Customer Reviews

Ferney

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I happened upon this book completely by chance; someone left it on our "free table" at work and I picked it up, doubting that I'd actually read it. Wrong! I was completely hooked by page three!

This is one of the most well-crafted books I've read in years. The author says that he spent twenty years working on Ferney, and his loving attention to detail really shines through. The history of the English people and their relationship with the land springs to life in this book. James Long has a real gift for describing landscapes, houses, and their role in history as well as the people who created that history. I laughed out loud at his one-paragraph introduction of the eccentric Mrs. Mullard--rarely have I seen a character so completed captured in a single paragraph!

This exquisitely crafted book has several strengths: great characterization, a riveting plot that keeps you guessing, and fascinating snippets of English history (great if you're an Anglophile like me).

I cried all the way through the last three chapters, something I haven't done in years. Buy this book, read it, and spend some time with the one you love. You won't take them for granted after you read Ferney.

I read Ferney a couple of years ago, whilst living close to some of the areas mentioned in the book, close to Bristol, England. I found the book totally enthralling and as a History teacher too, I was captivated by the descriptions by James Long of the times and the scenery. This was my first experience of reading about reincarnation and I found by the end of the book that it had raised my awareness of the topic in a haunting way. Like one of the reviewers already mentioned, I had to re-read some of the book in order to make the ending fit right. I discussed the ending with friends to whom I later lent the book - it is still doing a circuit amongst my friends after 2 years - and most of them had a different way of looking at it from myself. I was a bit disappointed with the ending in a way, but then life is full of twists and turns so nothing is as you would imagine it to be or want it to be.

I intend to read the book again this summer now that I have had time for it to be less fresh in my memory. I have been searching for a read like Ferney ever since, but apart from Captain Corelli's Mandolin and Sebastian Faulk's Birdsong, I have struggled to find anything so captivating. Any recommendations gratefully received...

The words on the back of the novel to the effort that you wouldn't get much sleep while reading this novel proved to apt. Slightly condescending husband Mike's dry, book-derived view of history (he is a slightly pompous lecturer in English history) is contrasted wonderfully with Ferney's countryman's view of history as experience, direct or related. The tension between these two kept the book humming along, although I couldn't believe fully in (couldn't *feel*) the closeness between Ferney and Gally. We had to just take this on trust. This troubled me more than a little, as I struggled to believe in a relationship that could somehow last 1,300 years and remain fresh. There must have been a special dimension in this relationship, but although the author tries to describe it several times, he never quite succeeds. But being churlish. One of the most enjoyable reads for, well, years. Uplifting, a *big* book with nice contrast between modern life and history. And yes, we are just four or five full back-to-back lifetimes from Shakespearean England. Read and enjoy,. - Vaughan (I've already requested my next James Long book from the library.)

Although we are taught not to judge a book by its cover, I am not ashamed to admit that it was the cover of this book that caught my attention and got me to read the blurb. And as soon as I read the comparison between it and "Time and Again" by Jack Finney (one of my all-time favorites) and also that the heroine suffered from panic attacks (also something I am familiar with), I knew this was a book I had to read. And I am so glad I bought it that day as it became one of most enjoyable fiction reading experiences I've had since 1995, when I discovered "Time and Again." I could not wait to be reunited with this book at the end of my work day. I was enthralled by the past lives story line. Also by the author's ability to make the progress I take for granted today seem fresh and new and exciting as descibed by a working peasant/farmer who happens to have lived through 13 centuries of it. The images were very strong, for example, how different a landscape must look at night to a man who has known it lit by moonlight only for centuries to suddenly see "fire" glowing through all the windows of the houses after electricity becomes common place. The ending the book was such a killer - I actually screamed at the last paragraph. Don't look ahead whatever you do! I had to read the book all over a second time as soon as I finished it just to see the clues I missed the first time! I say buy this book immediately and enjoy a great read unlike anything you've ever read.

My sister recommended this book to me and I have to say it sounded like a yawn, but she kept after me and I gave it a shot. What a break for me! This book was absolutely fantastic. I got it from our local library, but I think I'm going to have to buy a copy. I will definitely be rereading this one. Sad, Happy, Chilling, Brutal, Loving--every adjective you can think of fits this book. Don't be put off by the reincarnation aspects--it's done very well and in a very believable way. This historical bits were very good, as if the author actually had lived through those periods. Don't let this book pass you by, because you'll be missing a fantastic experience.

Pick up a reincarnation novel, and you know what to expect, right? Not with James Long's "Ferney," a complex story that defies your expectations at every turn. Written with a historian's attention to detail, this tale of love spanning fifteen centuries of English revolution keeps you guessing long after you finish the book.

Spiritual/metaphysical content: Medium. Long plays with the idea of reincarnation in this unpredictable love story. What if, because they died together in the shadow of a mysterious stone in England's Dark Ages, a pair of lovers returns to the same place immediately after death, able to remember all their lives together? He side-steps the issue of reincarnation in general, focusing only on the experiences of Ferney and Gally. The "what ifs" allow him to pose a number of interesting questions, such as how would you behave differently if you retained all your memories? What if knowing your soul mate leads to moral dilemmas?

My take: James Long's reasonably well-crafted novel demonstrates that even a formulaic reincarnation love story can be reframed in a fresh, startling way by a skilled storyteller. A murder, an incarnation that can't be accounted for, and other unexpected complications add to the complex plot that builds right to the end. The historical detail may prove tedious to some (particularly non-Anglophiles), but the depth of perception is often startling. Because Ferney can take the long perspective, he comments on aspects of human nature that reveal great insight. For instance, we widely assume that industrialization changed the world, but the real turning point came centuries earlier when time could be precisely measured. Another example is how rapid transit changed our perspective; you don't pollute a path you step upon every day. For me, the unexpected twists in what should have been a predictable reincarnation plot were worth the price of wading through the details of the multiple invasions of England. The great dilemma facing Gally and her husband as she helps the dying Ferney--her soul mate and fifty years her senior--kept me guessing even after I turned the last page and left me wishing for more.

Surely, James Long's novel of reincarnation, "Ferney" most refreshingly elevates the crossover science fiction/fiction genre to a near perfect state that will attract both men and women readers desiring an intelligent interplay of history and romance without the mawkish candlelit fantasy realm of the bodice ripper.

For as long as she can remember, vividly gruesome nightmares have plummeted Gally, the twenty-something wife of university history lecturer, Mike Martin, into such an extreme emotional abyss that settling into what would seem a pleasant stress free life becomes tinged with an unbearable incongruity. Described as "a poem with a missing verse," Gally refuses to connect whole-heartedly with the real world until she and her husband happen upon Bagstone Farm, a rundown cottage in the bucolic village of Penselwood in the Somerset part of Britain famous for its tales of Arthur, Avalon and Glastonbury. After an impulsive purchase of the farm, phobias that have plagued her since childhood rationalize away with reasonable explanations that although oddly plentiful for so short a life point towards an ultimate reconciliation that defies her common sense and frightens her with its dire yet revelatory implications.

Urging all these discoveries is not the place but the person of octogenarian Ferney who in search for his wife for nigh sixty years believes he has found her literally embodied by the ingenuous Gally. In countless ways that flare mundane husband Mike's suspicions and to his mind irrationally spark his jealousy, Ferney gradually convinces Gally to take him seriously and fully embrace the idea that not only had they lived a multitude of lives together as a couple but individually experienced the lonely discomfiture of which Gally was so aware unless the other was present. In order to prevent this sense of utter emptiness, the couple, throughout the ages, has promised to facilitate through means of suicide if necessary an existence together where they can best enjoy a simultaneous life span.

The irony of Gally and Ferney's most blatant asynchronicity partly works to fuel James Long's exquisite plotline. Gally as the personification of feminine romanticism and Ferney as the epitome of male pragmatism capture most adequately the yin and yang of this forever tale to perfection. Either Long himself has had the blessing of remembering his past lives and has reaped the benefit of hundreds of years of experience or he is endowed with the sagacity and creativity to craft a believable character that actually could have lived out many existences and who has learned as many old and cagey codgers do to look back on his memories as the only historic milestones and not relive his past idealistic driven mistakes. It is this deliberate intention to not repeat or insanely replicate the errors of yesteryear that propels the storyline from the usual "unfinished business" theme of most reincarnation tales to one of insightful obsession where the main concern of the major characters is to wisely prepare for a world that waxes with Ferney-and-Gally-centricity facilitating only the ability to enjoy the moments of each other to the fullest with adequate wealth and anonymity.

Happily, on a technical level, Long's language soars with poetic descriptions of a lyrically-rich part of Britain that literally stretches out across the novel's pages in miles of verdantly depicted hills and archaeological wonders that his clever long-dwelling protagonist shrugs off unappreciatively as just a mere changing-with-the-times backdrop. With the same expertise, he portrays Gally with the nervous energy of an insomniac suffering from all too vivid and realistic bouts of the psychological consequences of actively repressing unwanted memories. The ultimate acceptance of the characters to their fate succeeds with the reader wanting more of them--future and past, while the slightly cliffhanger ending segues nicely with the fact that author Long has been writing a welcome "part two" that should be published in hardback in 2009.

Bottom line? James Long's "Ferney" constitutes an intelligent read that supersedes most other reincarnation-themed works of fiction. Long fashions his three main characters realistically while presenting a straightforward believable storyline buttressed by historic and village folklore anecdotes that lend credibility to the fantasy genre as true literature. Long's language and ability as a natural raconteur reminds this reader of fantasy greats Graham Joyce (The Limits of Enchantment) and Keith Donohue (The Stolen Child) who have the deftness to present an unbelievable topic with great verisimilitude. Recommended with great anticipation of its sequel.
Diana Faillace Von Behren
"reneofc"

I have to admit that I almost put this book away 10+ times, but something made me stick with it. The abrupt changes between then and now require dedicated attention on the part of the reader, but unlike some other reviewers, as I neared the end I became more and more interested in the outcome. And the ending was a triumph! What a brilliant way to tie the ends together and finally explain all the unanswered questions from the chapters before. I will definitely reread this book with the final chapter in mind. Very nicely crafted book.

I picked up Ferney purely by accident - what can I say, I liked the title, and the blurb made me curious. I initially put it back down, as I THOUGHT I had enough books for my holiday. But it was in my head constantly, so I had to go and buy it. Thankfully, it was relatively cheap. And I ended up sacrificing a potentially rubbish book for this, when my luggage went over the limit.

When you first start Ferney, it does come across in a strange way, and I struggled to get into it for the first few pages, but I persevered, and ended up speeding through it.

The story is about Gally and her husband. Gally has just lost a baby, and is looking for a new place to live, out in the country, but no place is right for her. Until she stumbles across a dilapidated old house, which is perfect (although her husband's chequebook doesn't think so), and she bumps into a strange old man, who seems to draw him to her.

I won't reveal more about the story, you simply have to read. But once it takes off, believe me, you will be simply zipping through it. The book takes you to the past, far back into the past, and when you don't think things make sense, they will, by the time you finish the book.

The only thing I don't think I quite get is the image on this version of the front cover, the UK cover. It doesn't match up to the book for some reason. And I have a thing about covers of books - I know you're not supposed to judge a book by it's cover - but it just doesn't seem to work. Look at it, when you've finished the book.

Ferny is now on my dad's to read list. (That could take a while.) And I will be recommending to all my other friends who are avid book readers.

I now have an entire, brand new, bookcase to fill. Now what?

Wow! This is a beautiful novel that ended way too quickly! It has a fantastic sense of scenery and historical detail. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because, like another reviewer, I didn't feel the passion between Gally and Ferney. It was written, but it didn't carry across to me. I would also loved to have read more about Gally's lives, including the missing years in which she can't remember. I loved the ending, even though I could predict it, and will no doubt spend time wondering what Gally would have done next. But all in all, a great read, and I look forward to reading more from this author.