What Dreams May Come
First edition
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| Author | Richard Matheson |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Bangsian fantasy |
| Publisher | G. P. Putnam's Sons |
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Publication date
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September 1978 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 288 pp |
| ISBN | |
What Dreams May Come is a 1978 novel by Richard Matheson. The plot centers on Chris, a man who dies then goes to Heaven, but descends into Hell to rescue his wife. It was adapted in 1998 into the Academy Award-winning film What Dreams May Come starring Robin Williams, Cuba Gooding, Jr., and Annabella Sciorra.
Matheson stated in an interview, "I think What Dreams May Come is the most important (read effective) book I've written. It has caused a number of readers to lose their fear of death – the finest tribute any writer could receive."
In an introductory note, Matheson explains that the characters are the only fictional component of the novel. Almost everything else is based on research, and the end of the novel includes a lengthy bibliography.
Matheson, primarily known for horror fiction, wanted to move away from the genre. "I was determined to fight against this image. Dammit, I never wrote 'real' horror to begin with! To me, horror connotes blood and guts, while terror is a much more subtle art, a matter of stirring up primal fears. But, by the mid-seventies, I had tired of playing the fright game. Scaring the hell out of people no longer appealed to me." He based Chris's family in the novel on his own.
The title comes from a line in Hamlet's "To be, or not to be..." soliloquy, namely, "For in that sleep of death what dreams may come / When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, / Must give us pause." The plot outline in the novel contains several allegorical references to Dante Alighieri's epic poem The Divine Comedy (1308–1321).
The prologue is narrated by a man telling of his visit from a psychic woman, who gives him a manuscript she claims was dictated to her by his deceased brother Chris. Most of the novel consists of this manuscript.
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Wikipedia