Featherstone [Hardcover]

Kirsty Gunn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2004

Kirsty Gunn’s first novel, Rain, was praised by the New York Times as “exquisitely written . . . every page expresses familiar feelings in ways that are unsentimental and entirely original”; “spellbinding,” raved the Boston Globe. That same resonant magnetism and emotional depth infuse her new novel. Featherstone is the story of the mysterious disappearance from an isolated town in Scotland of a young woman whose absence still reverberates in the lives of everyone whose life she touched.
When Sonny Johanssen looks up from his flower bed, he is sure that he has just seen the impossible. And yet he feels her: his niece, Francie, has come home. He’s not the only one who senses her presence. Across town, Ray Weldon, Francie’s long-suffering high school sweetheart, is anxiously scouring their old haunts, convinced that she has finally returned. But has she really come home, or is her presence some kind of resurrection in the minds of those who love her?
It soon becomes clear that Featherstone is not a traditional tale of small-town life, but that the enigmatic Francie is a catalyst for a different, deeper story. Her homecoming disturbs the inhabitants of this community, unraveling a sense of security and stability and turning inward people’s hopes and dreams — with dangerous but ultimately regenerative consequences.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Memories of a girl long fled haunt the inhabitants of a small town in this gloomy and amorphous third novel by the author of Rain. Glorious Francie turned her back on Featherstone years ago, but her uncle, Sonny Johanssen, and Ray Weldon, the heartbroken young man she left behind, have never forgotten her. Working in the garden on a Friday, Sonny (known for being "a bit strange") believes he sees Francie standing over him. Rumor spreads quickly over the course of the weekend, sparking murky, disturbing reflections in Ray. The only outlet for the town's emotions is the bar at the Railton Hotel, which is presided over by Margaret, a vampish, narcissistic woman who thinks herself "always as someone on her own, different from the rest." Her strange obsession with beautiful Mary Susan, the daughter of the bar's cook and an aspiring teenage model, foreshadows another character's darker preoccupation with the girl and a final violent attack. Gunn expends more energy on her drifting, oblique, fitfully lyrical prose than on her characters, who seem to be pushing their way through a narrative fog. Featherstone itself is located in a vague hybrid of New Zealand (where Gunn was born) and Scotland (where she lives now). The evocation of self-love is convincing, but the stagnation of the plot, the portentous subject matter and the overstylized language swallow up the story's small felicities. Gunn garnered much praise for Rain and a story collection, This Place You Return To Is Home, but she loses her way in her latest effort.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gunn's third novel is written in the hauntingly evocative prose that has won her previous titles--Rain (1995) and The Keepsake (1997)--both British and American acclaim. Here, she explores the effects of loss and memory on the people of Featherstone, a tiny village in Scotland. When Francie, a beautiful and spirited young girl, disappears from Featherstone, she leaves behind her high-school sweetheart and the aunt and uncle who raised her. Those who loved her find themselves frozen in a kind of suspended animation, unable to fill the place she held in their lives. Then, years later, the people of Featherstone begin to see her again--her uncle looks up from tending his garden to find Francie watching him; her boyfriend senses Francie's presence at the river where they used to meet. Real or imagined, Francie's reappearance awakens long dormant pain and disturbs the fragile equilibrium of the village. Gunn delicately weaves the dreams and memories of Featherstone's inhabitants into a spellbinding meditation on the dark places love and grief can lead us. Meredith Parets
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: San Val (May 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1417717602
• ISBN-13: 978-1417717606
• Shipping Information: View shipping rates and policies
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and Evocative, June 25, 2003

By 

Elizabeth Hendry (New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Featherstone: A Novel (Hardcover)

Kirsty Gunn's Featherstone is a beautiful and evocative novel that is to be read more for the writing than the story itself. There are some wonderful novels that don't have much of a plot in there and Featherstone is one of them. If you like plot-filled novels, perhaps this one is not for you. If, however, you derive pleasure from pure, wonderful writing, give Featherstone a try. The novel opens as Sonny, an elderly gentleman from the town of Featherstone, is out gardening and believes he sees his niece Francie before him for a brief moment. Francie left town years ago, in search of greener pastures, more exciting times. Over the course of the weekend, the rumor of Francie spreads through the town and ultimately has an effect on people who never knew her. The writing here is just beautiful. There is a passage where Gunn describes the town as daybreak hits that is one of the better pieces of evocative writing I've read in a while. Featherstone is an enjoyable novel, a little short on plotting, but quite strong on writing. Enjoy.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars very disappointing, June 6, 2005

By 

reader (portland, or) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Featherstone: A Novel (Hardcover)

author seems to be in love with her own prose at the expense of telling an actual story. Talent is evident, but her stylized efforts at creating evocative effects were far too obvious.

3.0 out of 5 stars ok, August 23, 2006

By 

Annette Sonnenberg (BOWLING GREEN, OHIO) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Featherstone: A Novel (Paperback)

I loved her book " Rain" and couldn't wait to read this one. How dissappointing! There were parts of the book that had a wonderful dreamlike quality that I just loved. There were other parts that were so bazarre and confusing that I had no idea what was going on. I finally gave up and never finished the book. Kirsty has some amazing talent but needs to bring it down a few notches and write a book that has an actual plot and is understandable.