Customer Reviews

The Annunciation of Francesca Dunn: A Novel

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Annunciation is an intriguing book, a tale of the universal search for meaning and spirituality in a materialistic world. Before starting, I expected the plot to be somewhat farfetched, but having worked with young teens for a long time, I can see that something like this could happen. Each of the major characters lacks something important in his/her life, and it takes a tragedy for them each to learn that their resolutions lie not in miracles but in themselves and in each other. The truth of the central mystery remains hidden till the novel's end, and even then, not all questions are answered or problems solved. Thought provoking and skillfully crafted.

This book was not what I expected but was wonderful nevertheless.. Francesca Dunn is a 14 year old girl on the cusp of becoming a woman but still very much a child, her parents have recently divorced and she feels abandoned by her previously doting father whose dream it was for Francesca to be a famous celloist.. She begins to realize she is not the prodigy her father had hoped for, at about the same time as a homeless man at the soup kitchen where she works announces that she is the virgin mother.. a frenzy of adulation ensues.. making Francesca feel special once again and her mother doubt her daughters sanity.. told in the alternating pov's of Anne the mother, Francesca, her bestfriend Sid and the homeless man Chester.. Excellent I highly recommend this book.

The meaning of "annunciation" in the Christian religion is the announcement to the Virgin Mary by the angel Gabriel of the incarnation of Christ. This basic tenant provides the backdrop to The Annunciation of Francesca Dunn, a gorgeously written but slightly uneven novel by Janis Hallowell. Told in sparingly almost disparate prose, and full of delicate imagery and rich emotion, the story poses fundamental questions of science and faith and conveys the ever-present dichotomies that exist between the two. Told in irregular chapters by four different characters, we witness Francesca Dunn's startling transformation into a Virgin Mother - one who is gifted and is given the gift to perform miracles on members of a small community in Connecticut.

This is a story about the elusive nature of the spirit and how people try to reconcile their faith and religious beliefs in a modern, secular, twenty first century world where the world of science takes precedence. The novel begins with the voice of Chester, the homeless man. He names himself the protector of Francesca and he believes she is the Blessed Virgin after seeing her perform miracles on his fellow homeless friends in a local cafe. For Chester, the virgin becomes his only guide, the only one to tell him what to do. Francesca, the centerpiece of the novel is an average, somewhat spoilt fourteen year-old who plays the cello and wishes that her mother would pay more attention to her. When she releases that she has the power to change people's lives and can hold the mystery of life in her hands, she becomes a celebrity and a deity; but no one ultimately knows exactly what kind of power that Francesca possesses.

Another narrative voice is Sid, Francesca's troubled girlfriend who has her own demons to contend with as she battles with a drunken, useless mother, and in a duplicitous act of betrayal, tries to make money from Francesca's miracle workings. For me though, the most interesting character is Anne, Francesca's paleobotanist Mom, who believes fervently in science and in the God of natural selection, "his was a rigged-up junkyard full of life, held together with spit and baling wire." She initially scoffs at Francesca's annunciation and likens it to a drop of water between two slides, like in biology lab, squashed flat so that nobody could move, so that everything could be seen, as if being put under a huge microscope.

Hallowell packs the story with meaning and symbolism, but she does it with a grace and simplicity of voice that is impossible not to like. The narrative does lose some of its impetus towards the end, and the sudden death of one of the major characters doesn't quite work. There is still, however, a certain dramatic tension that permeates the entire novel that should keep the reader involved until the end. I like the questions that Hallowell raises on the uses of medicine and how prescribing medication to prevent the creative forces of visionaries, mystics and martyrs would prevent more suffering, but at the same time, would produce a world without the creativity of saints and madman, because "someone has to walk on the outer edges, Someone has to stir things up." Mike Leonard April 04.

This story is about a fourteen year old girl struggling with who she is, what's going on in the world around her and how she fits in to the whole mess. It is about the very human desire to believe in a higher power, something perfect. I really felt that this young girl could be the Virgin Mary in the beginning and middle parts of the book. I was filled with anticipation. All of that sort of unraveled towards the end, but this was still a very enjoyable read. I felt the writing was pitch perfect and I liked that it was told from the point of view of four different narrators as they each bring something new to the story.

I could not put this book down. It is the first novel from a new and exciting author. Her insights into the essence of the mind a teenage girl and the mania that is caused when her life is turned upside down by the assertion that she is a miraculous reembodiment of the virgin Mary are intriguing. At once one feels the out-of-control external aspects of Francesca's situation and the interior issues of identity that we all feel as humans - particularly teenage humans. I strongly recommend this book to young and old and look forward to more from this new writer.

I'm a literature student and read so much for school that I can be picky when it comes to books for enjoyment. I thought this was a great novel. The characters were engaging and the plot kept me reading. I just had to finish it in one sitting! I had no problems with the multiple narrators and it added much more depth to the book. The writing flowed and the story had great character development. I highly recommend and definitely plan on reading it again.

From the first chapter, I was immersed--like homeless Chester waist deep in the water and spellbound by the Virgin--in the lovely, strange world of The Annunciation of Francesca Dunn. Janis Hallowell is a writer with a unique sensibility, a magical realist rooted in the luscious sensory lives of her characters: fourteen-year-old Francesca surprised by her mysterious power, troubled Sid, big-hearted Ronnie, four-year-old Jonah, even the aggravating Rae, and especially Chester, transformed by love. Love runs deep in this book. Perfectly poised between two worlds--plausible explanations lifting off into miracles--this suspenseful story comes together in a beautiful truth. I couldn't put it down, and I look forward to reading Hallowell's next novel, She Was.

What a fascinating book about a teenage girl who is fooled into believing she is the Virgin Mary. Each chapter is written by a different character (which I really enjoy)
A fun read.

Some say that this book is hard to read because of the different characters telling the story, however, there are only four narrators telling the story which I thought made the book more interesting to read.

The Annunciation of Francescia Dunn tells the story of a 14 yr old who suddenly finds people are worshiping her. Throughout the book you feel for her, and you feel for her mother and the people around her. The book keeps you hoping that she really is the virgin mother, with each chapter you wait to see what new developments take place. Not until the very last chapter does the full picture come together.

Not the most remarkable book I've read recently, but an impressive debut novel with unusual characters and a theme (i.e., what is God? Is God mental illness?) that I found very appealing. Book seems to assert that what our society labels mental illness is what past societies would have labeled mysticism or sainthood. A nice light summer read that still makes you think.