Customer Reviews

Captivity

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

 

 

Captivity begins in Rochester New York in 1848 and tells the story of sisters Leah, Maggie and Kate Fox, who helped give rise to the Spiritualist movement. Younger sisters Maggie and Kate seem to have a gift of communicating with the spirit world via "rapping" (don't ask me to explain it), and managed by older sister Leah they capitalized on their *skills* by giving séances and summoning the dead for grieving loved ones. Their story is intertwined with the fictional one of Clara Gill, who befriends Maggie, and we gradually learn about her back-story with her father and aunts in London and how she came to be such a recluse.

And that's all I'm really going to tell you. Despite a rocky start that could have been helped by having a bit of knowledge on the sisters and their history (or better yet taking the time to read the publisher's handout prior to starting), once I did get a handle on it I enjoyed it a lot. The writing is lovely and very sparse - no words wasted here - and you'll be hard pressed not to mark the book up with your favorite quotes.

"Real death is not a parlor game but a flat heaviness that weights the limbs, that makes every step a struggle, every breath reproach and violation. It is mold on the morning firewood and a chill that won't go even when the hearth is banked to roaring, even when the familiar quilt is wound full round weighted legs and feet on a stool like a winding sheet. It is the bitterness of herbs in an undertaker's parlor and damp shoes by a hole in the ground and the absence of sunlight and emptiness beyond reckoning."

As for whether it was real or all a hoax? Well you'll just have to read it for yourself and decide, won't you? This isn't an action packed page turner and might not appeal to all readers, but I would definitely recommend it for those interested in the topic as well as savoring the beautiful prose.

FTC - why yes I did get it from the publisher. I put in a purchase request to the library first and they declined to buy it (not professionally reviewed they said), and then I got a tip that there were still review copies available. Shoot me.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Mary Todd Lincoln, and Mae West were only a few of the famous adherents of Spiritualism, a movement which swept the country from around 1850 through the 1920s. In CAPTIVITY, author Deborah Noyes recreates the story of this movement from its inauspicious founding by two children--Margaret "Maggie" Fox, age fourteen, and her younger sister "Kate," age eleven. These children, just by appearing in the small houses in their neighborhood near Rochester, New York, could inspire rappings by "other-worldly presences" on the walls, tables, and ceilings. Even scientists were baffled.

Pursuing the themes of love and loss, life and death, and the real and the spiritual, which were the focus of her 2005 novel ANGEL AND APOSTLE, Noyes focuses here on the childhood and youth of Maggie and Kate Fox, beginning in 1848. Cleverly manipulated and controlled by their older sister Leah, who foresaw enormous financial potential in their careers as mediums, the Fox girls supported their family, traveled all over the country, and, for the first time had a chance to wear pretty clothes and meet important people. As the title suggests, however, they were also captives of their celebrity.

Alternating with the story of the Fox children is a parallel narrative beginning in London in 1835. Clara Gill, a shy nineteen-year-old painter of animals, falls for an assistant zookeeper below her in "station." Will Cross, the zookeeper, is equally smitten, and Clara begins to hope that they might have a future. From the opening chapter, which begins in 1848, in Rochester, New York, however, the reader recognizes that Clara's presence in Rochester, thirteen years later, indicates that something dire has happened. She is living as a recluse, and she and Will are not together. The narrative switches from 1848 in Rochester, with its concentration on the Foxes, back and forth to 1835 in London with the emphasis on the Clara, then focuses on the self-absorbed Clara and the exploited Foxes together in 1848 in Rochester.

Noyes has a wonderful eye for observation, and her ability to translate these observations into vibrant description is stellar. Long, well-described passages set the tone and mood and establish a mysterious atmosphere, though the tendency to use two adjectives where one would do sometimes becomes a stylistic annoyance. Unfortunately, the structure of the novel lacks a strong connection between the two separate plot lines, and ultimately, it feels forced. Clara's weakness as a character with whom the reader feels empathy limits one's ability to identify with her, and the Fox sisters themselves are not fully developed, however fascinating they may be as Spiritualism's founders. For readers interested in the story of Spiritualism, Noyes's lively history may supersede the novel's structural limitations. Mary Whipple

Angel and Apostle

Be prepared to be stunned by the sheer beauty of this author's prose and the horror of the truth she bears in a tale begun in London in 1835. The cosseted Clara Gill spends her days illustrating species of animals for a naturalist tome soon to be published, under the watchful eye of her retiring father and a philanthropic "uncle", her every action guided by their concern for her good name and prospects. And when a tentative romance blooms with an unsuitable zookeeper of no social status, the result is a brief euphoria, a crime of passion and the death of hope. Her reputation in tatters, Clara and her father find respite in America, where the "madwoman" keeps to her dusty room amid memories and drawings that cover the walls, the tables, the floor. This is the compromise Clara as made for the love of Will Cross, "the world in little", until the appearance of temporary maid, Maggie Fox.

One of the infamous Fox sisters, authors of the American Spiritualist Movement, Maggie is not intimidated by spinster Clara, poking and prodding the recluse until the two forge a bond that ultimately- agonizingly slowly- seduces Clara from her retreat to Maggie's lair, where spirits rap, ghostly apparitions appear and clients sob in relief to communicate with lost loved ones. Much as Clara has defined her space in an unfriendly world, Maggie does the same, only on a grander scale, suffering the rude examinations of committees, the denunciation of skeptics and the threats of unbelievers. And though Maggie encourages her audience, gathering accolades and dollar bills, she never reveals her secrets or those of her sisters. In this unlikely pair, Noyes reveals the secret lives of repressed females in the late 19th century and the exorbitant price of rebellion in the face of rectitude, when arrogant men seek to dominate the natural world and reason proves insubstantial in the spiritual realm.

The prose is extraordinarily imaginative: the Widow Bray's "tidy wisdom"; Clara's admission, "It hurts to be seen"; Clara and Will's preference for "the world in little". Clara's reputation is already sullied at birth: "The poor wretch stopped the world on the way in, killing her mother." Even the incipient friendship with Maggie carries risk: "Maggie Fox, unexceptional farm girl, has pinned her to a board, recalled her from the human race, enslaved her anew with longing." This otherworldly tale is all too real, Clara and Maggie victims of paternal repression, their caged brilliance ignored by a rigid society that hawks itself as enlightened. Like anxious ghosts tethered to the earth, Clara and Maggie long for release. Noyes unlocks their secrets, tells their stories, sets them free. Luan Gaines/2010.

I'm giving this 4 stars instead of 3 because the writing is just beautiful and I'm always happy to encourage beautiful writing. The story is actually two story lines interwoven. One concerns the Fox sisters of Rochester, NY who were famed spiritualists in the mid 18th century. The other story is that of Clara Gill, a middle-aged spinster who, with her father, escaped to America after a sad, devastating experience of loving the wrong man which resulted in tragedy.

The story of Clara is beautiful, poignant and fully realized. Her fascination for the handsome young Will is sweet and its horrible end is tragic. However the story of the Fox sisters is, quite frankly, confusing. The narrative bounces from character to character and none of the characters seem particularly likable. I appreciated the time the author gave to the entire issue of the Spirtualist movement and the mixed reaction of the public to it. I got a chill when she mentioned the discovery of a barrel of warm tar outside one of the seances.

The language is beautiful, the premise intriguing, and the story of Clara is wonderful, but I would have appreciated more character development and less confusion around the Fox sisters.

Received for review from netgalley.

This is an interesting read, well written, and the characters are believable and engaging. The juxtaposition of the character's lives illustrates the adage, 'the more things change, the more they stay the same.'

A novel exploring the many ways in which humanity is trapped by its very nature. Full of mystery, loss and (the possible) supernatural. The novel follows two women trapped by their own lives and ambitions, one by the pursuit of fame and fortune, and another by the promise and tragedy of lost love. Both become paralyzed by indecisiveness when presented with the possibility of a different life, and their hesitations ensure they remain entrenched in their present circumstances.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the [...] book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 [...] : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

I discovered "Captivity" a month ago, and since then I've felt compelled to tell every reader I know about this marvelous book. The pitch-perfect prose carries the reader into the Victoria era. The storytelling is sophisticated and captivating with its balance of hope, faith, and fatal attraction.

Deborah Noyes has written an exceptional novel. I highly recommend "Captivity."

The most interesting novels, those considered to be classics, are the ones whose stories stay with you, after the last page has been turned. "Captivity" is certainly in the tradition of the classics, in the very best sense of the word. Its multilayered story and characters are like petals of a flower, opening slowly to reveal something beautiful, both as you read and long after you've finished as well.

The story is the intersection of two imagined lives. The first belongs to a recluse, Clara Gill, a woman haunted by love and loss, who has withdrawn from society completely. The other is of a younger woman, Maggie Fox (based in part on the life of a real person from American history), one of two sisters who could "communicate with the dead." The rapping of the dead experienced by the Fox sisters and demonstrated in lecture halls and at private séances across the United States eventually gave birth to the American Spiritualist movement in 1848.

Set in upstate New York, the intersection of Clara and Maggie's lives brings both of these women's stories to the fore. Ironically, they had much in common, although Clara is a skeptic of the Fox sisters and their activities. In fact, both women are captives of a society that limits them and has expectations of how they should conduct themselves that lie in direct opposition to the strengths of each.

Not only does author Deborah Noyes bring to "Captivity" wonderful skills as a lyrical writer (in which her phrasing seems to capture exactly the emotional landscape of the moment), but she also knows how to mete out her storytelling, letting her readers eke out the stories of these two disparate lives, their challenges, and their developing friendship in the most unlikely of circumstances. She allows each woman's vulnerability and the impossible societal barriers each faces to show, slowly and carefully, in a way that builds trust and understanding between character and reader. Her descriptive powers are amazing, lending an insight into the essence of each character you are unlikely to find in most modern novels.

While "Captivity" is a historical novel, and some of the challenges that face each woman are the result of society's dictates at the time, the novel never feels stuffy or heavy, let alone dull. Instead, Noyes is able to draw her readers in, engaging them in the lives of her characters, and allowing them to build understanding and hope as the story develops. This is a novel that readers will not want to end, but when it does, readers will know they have encountered something very special indeed.

This lush and lyrical historical novel is based on the real story of Maggie Fox, of the infamous Fox sisters who claimed they could communicate with the dead and made a fortune conducting seances in mid-nineteenth-century New York. Intertwined with the sisters' story is the story of Clara Gill, a recluse haunted by a past that she fights to suppress every bit as hard as she fights to cling to it. Hers is a tragic story that slowly unravels as she is drawn into an unlikely friendship with Maggie, a woman who could end up being either her salvation or her undoing.

Part of the beauty of this book is the constant element of the unknown. Is Maggie faking or can she really communicate with the dead? If she is a faker, is it really so bad to give grieving people closure and peace? What happened all those years ago to Clara? Is she really mad? Is her version of past events reliable? Is she really a skeptic or is she secretly yearning for her own closure? It's remarkable to me that the author is able to create such realistic, compelling, and empathetic characters without ever really revealing the fundamental truths about them.

As I was reading this book I marked dozens of beautifully written passages and realized I could easily end up quoting the whole book in this review. So I forced myself to choose one to share as an example of the quality and resonance of the prose in this book, and this is it:

"Real death is not a parlor game but a flat heaviness that weights the limbs, that makes every step a struggle, every breath reproach and violation. It is mold on the morning firewood and a chill that won't go even when the hearth is banked to roaring, even when the familiar quilt is wound full round weighted legs and feet on a stool like a winding sheet. It is the bitterness of herbs in an undertaker's parlor and damp shoes by a hole in the ground and the absence of sunlight and emptiness beyond reckoning."

There's not a word out of place in this gripping, touching and deeply satisfying novel. One of my favorite books of the year.

"Understand that thou thyself art another world in little, and hast with thee the sun and the moon, and also the stars. Thou seest that thou hast all those things which the world hath."

All this, captive in me."

I think the theme of this book is best summed up in the words of Will Cross:

"Above and beyond what an unjust world will impose, every person's a slave to choice. We make them, and they make or unmake us in turn...But the world we imagine lives on inside us."

(p. 174)

Will is perhaps the best example of a slave to choice, but he could also be describing Maggie Fox, who is (sometimes quite literally and terrifyingly) captive to a childish prank spun out of control. When we first meet Clara, she's a slave to other people's choices, living solely in the world inside herself. It's her quirky friendship with Maggie that finally gives her the courage to make some choices for herself.

The Fox Sisters are the hook but it's really Clara's story. I was seriously surprised by a few of the turns in the plot and I really like Noyes' prose.

I don't even know where to start with reviewing this incredible novel. On the one hand it's an incredible work of fiction, and on the other hand it's a glimpse into a piece of American history that has been all but forgotten. I found this entire novel fascinating. I'm a huge history buff, so the historical aspect of it really appealed to me. I did some research of my own on the Fox sisters and found that Noyes stayed very historically accurate in her depiction of the Fox sisters and their fame. By adding the character of Clara, she was able to fill out the story and give it an added depth, which then brings it all alive to a whole new generation who weren't familiar with the story. Cheers to Noyes for bringing history alive and not having to sacrifice the accuracy of the events to do it. This is a brilliant novel. It's rich and satisfying and ultimately more about the relationships and faith than anything else. Run out and grab hold of this one!