Review of 'All We Dream' by Pamela Cook
Visit Pamela Cook’s website to buy her books and learn more about her writing.
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Pamela Cook has delivered one of the most beautiful, heart wrenching family stories I have read in a long time. From the cover to the title to the last page, this book captured and held my imagination to the very end. In fact, I did not want this story to close. I wanted to read more of Miranda’s possible new direction as it is such an organic, intriguing journey: one that you could easily imagine to continue long after the last page! This novel is truly a breath of fresh air, as far as originality goes, and it continues to weave its way through my thoughts and dreams.
The book’s title, All We Dream, is inspired by a line in a poem by Edgar Allan Poe: “All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.” This is very apt for this story, for like the poem, it poses the question: how can we separate reality from illusion? This is especially true of Miranda McIntyre and Esther Wilson and the woman between them, Kathleen, who is both a mother and a daughter. And who has tried to forget and even bury the past. But why?
It all begins when daughter Miranda is searching for something old to wear with her wedding dress— and remembers a vintage necklace she once saw as a child among her mother’s belongings. Her innocent request sends her mother to the edge and leaves Miranda wondering what story lies behind this relic. Quickly her curiosity takes over, and she begins to dig around and stumbles upon a confusing wedding photo and an intriguing newspaper clipping. These items, plus the necklace, fuel her interest. She becomes obsessed with the need to unearth the facts. Miranda believes there may be a family connection so she sets out to solve the mystery. But another thing has her mystified. She has been experiencing disturbing dreams. We eventually learn these are no ordinary dreams for they echo deeper truths than even she can imagine.
These peculiar events set Miranda on a journey down the coast to a place called Pelican Point where she encounters a reclusive woman who she hopes has the answers she seeks. The search for the missing pieces is not without its challenges. For example, her quest to find the woman in the photograph that her mother has hidden, at first throws up more questions than answers. Then there is the discovery of an unusual gift shared by two women in the same family. This complicated mission makes Miranda question her whole life, goals and even her upcoming marriage. Of course, a kind and gorgeous man is thrown into the mix. Is he friend or foe? He certainly adds colour and chaos to her once black and white ordered world.
As we watch successful lawyer Miranda question her goals, her marital future, her vocation and current location, we wonder what path she will take. It is obvious she cannot achieve wholeness in her own life until she unveils her mother’s past. Her encounter with Esther, the hermit violinist, is an intriguing one, and as she attempts to find answers, a web of deceit is exposed along with some troubling family core issues.
As for Esther, her tough exterior softens when an accident takes her off her feet. For the first time, she is brought to the realisation that she is more fragile than she cares to admit. Even though age and ill health are against her, she stubbornly fights the conflicts within while the hourglass is running out. Can she still make amends? It is a heart stopping scene that stirs compassion in us when we listen along with Miranda, to the rattling breath of an old woman sleeping, surrounded by the movement of waves and change.
Pamela has created a setting where storms, fire, winds, waves—take us to the edge. These are all worthy natural elements utilised well in a fictional world richly grounded in reality. Looking at the story canvas, we are able to see the pieces of a complex puzzle as they come together of this once disparate family portrait.
All We Dream is about many things: such as uncovering identity, seeking and facing a family’s past, the fragility of life, determination, healing, love, connections, the reasons why people do what they do and how hurt can deeply affect and rob lives. Pamela’s gift of poetic and profound language delivers a heartfelt moving story with themes that we can all relate to. Who hasn’t had family secrets and eccentric relatives hidden in the roots of their family tree?
This story is filled with so many things I love: poetry, horses, a dog, a violin, unusual heroes and heroines (animal and human), secrets, stunning coastal scenes and tangled family trees. The power of history surges through these pages taking us forwards and backwards in a gentle ebb and flow like the sea—always mesmerising and magical as it pulls us deeper into the heart of the plot and complex lives of these characters.
I am truly happy to have had the privilege of reading All We Dream and I highly recommend it to everyone who loves powerful, accomplished family-focused fiction. This a 5 Star Treasure ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
Many thanks to Pamela Cook for a review copy.
