What Dreams May Come
Encyclopedia
What Dreams May Come is a 1978 novel by Richard Matheson
. The plot centers on Chris, a man who dies and goes to Heaven
, but eventually descends into Hell
to rescue his wife. It was adapted in 1998 into an Academy Award-winning movie of the same title
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
.
, 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 famous 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 also contains several allegorical references to Dante Alighieri
's epic poem
The Divine Comedy
(1308–1321).
Chris, a middle-aged man, is injured in a car accident and dies in the hospital. He remains as a ghost, at first thinking he's having a bad dream
. Amid a failed séance that helps further convince his wife Ann that he didn't survive death, an unidentified man keeps approaching Chris and telling him to concentrate on what's beyond. But Chris disregards this advice for a long time, unable to leave his wife. After finally following the man's advice, focusing his mind on pleasant memories, he feels himself being elevated.
He wakes up in a beautiful glade
which he recognizes as a place where he and Ann used to travel. Understanding by now that he is dead, he is surprised that he looks and feels alive, with apparently a complete physical body and sensation. After exploring the place for a while, he finds Albert, his cousin, who reveals himself as the unidentified man.
Albert explains that the place they occupy is called Summerland
. Being a state of mind rather than a physical location, Summerland is practically endless and takes the form of the inhabitants' wishes and desires. There is no pain or death, but people still maintain occupations of sorts and perform leisure activities. The book spends several chapters depicting Summerland in great detail, through Chris's eyes. Chris feels somehow uneasy, being haunted by nightmares ending in Ann's death. Soon he learns that Ann has killed herself.
Albert, who is as shocked as Chris, explains that by committing suicide, Ann has placed her spirit in the "lower realm" from Summerland, and that she will stay there for twenty-four years — her intended life span. Albert insists that Ann's condition is not "punishment" but "law" - a natural consequence of committing suicide.
Albert's job is to visit the lower realm, and Chris asks to be taken there so he can help Ann. Albert initially refuses, warning Chris that he might inadvertently find himself stuck in the lower realm, thus delaying his eventual, inevitable reunion with Ann. Chris eventually convinces Albert to attempt the rescue, even though Albert insists that they will almost certainly fail.
The lower realm (which the book only later refers to as "Hell") is cold, dark, and barren. Albert and Chris are able to use their minds to make their surroundings slightly more bearable, but Albert warns Chris that this will become harder to do as they travel further. They eventually reach a place occupied by people who were violent criminals while they were alive. Chris is forced to witness a series of dreadful sights and gets gruesomely attacked by a mob, though he soon discovers that the attack occurred only in his mind.
They finally depart from that particularly violent section of Hell, arriving at last at Ann's place. It resembles a dark, depressing version of the neighborhood where he and Ann used to live. Albert explains that she will not immediately recognize Chris, and that he can only gradually convince her who he is and what has happened to her. Ann believes that she is living alone in her house where nothing seems to work, grieving her husband's death. This is her private "Hell" - an exaggerated version of what she had been experiencing prior to her suicide.
Identifying himself as a new neighbor, Chris makes numerous unsuccessful attempts to make her realize the true situation. He describes details of his own life so that she will be reminded of her husband. He calls her attention to the improbably negative conditions of the house. He drops in clues, gradually leading her to the truth, but she seems to block out anything that will cause recognition. He finally tells her the truth straight out. She gets angry and calls him a liar. Because she does not believe in afterlife, she finds it impossible that he could be her dead husband.
After a moment of disorientation where he starts to forget his own identity, the atmosphere of Hell gradually drawing him in and threatening to trap him there, he delivers a long monologue of appreciation for her, detailing all the ways in which she enriched his life. He finally makes the most dreaded decision of all: he decides to stay with her and not return to Summerland. As he begins losing consciousness, Ann finally recognizes him and realizes what has happened.
Chris awakens in Summerland once again. Albert, who is amazed that Chris was able to rescue Ann, informs him that she has been reborn
on Earth, because she is not ready for Summerland. Chris wants to be reborn too, despite Albert's protests. Chris learns that he and Ann have had several previous lives, and in all of them they had a special connection with each other.
As the manuscript comes to a close, Chris explains that he is soon going to be reborn and will forget all that has happened. He ends with a message of hope, telling his readers that death is not to be feared, and that he knows in the future he and Ann will ultimately be reunited in Heaven, even if in different form.
s claim that the beliefs presented in the novel conform well to the teachings of Hinduism
, though Matheson denies any direct influence. Raised a Christian Scientist
, Matheson gradually developed what he calls his own religion, taking elements from many sources. "As a Pisces," he explains, "I have been fascinated about parapsychology, metaphysics and the supernatural ever since I was a teenager. The concepts in the book are derived from my wide range of reading." One of Matheson's primary influences was Harold W. Percival
, an adherent of Theosophy
, a belief system with a strong Eastern and Hindu influence.
One character quotes from the writings of 18th century Christian mystic
Emanuel Swedenborg
. Matheson bases his descriptions of the death experience itself on studies by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
and Raymond Moody
. When reading these accounts, Matheson found that revived suicides told a much more frightening story than anyone else who had near death experience
s.
Matheson's bibliography consists more of "New Age
" material than mainstream religious sources, and the novel shows reincarnation to be more voluntary than major world religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism usually depict it.
, arguing that the human soul
is immortal
, and that a person's fate in the afterlife is self-imposed.
When Chris dies, he experiences symptoms of a near death experience
. As pain gradually leaves his body, he observes a tunnel of light
and views his dead body from above, connected to himself by a silver cord
. He then experiences his life flashing before his eyes
, as all the events in his life unfold in reverse. This last experience occurs again later, much more slowly, while he's a ghost
. Albert later compares it to purgatory
, since it is a time when people are forced to re-examine their lives without rationalization
.
Chris's family contacts a medium
who can see but not hear Chris, and they conduct a séance
. Chris tries to communicate with them, but soon grows tired and goes off to sleep. When he awakens, he is horrified to find himself staring at a figure of himself conversing with the family. The psychic is unknowingly feeding this figure whatever answers he expects to hear, unaware that he's no longer conversing with the real Chris. The novel later explains that the figure is the shedding of Chris's etheric body
to release his spirit body
, enabling him to ascend to Heaven, or "Summerland."
Summerland, an environment shaped by the thoughts of the inhabitants, appears relatively Earth-like because that's what the newly dead are accustomed to. Communication is telepathic, travel instantaneous. There's no need to eat or sleep. The inhabitants, all of whom possess an aura
, can spend their time relaxing, studying, or working — though not for profit. There are even scientists and artists, many of whom work to subtly influence the minds of Earth's inhabitants.
Albert, whom the novel identifies as Chris's guardian angel
, explains that Summerland includes many things which inhabitants do not need — such as automobiles — but which exist simply because some people believe they are needed. The particular Heaven of each religion exists somewhere, because that is what members of each religion expect.
Albert cannot locate Ann until one of her sons prays
. In the lower realm, Albert and Chris can no longer communicate telepathically and must travel by foot, but they are still able to use their minds to influence the environment to a limited degree.
Everyone has had a multitude of past lives; some souls become so advanced, however, that they pass on to a higher level where they ultimately become one with God. Reincarnation is a complex process in which one enters a baby's body, though not necessarily at birth.
, while others greatly appreciated the comforting effect it had on them.
by producer Stephen Simon (a.k.a. Stephen Deutsch
) explaining how he came across the book, what it meant to him, and how it has changed many people's lives. The book had been out of print for years prior to the movie's release, but the 1998 edition, by Tor Books, reached the New York Times Best Seller list
. Tor also published The Path, a nonfiction book in which Matheson expressed his own spiritual beliefs.
1998, USA, Tor Books, ISBN 0-812-57094-4, October 1998, Paperback
2004, USA, Tor Books, ISBN 0-765-30870-3, January 2004, Paperback
Richard Matheson
Richard Burton Matheson is an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is perhaps best known as the author of What Dreams May Come, Bid Time Return, A Stir of Echoes, The Incredible Shrinking Man, and I Am Legend, all of which have been...
. The plot centers on Chris, a man who dies and goes to Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
, but eventually descends into Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
to rescue his wife. It was adapted in 1998 into an Academy Award-winning movie of the same title
What Dreams May Come (film)
What Dreams May Come is a 1998 American supernatural drama film, starring Robin Williams, Cuba Gooding, Jr., and Annabella Sciorra. The film is based on the 1978 novel of the same name by Richard Matheson, and was directed by Vincent Ward. The title is taken from a line in Hamlet's To be, or not to...
starring Robin Williams
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
, Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Cuba M. Gooding, Jr. is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his Academy Award-winning portrayal of Rod Tidwell in Cameron Crowe's 1996 film Jerry Maguire, and his critically acclaimed performance as Tré Styles in John Singleton's 1991 film Boyz n the Hood.-Early life:Gooding was born...
, and Annabella Sciorra
Annabella Sciorra
Annabella Sciorra is an American film, television, and stage actress. Sciorra received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead for the 1989 film True Love, and came to widespread attention in her co-lead role in Spike Lee's 1991 film Jungle Fever...
.
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
Bibliography
Bibliography , as a practice, is the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology...
.
Background
Matheson, primarily famous for horror fictionHorror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
, 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 famous line in Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
's "To be, or not to be
To be, or not to be
"To be, or not to be" is the opening phrase of a soliloquy from William Shakespeare's play Hamlet , Act III, Scene 1. It is the best-known quotation from the play and probably the most famous in world literature but there is disagreement on its meaning, as there is of the whole speech.- Text :This...
..." soliloquy
Monologue
In theatre, a monologue is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media...
, 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 also contains several allegorical references to Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri
Durante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...
's epic poem
Epic poetry
An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...
The Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy is an epic poem written by Dante Alighieri between 1308 and his death in 1321. It is widely considered the preeminent work of Italian literature, and is seen as one of the greatest works of world literature...
(1308–1321).
Main characters
- Chris Nielsen – the protagonist and main narrator, a middle-aged screenwriterScreenwriterScreenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
who is killed in a car accidentCar accidentA traffic collision, also known as a traffic accident, motor vehicle collision, motor vehicle accident, car accident, automobile accident, Road Traffic Collision or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other stationary obstruction,...
and who spends most of the novel exploring the afterlife while searching for his wife Ann - Robert Nielsen – Chris's living brother, narrator of frame storyFrame storyA frame story is a literary technique that sometimes serves as a companion piece to a story within a story, whereby an introductory or main narrative is presented, at least in part, for the purpose of setting the stage either for a more emphasized second narrative or for a set of shorter stories...
, to whom most of novel is addressed - Ann – Chris's wife who commits suicide due to grief over Chris's death
- Albert – Chris's cousin who acts as his guide in Heaven and whose job is to travel to the "lower realm" (i.e. Hell) to help its inhabitants
- Leona – woman who guides Chris through a Heavenly city; Chris first mistakes her for Ann
Plot summary
The prologue is narrated by a man telling of his visit by 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.Chris, a middle-aged man, is injured in a car accident and dies in the hospital. He remains as a ghost, at first thinking he's having a bad dream
Dream
Dreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not definitively understood, though they have been a topic of scientific speculation, philosophical intrigue and religious...
. Amid a failed séance that helps further convince his wife Ann that he didn't survive death, an unidentified man keeps approaching Chris and telling him to concentrate on what's beyond. But Chris disregards this advice for a long time, unable to leave his wife. After finally following the man's advice, focusing his mind on pleasant memories, he feels himself being elevated.
He wakes up in a beautiful glade
Glade (geography)
A glade or clearing is an open area within a woodland. Glades are often grassy meadows under the canopy of deciduous trees such as red alder or quaking aspen in western North America. They also represent openings in forests where local conditions such as avalanches, poor soils, or fire damage have...
which he recognizes as a place where he and Ann used to travel. Understanding by now that he is dead, he is surprised that he looks and feels alive, with apparently a complete physical body and sensation. After exploring the place for a while, he finds Albert, his cousin, who reveals himself as the unidentified man.
Albert explains that the place they occupy is called Summerland
The Summerland
The Summerland is the name given by Wiccans and other earth-based Neopagan religions and by Theosophists to their conceptualization of an afterlife.-General overview of Summerland in Neopaganism:...
. Being a state of mind rather than a physical location, Summerland is practically endless and takes the form of the inhabitants' wishes and desires. There is no pain or death, but people still maintain occupations of sorts and perform leisure activities. The book spends several chapters depicting Summerland in great detail, through Chris's eyes. Chris feels somehow uneasy, being haunted by nightmares ending in Ann's death. Soon he learns that Ann has killed herself.
Albert, who is as shocked as Chris, explains that by committing suicide, Ann has placed her spirit in the "lower realm" from Summerland, and that she will stay there for twenty-four years — her intended life span. Albert insists that Ann's condition is not "punishment" but "law" - a natural consequence of committing suicide.
Albert's job is to visit the lower realm, and Chris asks to be taken there so he can help Ann. Albert initially refuses, warning Chris that he might inadvertently find himself stuck in the lower realm, thus delaying his eventual, inevitable reunion with Ann. Chris eventually convinces Albert to attempt the rescue, even though Albert insists that they will almost certainly fail.
The lower realm (which the book only later refers to as "Hell") is cold, dark, and barren. Albert and Chris are able to use their minds to make their surroundings slightly more bearable, but Albert warns Chris that this will become harder to do as they travel further. They eventually reach a place occupied by people who were violent criminals while they were alive. Chris is forced to witness a series of dreadful sights and gets gruesomely attacked by a mob, though he soon discovers that the attack occurred only in his mind.
They finally depart from that particularly violent section of Hell, arriving at last at Ann's place. It resembles a dark, depressing version of the neighborhood where he and Ann used to live. Albert explains that she will not immediately recognize Chris, and that he can only gradually convince her who he is and what has happened to her. Ann believes that she is living alone in her house where nothing seems to work, grieving her husband's death. This is her private "Hell" - an exaggerated version of what she had been experiencing prior to her suicide.
Identifying himself as a new neighbor, Chris makes numerous unsuccessful attempts to make her realize the true situation. He describes details of his own life so that she will be reminded of her husband. He calls her attention to the improbably negative conditions of the house. He drops in clues, gradually leading her to the truth, but she seems to block out anything that will cause recognition. He finally tells her the truth straight out. She gets angry and calls him a liar. Because she does not believe in afterlife, she finds it impossible that he could be her dead husband.
After a moment of disorientation where he starts to forget his own identity, the atmosphere of Hell gradually drawing him in and threatening to trap him there, he delivers a long monologue of appreciation for her, detailing all the ways in which she enriched his life. He finally makes the most dreaded decision of all: he decides to stay with her and not return to Summerland. As he begins losing consciousness, Ann finally recognizes him and realizes what has happened.
Chris awakens in Summerland once again. Albert, who is amazed that Chris was able to rescue Ann, informs him that she has been reborn
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
on Earth, because she is not ready for Summerland. Chris wants to be reborn too, despite Albert's protests. Chris learns that he and Ann have had several previous lives, and in all of them they had a special connection with each other.
As the manuscript comes to a close, Chris explains that he is soon going to be reborn and will forget all that has happened. He ends with a message of hope, telling his readers that death is not to be feared, and that he knows in the future he and Ann will ultimately be reunited in Heaven, even if in different form.
Religious basis
Some HinduHindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
s claim that the beliefs presented in the novel conform well to the teachings of Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
, though Matheson denies any direct influence. Raised a Christian Scientist
Christian Science
Christian Science is a system of thought and practice derived from the writings of Mary Baker Eddy and the Bible. It is practiced by members of The First Church of Christ, Scientist as well as some others who are nonmembers. Its central texts are the Bible and the Christian Science textbook,...
, Matheson gradually developed what he calls his own religion, taking elements from many sources. "As a Pisces," he explains, "I have been fascinated about parapsychology, metaphysics and the supernatural ever since I was a teenager. The concepts in the book are derived from my wide range of reading." One of Matheson's primary influences was Harold W. Percival
Harold W. Percival
Harold Waldwin Percival was a Theosophist and writer who founded The Word Foundation, famous for his magnum opus Thinking and Destiny....
, an adherent of Theosophy
Theosophy
Theosophy, in its modern presentation, is a spiritual philosophy developed since the late 19th century. Its major themes were originally described mainly by Helena Blavatsky , co-founder of the Theosophical Society...
, a belief system with a strong Eastern and Hindu influence.
One character quotes from the writings of 18th century Christian mystic
Christian mysticism
Christian mysticism refers to the development of mystical practices and theory within Christianity. It has often been connected to mystical theology, especially in the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions...
Emanuel Swedenborg
Emanuel Swedenborg
was a Swedish scientist, philosopher, and theologian. He has been termed a Christian mystic by some sources, including the Encyclopædia Britannica online version, and the Encyclopedia of Religion , which starts its article with the description that he was a "Swedish scientist and mystic." Others...
. Matheson bases his descriptions of the death experience itself on studies by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, M.D. was a Swiss American psychiatrist, a pioneer in Near-death studies and the author of the groundbreaking book On Death and Dying , where she first discussed what is now known as the Kübler-Ross model.She is a 2007 inductee into the American National Women's Hall of Fame...
and Raymond Moody
Raymond Moody
Raymond Moody is a psychologist and medical doctor. He is most famous as an author of books about life after death and near-death experiences , a term that he coined in 1975. His best-selling title is Life After Life.-Life:...
. When reading these accounts, Matheson found that revived suicides told a much more frightening story than anyone else who had near death experience
Near death experience
A near-death experience refers to a broad range of personal experiences associated with impending death, encompassing multiple possible sensations including detachment from the body; feelings of levitation; extreme fear; total serenity, security, or warmth; the experience of absolute dissolution;...
s.
Matheson's bibliography consists more of "New Age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
" material than mainstream religious sources, and the novel shows reincarnation to be more voluntary than major world religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism usually depict it.
Major themes
The book explores a range of paranormal phenomena and advances a philosophy of mind over matterMind over matter
Mind over matter is a phrase popularized during the 1960s and 1970s that was originally used in reference to paranormal phenomena, especially psychokinesis. However, it has also been used in reference to mind-centric spiritual and philosophic doctrines such as responsibility assumption. It is the...
, arguing that the human soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
is immortal
Immortality
Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
, and that a person's fate in the afterlife is self-imposed.
When Chris dies, he experiences symptoms of a near death experience
Near death experience
A near-death experience refers to a broad range of personal experiences associated with impending death, encompassing multiple possible sensations including detachment from the body; feelings of levitation; extreme fear; total serenity, security, or warmth; the experience of absolute dissolution;...
. As pain gradually leaves his body, he observes a tunnel of light
Tunnel of light
The tunnel of light is an element of the near-death experience. People experience floating upwards usually peacefully through a long tunnel, at the end of which is a beautiful illuminous light. The tunnel of light has been experienced by people of different religions and cultures.-References:Tunnel...
and views his dead body from above, connected to himself by a silver cord
Silver cord
In metaphysical literature, the silver cord, also known as the sutratma or life thread of the antahkarana, refers to a life-giving linkage from the Higher self down to the physical body...
. He then experiences his life flashing before his eyes
Life review
A life review is a phenomenon widely reported as occurring during near-death experiences, in which a person rapidly sees much or the totality of his or her life history in chronological sequence and in extreme detail. It is often referred to by people having experienced this phenomenon as having...
, as all the events in his life unfold in reverse. This last experience occurs again later, much more slowly, while he's a ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
. Albert later compares it to purgatory
Purgatory
Purgatory is the condition or process of purification or temporary punishment in which, it is believed, the souls of those who die in a state of grace are made ready for Heaven...
, since it is a time when people are forced to re-examine their lives without rationalization
Rationalization (psychology)
In psychology and logic, rationalization is an unconscious defense mechanism in which perceived controversial behaviors or feelings are logically justified and explained in a rational or logical manner in order to avoid any true explanation and made consciously tolerable by plausible means...
.
Chris's family contacts a medium
Mediumship
Mediumship is described as a form of communication with spirits. It is a practice in religious beliefs such as Spiritualism, Spiritism, Espiritismo, Candomblé, Voodoo and Umbanda.- Concept :...
who can see but not hear Chris, and they conduct a séance
Séance
A séance is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word "séance" comes from the French word for "seat," "session" or "sitting," from the Old French "seoir," "to sit." In French, the word's meaning is quite general: one may, for example, speak of "une séance de cinéma"...
. Chris tries to communicate with them, but soon grows tired and goes off to sleep. When he awakens, he is horrified to find himself staring at a figure of himself conversing with the family. The psychic is unknowingly feeding this figure whatever answers he expects to hear, unaware that he's no longer conversing with the real Chris. The novel later explains that the figure is the shedding of Chris's etheric body
Etheric body
The etheric body, ether-body, æther body, a name given by neo-Theosophy to a supposed vital body or subtle body propounded in esoteric philosophies as the first or lowest layer in the "human energy field" or aura...
to release his spirit body
Spirit Body
A spirit body is the organization of the spiritual element, made into the spiritual form of man, which according to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was made in the same likeness of God the Father...
, enabling him to ascend to Heaven, or "Summerland."
Summerland, an environment shaped by the thoughts of the inhabitants, appears relatively Earth-like because that's what the newly dead are accustomed to. Communication is telepathic, travel instantaneous. There's no need to eat or sleep. The inhabitants, all of whom possess an aura
Aura (paranormal)
In parapsychology and many forms of spiritual practice, an aura is a field of subtle, luminous radiation surrounding a person or object . The depiction of such an aura often connotes a person of particular power or holiness. Sometimes, however, it is said that all living things and all objects...
, can spend their time relaxing, studying, or working — though not for profit. There are even scientists and artists, many of whom work to subtly influence the minds of Earth's inhabitants.
Albert, whom the novel identifies as Chris's guardian angel
Guardian angel
A guardian angel is an angel assigned to protect and guide a particular person or group. Belief in guardian angels can be traced throughout all antiquity...
, explains that Summerland includes many things which inhabitants do not need — such as automobiles — but which exist simply because some people believe they are needed. The particular Heaven of each religion exists somewhere, because that is what members of each religion expect.
Albert cannot locate Ann until one of her sons prays
Prayer
Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...
. In the lower realm, Albert and Chris can no longer communicate telepathically and must travel by foot, but they are still able to use their minds to influence the environment to a limited degree.
Everyone has had a multitude of past lives; some souls become so advanced, however, that they pass on to a higher level where they ultimately become one with God. Reincarnation is a complex process in which one enters a baby's body, though not necessarily at birth.
Reception
In its initial release in 1978, the book received a mixed reaction from readers and critics. Many were upset by Matheson's departure from the horror genreHorror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
, while others greatly appreciated the comforting effect it had on them.
Different editions
The 1998 edition, published to anticipate the movie's release, has a cover based on the film, and includes an afterwordAfterword
An afterword is a literary device that is often found at the end of a piece of literature. It generally covers the story of how the book came into being, or of how the idea for the book was developed....
by producer Stephen Simon (a.k.a. Stephen Deutsch
Stephen Deutsch
Stephen Deutsch has composed over thirty scores for film, theatre, radio and television. His many collaborations with the playwright Peter Barnes include Jubilee , the Olivier Award-winning play Red Noses and the feature film Hard Times...
) explaining how he came across the book, what it meant to him, and how it has changed many people's lives. The book had been out of print for years prior to the movie's release, but the 1998 edition, by Tor Books, reached the New York Times Best Seller list
New York Times Best Seller list
The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. It is published weekly in The New York Times Book Review magazine, which is published in the Sunday edition of The New York Times and as a stand-alone publication...
. Tor also published The Path, a nonfiction book in which Matheson expressed his own spiritual beliefs.
Release details
1978, USA, Putnam Pub Group, ISBN 039912148X, September 1978, Hardcover1998, USA, Tor Books, ISBN 0-812-57094-4, October 1998, Paperback
2004, USA, Tor Books, ISBN 0-765-30870-3, January 2004, Paperback
See also
- TheosophyTheosophyTheosophy, in its modern presentation, is a spiritual philosophy developed since the late 19th century. Its major themes were originally described mainly by Helena Blavatsky , co-founder of the Theosophical Society...
- SpiritualismSpiritualismSpiritualism is a belief system or religion, postulating the belief that spirits of the dead residing in the spirit world have both the ability and the inclination to communicate with the living...
- Astral planeAstral planeThe astral plane, also called the astral world, is a plane of existence postulated by classical , medieval, oriental and esoteric philosophies and mystery religions...
- ThoughtformThoughtformA thoughtform is a manifestation of mental energy, also known as a tulpa in Tibetan mysticism. Its concept is related to the Western philosophy and practice of magic. links mantras and yantras to thoughtforms:...
- Bid Time ReturnBid Time ReturnBid Time Return is a 1975 science fiction novel by Richard Matheson. It concerns a man from the 1970s who travels back in time to court a 19th century stage actress whose photograph has captivated him...
(a Richard Matheson novel with similar themes)