The Cat Knows (Overheard in a Dream - Torey L. Hayden)

Member Name: wigglylittleworm

Product:	Overheard in a Dream - Torey L. Hayden
Date:	06/11/08 (296 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fascinating story, interesting idea for a book

Disadvantages: some characters a bit weak

Torey Hayden is best known for her autobiographical works such as One Child which chart her career as a special needs teacher. Overheard In A Dream is her first fictional book to be published in the UK although it has previously been published under the title The Mechanical Cat in Sweden, Italy, Finland and Japan.

James is a recently divorced child psychiatrist living hundreds of miles from his own children. He is intrigued by the case of a nine year old boy he is treating. Conors life is dictated by a bizarre set of rules and rituals; he does not make eye contact and barely communicates with those around him. He is trailed by the wires he must wear in order to feel safe and accompanied at all times by a stuffed cat who scans the environment around him while Conor repeats the phrase "the cat knows".

James realises Conors symptoms are not those of classical autism and decides the whole family need to come to therapy to get to the root of the problem. Alan, his father is a rancher who is bewildered by his sons behaviour. His sister Morgana seems to have some understanding of her brothers behaviour but his mother Laura, a famous novelist, is a cold woman with little interest in her son.

As Laura opens up during the therapy sessions she reveals details of her own painful childhood and the contents of her old diaries to James. It is clear she has a vivid imagination and during times of stress retreats into a dream world called Torgon with its own laws and customs.

Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction and the real world and dream worlds collide. Laura is hiding a dark secret and Conor is correct when he says "The Cat Knows".

I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked this book up but I'm pleased to say that it surpassed my expectations. The cover picture and the blurb on the back led me to believe that the book would be about the treatment of an autistic child but the contents were very different. The mixing of real and fantasy worlds is a very novel idea for a story and the threads mingle together well giving a well rounded plot with lots of twists and turns. Hayden uses her previous knowledge of working with autistic children really well to make the character of Conor and the therapy situation believable.

The development of the world of Torgon and its characters was a fascinating twist and opened up the whole idea of alternate realities and the difference between reality and fantasy. Can we make things real simply by imagining them strongly enough?

Some of the characters in the book are a bit weak and stereotyped. Alan for example is the typical unemotional and practical cowboy while James is the child psychiatrist who cannot maintain a relationship with his own children. I found I really disliked James as a character, he left his own children behind in order to find himself and I thought that a man who was so clueless about his own childrens need for a father figure to be present in their everyday lives had no business working with other damaged families. I didn't like the fact that he used outings with his own children as a means to building a relationship with his young patients, an act which in reality which would be highly unethical. Laura was a complex and interesting character, I started off disliking her selfishness but grew to like her as I got to know more of her past and understand her motivations more.

Overall this is a great book, the complex story will draw you in and you will want to keep reading. It's a book which will give much food for thought and will keep the reader guessing even after the story ends. It's a book that also begs to be read a second time to tie up all the questions that reading it the first time presented.

Summary: A page turner.