Dream Sleepers and Other Stories

by Patricia Grace

The Dream Sleepers is a collection of stories of family life in the country and the city, of the contrasts between young and old, of relationships between people who know what it means to be Maori in a society whose predominant values are alien.

Genres: Short Stories

106 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1980

About the author

Patricia Grace is a major New Zealand novelist, short story writer and children’s writer, of Ngati Toa, Ngati Raukawa and Te Ati Awa descent, and is affiliated to Ngati Porou by marriage. Grace began writing early, while teaching and raising her family of seven children, and has since won many national and international awards, including the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize for fiction, the Deutz Medal for Fiction, and the Neustadt International Prize for Literature, widely considered the most prestigious literary prize after the Nobel. A deeply subtle, moving and subversive writer, in 2007 Grace received a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to literature.

Reviews

[Damon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of short stories with the same group of characters in most of them. Great moments: especially the Bean Boy.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Patricia Grace's writing and descriptions. It Used to be Green Once made me laugh so hard, wonderful!

[Miss Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

My favourite story in this collection is 'Beans' because of the main character's love of life. 'Journey' on the other hand is quite sad and frustrating. It reminds me a little of Apirana Taylor's poem 'Zig Zag Roads'. 'It Used to be Green Once' although humorous, proves that a leopard doesn't change its spots - parents often embarrass their children. 'Drifting' drew upon sibling rivalry and competition during a fishing outing as well as an uncle's love.

[Em · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars. I enjoyed this!

[Kyra · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was most definitely not textbook MFA style. I read it in a hurry because I was reading it for work, but I found I had trouble understanding a lot of the stories. Not sure if the fault is in my rush and the issue would be remedied if I read it more slowly.