Product Description

In these seven interlinked stories the grown-up Peter reveals the secret journeys, metamorphoses and adventures of his childhood. Living somewhere between dream and reality Peter experiences magical transformations when he swaps bodies with William, the family cat, the baby Kenneth and, in the final story, wakes up as a twelve-year-old inside a grown-up body and experiences the adventure of falling in love.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14973 in Books
• Published on: 1998-01-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

From the Publisher
The Daydreamer takes the reader out of reality and into the dream world of 10 year old Peter Fortune

From the Back Cover
By Booker Prize-Winner Ian McEwan

'Looking down through the fur, and parting it with the tips of his fingers, he saw that he had opened up a small slit in the cat's skin. It was as if he were holding the handle of a zip. Again he pulled, and now there was a dark opening two inches long. William Cat's purr was coming from in there. Perhaps, Peter thoughtm, I'll see his heart beating. A paw was gently pushing against his fingers again. William Cat wanted him to go on.'

Step into the extraordinary world of ten-year-old Peter Fortune in Ian McEwan's first book for children.

'A brilliant book . . . wonderful' TES
'A classic' Financial Times
'Exhilarating . . . brilliant' The Independent

About the Author
Ian McEwan has written two collections of stories, as well as many novels and screenplays. He won the 1998 Booker Prize for Amsterdam, and was shortlisted for the 2001 Booker Prize for Atonement.

Customer Reviews

weird and spooky - especially Bad Doll . . .
This book is like the creepy stories you find in Roald Dahl's 'Kiss, Kiss', or 'Tales of the Unexpected'. My favourite is the story of the Bad Doll, as you leave it wondering who is the doll, and who is the boy. Every story is weird, and every story leaves you wondering whether it really happened.

I think this book is good for readers aged 9-13. However, some of it can be a bit babyish - the bit about Gwen and teddy bears is a bit much for the kids aged 13, and a bit yucky really. So give the last chapter a miss! But older kids will read it because it's disturbing, surreal and weird, all the same.

Exciting and thought provoking for adults and children
Ian McEwan's vision is usually dark and uncomfortable although true to his subject. In The Daydreamer a brighter light is shining. The main character is a young boy who daydreams. His fantasies are the adventures in this book. In them McEwan tenderly deals with ideas of being someone else, of changing beyond recognition - of growing up. The stories all have depth and are amusing and well told. Many have a lingering sadness, as when Peter changes bodies with the cat for a day before it dies. There is always hope though and death is just another adventure. McEwan's goal was to produce a book that children and adults would enjoy and he has done so. The Daydreamer is a perfect book for sharing and discussing and has contain ideas for both adults and children to ponder.

Sophisticated and utterly superb
I think it's easy to characterise this as a children's book- I first read it when I was about 12 or so, and I'm 18 now and I still love it. It is the perfect book to dip into when you want ten minutes of just relaxing... it is very, very strange, but totally absorbing. As it is a book that appeals to children, it has moments of very sweet humour and really reflects the innocent mindset of children, but at the same time it is very dark.