Jul 05, 2006 08:24 PM
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If u expected a spine-chilling thriller, as usually is the case with Sidney Sheldon novels, you are in for a bit of let down. This is not the kind of stuff we associate with the master storyteller and churner of potboilers. It seems, with this book, Sheldon has tried to curb his uncanny knack of being unpredictably and cruelly surprising. Here, in Tell me your Dreams, the wizard of suspense goes slowly, not because he had a bumpy ride ahead but just to make sure, he had a good close look at the 'landmarks' around.
Tell Me Your Dream is story of a girl, suffering from a mysterious psychiatric disorder called Multiple-Personality Disorder (MPD). Multiple personality disorder (MPD) is a psychiatric disorder characterized by having at least one "alter" personality that controls behavior. The "alters" are said to occur spontaneously and involuntarily, and function more or less independently of each other. The unity of consciousness, by which we identify our selves, is said to be absent in MPD. Another symptom of MPD is significant amnesia, which can't be explained by ordinary forgetfulness.
Here, the protagonist -- Ashley Preston -- is suffering from the disorder and has two ‘alters’, who take control of all her activities at times, with she remaining completely oblivious of the transition she goes through while in control of her ‘alter egos’. She has not the slightest clue of the two personalities inhabiting within her body and doing things that’s not in her very nature.
The things take a ugly turn, when the alters, one being the most violent kind, go around killing people and leaving physical evidences of Ashley Preston at the murder sites. After brutal killings of five men, all at different places in different times spanning a decade, the police and FBI together collects evidences, all pointing (rather snapping) finger at Ashley. The poor girl is behind the bars and the subject of unprecedented hatred throughout the country. The media is gunning for her and public baying for her blood.
The hapless (so he pretended) father of the poor girl, than hires a lawyer, who surprisingly practices corporate law rather than criminal law. Even, the lawyer himself is flummoxed by the man’s choice of lawyer to defend the girl, who has the most serious charges of brutal murder. But setting aside his professional inexperience, the lawyer sets out exploring the mental condition of the girl, with help of a seasoned psychiatrist. They then stumble upon one of the most mysterious and unfathomable mental disorder called MPD.
The fiction part of the novel ends here and then begins the ‘fact’ part of it. The defense lawyer (read Sheldon himself) then scans through all the finer details of the disorder. He consults doctors, psychiatrists, professors et al to prove in the court that the disorder actually existed and that Preston was one of the live examples of the mysterious disorder.
The novel is actually a comprehensive case study of MPD. It discusses threadbare the nuances of MPD, its possible causes and cures. Though I don’t want to discredit the author for the noble cause of creating awareness about MPD through his book, I must say he has sacrificed a lot in doing so. The characteristics twist-in-the-tale is missing from the book and those diehard suspense buffs will feel cheated with the book.
Despite everything, I must appreciate the author for his making otherwise dull study of MPD interesting. The best thing about Sheldon’s writing is that his books are far from being testimony of his strong vocabulary. In short, his language is simple and words used are easy. I strongly believe Sheldon deliberately uses easy language for the convenience of his readers. No doubt, his books are always in the best-sellers list
