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The Law of Dreams
 
 
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The Law of Dreams (Hardcover)

by Peter Behrens (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 408 pages
  • Publisher: Steerforth Press (22 Aug 2006)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1586421174
  • ISBN-13: 978-1586421175
  • Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15.7 x 3.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

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Product Description

Review

"* "A fabulous book - makes history real enough to smell and so powerful in its emotional impact that I had to remind myself to breathe. This is the past, but made almost frighteningly present." - Kate Grenville * "This is a novel about hunger, literal and spiritual: Behrens's prose is so evocative, you can almost taste it." - Literary Review * "A top-notch historical novel: dramatic, wincingly violent, tender and extremely well-written.' Guardian 'I wound up loving this novel. The storytelling is terrific, the writing lyrical, often startling." - New Yorker * "There are scenes that will remain, forever, imprinted upon the reader's mind. Peter Behrens is a tremendously talented writer." - Alistair Macleod, author of No Great Mischief" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.


The Times

Behrens has the knack of making history come alive, using the language of the period to convincing effect --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Harrowing historical fiction., 28 May 2007
By kehs (Hertfordshire, England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: The Law of Dreams (Hardcover)
The Law of Dreams tells the story of a year in the life of Fergus O'Brien during the Great Potato Famine in Ireland during the 1840s. It takes us from his home on a mountaintop, which he leaves after witnessing his family all burning to death - deaths which were in fact murders that committed by his landlords. From there he travels to Liverpool, then Wales and onto a harrowing boat journey across the Atlantic to America. Along the way Fergus meets all manner of people who, like himself, are all struggling to survive. He encounters violence, treachery, thieves and prostitution - at one point being groomed as a `pearl' boy. On his travels he falls in love 3 times, each time ending up with a broken heart. Fergus has very few moments of joy and often wishes it were possible to live inside his head with his dreams.
Peter Behrens transports the reader back in time, to a world that was full of hardship, sorrow and tremendous losses. It teaches us how resilient the human spirit can be in order to overcome the horrors we sometimes have to face. Behrens has written a fantastic piece of historical fiction and Fergus's story will stay in my mind forever.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Brutal Tale of Hardship and Endurance , 5 Aug 2008
This review is from: The Law of Dreams (Paperback)
Set in 1846 'The Law of Dreams' is a tragic and moving account of a young boy's journey from the starvation of Ireland, through a false dawn in Liverpool, to a brave new world in America. Suffering tragedy and betrayal this is ultimately a boy-to-man story under the worst possible circumstances.

One of the best things about this book is the way Behrens avoids making a hero out of Fergus. Creating a character who acts perfectly according to modern morality is one of the main stumbling blocks in many similar books. Behrems character is embroiled in a constant fight to survive in a world bereft of innocence and its this sense of reality that gives the book its substance.

Behrems research is impeccable and brings to life worlds that were merely dates and places before I read this book. Although a fiction book 'The Law of Dreams' really gives you a sobering insight into scenes such as the reality of life and death during the potato famine and the squalor of an Atlantic crossing below decks.

This is a brilliant book and should be read by fiction lovers and amateur historians alike. Both a fascinating read and an eye opening account. I can't wait for Behrems next novel.
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2 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars an interesting read, 29 May 2007
By Ms. K. Thomas (Essex, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Law of Dreams (Hardcover)
This novel tells the young life of Fergus. Fergus is a young man running to escape the famine in Ireland to a place of hope, dreams and food. Yet Fergus doesn't know where England is yet alone America.
Through the novel we travel across rural Ireland, the dark streets of Liverpool and across the sea to the land of hope, America.
The novel is filled with fanastically vivid descriptions.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Historical fiction of the finest type
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