imagery was wonderful/beautiful and helped me to appreciate my new found love for natural Florida.

[Deb]

Plane read rec from Emily H.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the Florida setting! Crazy, emotional, superstitious, dysfunctional, foul mouthed characters - what's not to love? "Fate has a funny way of messing with both the finest and vilest of plans."

[Daria · Rating 4 out of 5]

If this author wrote on a matchbook, I'd
Read it!

[Vicktoria Pfeif · Rating 4 out of 5]

it took me too long to read

[Hazeleyedbookdragon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Barely interested enough to finish it. Didn’t care for Sadie’s story at all.