Dream Helper, A Novel of Early California, Winner of the 2008 IBPA Gold Medal for Best Regional Fiction in the West Pacific Region
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A Clash of Cultures When Cayatu, a beautiful, young Chumash woman begs protection from the Franciscan priests at Mission Santa Barbara she s forced to live a captive life, with only the love of a Chumash man and the friendship of a Mexican woman to sustain her. While the Spanish priests and soldiers fight among themselves for power, land and the souls of the Chumash, Cayatu fights to preserve her old way of life. Against a backdrop of romance and intrigue in Santa Barbara s early mission days, Dream Helper tells of the clash between the Christianizing zeal of the Spaniards and the idyllic, spirit-driven world of the fiercely proud Chumash Indians…. More >>
This novel, told mainly from the point of view of Cayatu, a young Chumash woman, captures the dilemma faced by the Chumash as the Spanish conquerors took over their ancestral home. By the time the story opens, the presence of the Spanish settlers and soldiers is indisputable. They will not be expelled, and show no signs of tolerating the existing Chumash culture. There seems to be no way for the local Chumash to keep their culture in the face of opposition from both the army and the Mission.
Dream Helper explores the interplay between these three groups as all come to grips with the changing face of coastal Santa Barbara. Each has their own unique vision of what that future should be. The hardships faced by the Chumash take center stage here. Readers familiar with the Scott O’Dell classics Island of the Blue Dolphins and Zia will be already be aware that legal justice was not on the side of the Chumash people. Mr. Thompson exposes this truth with more hard-edged details than O’Dell did. This honesty is to be valued highly, but the grimmer details make this novel unsuitable for younger readers.
The political manipulations between the Presidio and the Mission are also well dramatized. The two groups, despite being on the same “side” were not united, and each grappled for control of the new territory. Whether the motives of either side were pure will be a hot topic for debate in any group which wishes to read this challenging novel. Local readers will also enjoy the accurate descriptions of the pueblo of Santa Barbara and will have no trouble visualizing the Presidio, Mission, Carpinteria beach area and other locations in the local mountains and coastal areas.
I just finished reading Dream Helper by Willard Thompson and thoroughly enjoyed every page. Thompson writes beautifully about mission life in Santa Barbara. His main character, Cayatu, is a beautiful Chumash woman who is proud of her heritage. She is a strong,independent woman who will not be intimidated by the mission priests. Dream Keeper is historically accurate which makes the book believable. I very much look forward to Thompson’s second book, Delfina’s Gold.
First, the good. I learned a great deal about the conflicts among the Chumash, the Franciscans and the Spanish military. It’s a good story, and the author obviously knows what he’s talking about.
Now the not-so-good. The writing is juvenile. The sentence structure and general vocabulary is aimed at junior high school students. The addition of several sex scenes makes it seem as if the book is for adults, but that only adds to the jarring and off-putting nature of the writing. It’s as if the author could not decide who his audience was.
I’d like to follow the characters in his sequel(s?), but not if it means wading through the prose demonstrated here.
Fearing for her life, forcing yourself into submission…”Dream Helper: A Novel of Early California” tells of a young Native woman who in desperation submits to captivity under Franciscan priests in Santa Barbara California, long before the region was even a state of the Union. Cayatu must overcome it all to reunite herself with her love, and to preserve her old way of life in spite of the Spaniards who care not about her people. “Dream Helper: A Novel of Early California” is a captivating novel from first page to last and a must for historical fiction enthusiasts with an interest in the old west.
Willard Thompson’s novel is rich with the history of California as Spain sought to extend its influence north by the combined used of army and church – history a continent and a world away from that of the eastern United States with its English pilgrims and their search for religious freedom. The story line in Dream Helper is equally rich centering on Cayatu, a young Chumash girl, whose village is lost to these forces and whose culture and freedom are threatened as she becomes virtually a slave building the Santa Barbara Mission – one of the bright and beautiful missions of southern California with such a dark and sad past. Characters are wonderfully real, conflicts dramatically presented, pace page-turningly fast, and the writing is nothing less than beautiful. This book is a winner.