That Just Happened!

Beherns, Peter. The Law of Dreams.  House of Anansi Press. (2006)

Driven from the only home he has known during Ireland’s Great Hunger of 1847, Fergus O’Brien makes the harrowing journey from County Clare to Canada, travelling with bold girls, pearl boys, navvies, and highwaymen.  Full of vivid, unforgettable characters, The Law of Dreams is lyrical, emotional, and thoroughly extraordinary.

From the Back Cover

I really wanted Fergus to succeed. Really. There was something about him that made me want to help him any way I could.  To say I empathized would be accurate.  At times, I found the book a bit graphic, but I imagine it is pale in comparison to some of the horrific realities people in that time faced.   The women he took up with along the way did not get my sympathies as much, which is suprising because I am a woman.  I just thought that they were all a little too dependent, or whiny.  They seemed dishonest (although some of them were supposed to be, by profession), which I don’t think gives them a fair shake.

All in all, a pretty decent book and deserving of the GG Award for Fiction.  It is evident that a lot of research and thought went into developing this book.

The themes are class, finding oneself and survival.

I read this as part of my Governor General Literary Award Challenge.