The Dream Shelf Jeff Russell Books
Download As PDF : The Dream Shelf Jeff Russell Books
No pictures, no past and yet his dreams were left on the shelf. A book, a toy, a framed quote and a plaster bust symbolized the places Sam’s father wanted to see and things he wanted to do. But that was all that remained of the man who sacrificed everything for his son. The rest of Robert Archer’s life was a mystery, deleted from the pages of time, and when he died unexpectedly Sam was left with the bitter regret of not having done more to learn the truth. Things change with the discovery of a hidden yearbook, a list of names and a government document. Sam’s interest in his father’s life becomes a surreptitious tale that ignites a passion to know what happened to him and why his secret could not be shared. He embarks on a quest for ‘his story’, one with the promise of closure but also the threat of learning more than he should know. The trail leads to Gus, a WWII veteran whose cryptic ramblings suggest a horrific plan to end the war in Europe, and to his daughter Karen, who is torn between helping Sam and protecting her father. Together they learn the dark secret behind the Dream Shelf, the high cost of integrity and the lessons a father left behind for his son.
The Dream Shelf Jeff Russell Books
Sam Archer is a Historian who has dedicated his life to studying and unravelling the secrets of the past. He marvels in knowing the story behind the history of long dead strangers but, ironically, his own father’s past remained shrouded in mystery for many years. In this heart-warming novel we travel with Sam as he discovers the history that shaped and moulded the man he called father.What I liked about the book
This book was beautifully written with vivid descriptions of the character’s emotions and thinking patterns. Sam is a likeable character and I sympathised with his need to know more about his father. There were moments of real doubt as to just who his father really was. Was he a villain responsible for the deaths of many, or simply a man trying to survive the war? During the course of the book Sam’s search for the truth turned from mere curiosity to a desperate need to know. As if the answers to his questions might define who he would be in future.
As each piece of the puzzle fell into place I found myself being sucked into the story, finding it difficult to put the book down without reading just another chapter.
What I didn’t enjoy that much
There was very little that niggled me in this book. One sentence comes to mind. Karen says to Sam
“If we’re in this for the long run, then I suppose we should practise being intimate.”
Who talks like that? That sentence reminded me that this was fictional, and not real people. It dragged me out of the story and into reality which was a pity as I liked getting lost in this tale.
Final thoughts
I loved this book and would read it again as I’m sure I would discover more treasures the second time around. Author Jeff Russell has a wonderful way with words and is undoubtedly a gifted writer. I look forward to reading more of his books.
STAR RATING: 4 Stars
Will also be posted on my blog:
https://jackiegmills.wordpress.com/
Product details
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Tags : Amazon.com: The Dream Shelf (9780989542135): Jeff Russell: Books,Jeff Russell,The Dream Shelf,Cabern Publishing,0989542130,Fiction Action & Adventure,Fiction Mystery & Detective Historical
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The Dream Shelf Jeff Russell Books Reviews
A man with secrets and a son who wants answers. As is often the case, family secrets rarely stay secret. Enters a lonely girl, with a father that has secrets of his own and it weaves a tale of mystery and future romance. I loved the book all but about the last 10% when it turned into an essay on the evils of war.
Yes, the Japanese suffered after the bombs were dropped but let us not forget the horrendous atrocities perpetrated by the Japanese on their captured prisoners of war.
The Japanese would never have given up, it is not in their nature.
I enjoy reading about the WWII era, and although this book doesn't entirely take place in the past it is still a fascinating read. We follow a son on the journey to uncover who his father really was. It is touching, exciting, and extremely interesting all wrapped up in a great story line.
I don't like to give away plot points or story lines, but anything to do with the Manhattan project always gets me interested.
Author Jeff Russell has done an amazing job of weaving past and present together. The jumps in time are clearly marked and written as if he has actually lived in both times. Russell's attention to detail, and effort to build dynamic characters really shows.
The story moves alone very nicely and doesn't leave the reader in any slow or boring parts like some historical stories tend to do.
The story of a grieving son searching for the history his father never told him really hits home for me as a son that lost his father and didn't know much about his past. It was touching to follow main character Sam on this journey.
I will be recommending this to everyone, and Jeff Russell has gotten a new fan out of me.
In The Dream Shelf, Jeff Russell has written the novel I would have loved to write. The concept is compelling, and it borders on being brilliant. Sam, his protagonist, is a lot like the rest of us. He knows his father. But he didn’t really know him. And now it’s too late. Sam is haunted by regret, perhaps even guilt.
Russell’s prose perfectly captures the mood and poignancy of the story when he writes of Sam looking down at the grave of his father “One wife. One Child. Hard Worker. Loving Parent. That was it – his father’s story told to the world – brief, simple, tragically incomplete. The rest of the epitaph belonged to the missing years … “
Sam is faced with a mystery that burrows deep into his consciousness and will not leave him alone. He is determined to track down the missing years. Putting flesh and blood to the past may become his most valuable inheritance. What secrets did his father possess? Where are the pictures of his life? Where are the remnants of his past? What were his dreams? All he left behind had been placed on a solitary shelf a book, a trolley car, a framed quote, a plaster bust of Galileo. What did they mean? And what secrets did his father carry to his grave?
Sam begins a precarious journey into the great unknown of a man’s hidden past, and he has no idea what, if anything, he will find. He’s not looking for answers. He’s searching for his father. He wants to put the missing pieces and the missing years of the puzzle back together again. The journey begins in earnest when he discovers an old yearbook tucked back among his father’s belongings. It is packed with old government documents, with names, with hints of the Manhattan Project. Sam knew his father had served in World War II. But had he helped develop the atomic bomb? Sam’s quest will not be denied. But is he finding more than he wants to know, more than he needs to know?
The secrets are dark. They have been buried a long time. They had been the torment of one man’s conscience. The Dream Shelf hides them all. Grief and determination drive Sam on even when he’s convinced he should quit. Along the way, he learns he possesses the same resolve, the same resilience, the same integrity that his father had.
Jeff Russell is not only a great writer. He is a first-class storyteller, artfully weaving the present with the past, linking together the stories of both father and son with love and understanding, bonding them in a way they had never been in life. I read The Dream Shelf and, when I had finished, the story seemed far more fact than fiction, and I knew it would stay with me for a long time.
Sam Archer is a Historian who has dedicated his life to studying and unravelling the secrets of the past. He marvels in knowing the story behind the history of long dead strangers but, ironically, his own father’s past remained shrouded in mystery for many years. In this heart-warming novel we travel with Sam as he discovers the history that shaped and moulded the man he called father.
What I liked about the book
This book was beautifully written with vivid descriptions of the character’s emotions and thinking patterns. Sam is a likeable character and I sympathised with his need to know more about his father. There were moments of real doubt as to just who his father really was. Was he a villain responsible for the deaths of many, or simply a man trying to survive the war? During the course of the book Sam’s search for the truth turned from mere curiosity to a desperate need to know. As if the answers to his questions might define who he would be in future.
As each piece of the puzzle fell into place I found myself being sucked into the story, finding it difficult to put the book down without reading just another chapter.
What I didn’t enjoy that much
There was very little that niggled me in this book. One sentence comes to mind. Karen says to Sam
“If we’re in this for the long run, then I suppose we should practise being intimate.”
Who talks like that? That sentence reminded me that this was fictional, and not real people. It dragged me out of the story and into reality which was a pity as I liked getting lost in this tale.
Final thoughts
I loved this book and would read it again as I’m sure I would discover more treasures the second time around. Author Jeff Russell has a wonderful way with words and is undoubtedly a gifted writer. I look forward to reading more of his books.
STAR RATING 4 Stars
Will also be posted on my blog
https//jackiegmills.wordpress.com/
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