Customer Reviews

Folly

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Despite the horrible review given this book by Publisher's Weekly, I've read a copy of Folly and I think it is one of the best novels of the year. It is a wonderful story of a woman who heals herself emotionally and physically after the loss of her family. She comes to an isolated island between Washington State and Canada and begins to build a house and a new life for herself, always wary of the past and learning from her mistakes. There is a small mystery but it is mostly the conflict within herself that keeps Rae interesting. I think this is an award winner-and at the very least, a terrific read! I urge everyone to read this book and all of Laurie King's work. I think she gets better every book!

King's newest novel is everything that the other reviewers claim, good and bad. (Except that it's NOTHING like Mary Higgins Clark, whose works I had to ban from my Women's Murder Mystery class after finding them 98% romance and 2% mystery.) But in "Folly," King does use obvious symbolism, long digressions, unexpected and non-chronological flash-backs, bleeds a bit into romance, and lacks a clear articulation or resolution of the immortal "who dunnit?" Or at least "why?"

But it is a very good book.

Unlike the books of her Kate Martinelli series or Mary Russell series, King's newest novel is only incidentally a mystery, although almost none her other books are _simply_ mysteries. But in "Folly" there's certainly fearful suspense artfully manipulated and enough problems to be solved to provide a satisfactory, if not perfectly neat resolution. The plot's chronology is complexly presented, so it's no book to read when you have to put it down for a day then pick it up for thirty minutes before bedtime. But the focus on single and mutably complex main character (however unfortunately allegorical her name) justifies that.

While I am a great fan of King's work, I wouldn't claim that she can't write a less-than-wonderful book -- see "To Play the Fool" or "The Moor," a book that gave me an even worse headache than the Dorothy L. Sayers' exercise with Scottish fish and train timetables. But this book IS, in many ways, wonderful. The metaphor of a woman rebuilding herself as she rebuilds a house may be as obvious as "new born" and "sanctuary," but that doesn't make it any less compelling -- see Homer or Virgil or Dante, also writers with obvious controlling metaphors. The point is that the metaphor works, and as it works, becomes something larger than a simple comparison.

King's sense of place is exquisitely portrayed here. Not just the island upon which Rae lives, but the whole eco-system of the San Juan's is a feast for the reader. She makes a world I'd want to walk into, making it real with attention to plants and rocks and birds and mud, and the ebb and flow of wind and water, as well as with the larger outlines and the more ambiguous ambience of a community made up of islands and a population both dependent on and resentful of tourists. But aside from Rae, the island itself is the main character, and one of King's most interesting characters. Here I'm reminded of Mary Stewart's early novels that blend mystery, travelogue, and (yes) romance so effectively that, reading them as a teen, I fell in love with those settings, a love that out-lasted my memory of the characters or plots. Visiting Delphi, Avignon and environs, the Isle of Skye as an adult, I've met other women travelers who were there for the same reason. King's islands have that effect, making me seriously consider a trip to that area -- something entirely new for me.

So it's a book that can metamorphose the reader in many ways. The subject of depression -- which I'd dreaded after reading the reviews -- is actually affirmative as King crafts it in the struggle of Rae. And the art and love of wood is an unexpected but powerful gift that the book brings to the reader with world enough and time.

Having read and loved both the Mary Russell and Kate Martinelli series' by King, I expected a similar read with Folly, but I was surprised and pleased to see her go in an entirely different direction with this astonishing, heartbreaking and ultimately victorious work of fiction. While King's series work plots complex mysteries with strong characters, Folly is more a character study, with a 50-ish woman in the unlikely role of heroine.

Rae Newborn has endured tragedies and loss that would destroy a weaker woman, and while she has faltered, she has not fallen. Instead she finds redemption in a house-building project that she tackles alone, on a desolate northwest Washington State island. King uses the metaphor of house construction to underline Rae's rebuilding of her shattered psyche, one layer at a time; she gives older women readers insight and hope as she slowly tears down the old, then begins constructing the new, developing Rae's muscles and physical stamina to parallel her slowly evolving mental and emotional health.

I loved the character of Rae Newborn for her own life's "folly" of attempting the incredible task of building a house. I cried for her tragedies and losses and suicide attempts. I was angry at her family members (like I would be at my own) if they could not, or would not, see the person beneath the title of Mother or Daughter, Aunt or Niece, etc. I cheered at the characters who fought to befriend the frightened, desperate Rae when she tried so hard to stand in isolation rather than chance loss once more.

Mostly I hated the last pages of this book, because they WERE the last pages and I would have to leave Rae Newborn, when I wanted to stay with her on that island, or wherever life took her, forever. She became my sister, my friend, my hero.

While Folly contains mysterious pieces of a soon-to-be-solved puzzle and some edge of the seat suspense, it can't be pigeonholed as just another Mystery or Thriller. It is so much more! Don't let the words of those who believe themselves critics deny you this unforgettable story - if you truly love good fiction you will enjoy this novel while you read it, and for years to come as you recall its lessons, its hope and its beauty.

This lovely novel builds slowly but surely, weaving a spell around the reader. I particularly like the fact that the author has focused the book around a woman who has suffered from depression and even outright psychosis at certain points in her life. And yet she doesn't seem frightening or weird but simply as a person who is doing her best in spite of the challenges she faces, both emotional and otherwise. This woman, Rae Newborn, has had a difficult life. Her periodic depressions, breaks with reality and unpredictable behavior have left her realtionship with her daughter (the product of an early marriage) severely strained. She has a son-in-law who is equally unloving and on the verge of keeping her grand-daughter from her, a girl Rae loves dearly. And there have been other troubles, deep ones, in Rae's life - crises I won't reveal here (not wanting to spoil the story). The past and recent pains in Rae's life have left her shell-shocked and fearful. Still, she's a resilient woman and she decides the best way to cure her pain is to confront it head on, with no one to turn to for support except herself. She moves to an island and decides to build a home which was started by another member of her family, long ago. And that's when things come to a climax - although it's a climax that builds gradually, allowing the reader to get to know Rae and her past more fully. I found this to be an extremely satisfying read, one that left me feelng as if I knew Rae quite well. I also liked the fact that the author did a fine job of demystifying mental illness. I felt drawn to Rae, to her courage and her willingness to take huge risks to become the person she wanted to be.

Rae Newborn is a 50-something woman who has struggled with mental illness virtually all of her adult life. However, after she is attacked in an attempted rape a few short weeks after her beloved husband and young daughter are killed in a car accident, she goes over the edge, spending months in a mental institution. When she finally begins to emerge on the path to recovery, she makes a decision to head for an isolated, unhabited (fictional) island off the coast of Washington state. Years before, Rae's uncle had come to the same island for peace and solitude and had built himself a home; when his near-completed house burnt almost to the ground, he disappeared. Rae, formerly a well-known furniture-maker and artist, resolves to rebuild her Uncle Desmond's house despite how "crazy" this might seem to others, including her grown daughter. The book mostly details Rae's thoughts and reflections as she works on her house in solitude, although she receives occasional visits from her supply boat, the local sheriff, and a female park ranger. Interspersed throughout the story are selections from Rae's own journal as well as that of her Uncle Desmond, which she uncovers in the course of her labors. The theme is that of a woman building her future (literally) while still recovering from her traumatic past. There's a few surprising twists thown in at the end, although the climatic conflict of the book was over quickly and a little too neatly. Other than that, however, the book was an enjoyable and engaging read.

I have read all of Laurie King's books and actually waited impatiently for the publication of "Folly." King seems to be many authors in one body. Her various series of books, all good, stress different writing talents. Consistently however she is a master of character development. She also doesn't hesitate surprising you occasionally by introducing suddenly a fact about a character that you thought you knew well -- but didn't.

Other reviews have outlined the plot of "Folly." I disagree with those that feel the plot was overburdened or that not enough issues were resolved by the end of the book. There are unresolved stories continuing every day in all of our lives. I feel comfortable knowing that the relationships that were not resolved in the pages of "Folly" are still out there continuing to a conclusion. The characters are real enough to let you do that.

I was not disappointed when I finally got my hands on the book and enjoyed entering the life of Rae and wondering with her whether she was still in the grasp of mental illness or whether there were people watching and there was danger lurking somewhere behind her. I can't really compare "Folly" directly with other King publications. Again she provides us with a new approach to story telling for her. The mystery is there just as in her other books -- but the presentation is different.

My only regret was that I didn't control my urge to read the book until I went on vacation. I longed for a good book to read in peaceful surroundings. This book is worth a read -- as are all of King's previous works. If you haven't read the Mary Russell series ( a totally different experience) you should.

I found this to be a compelling book of renewal, both material and spiritual. We join the story as 52 year old Rae newborn is waving goodbye to her family after being dropped off on a deserted island. On this island she plans to rebuild a house that had originally been built by her great uncle. She also hopes to rebuild herself after fighting her way through severe depression.

During construction of the house we learn all about Rae's past, the reasons behind her depression and her fears. We also learn about her great uncle Desmond and the mystery surrounding his life and death.

But while everything appears to be progressing well, we get a sense that something is not quite right. Someone appears to be trying to find her and she continues to get the feeling she is being watched, but is never sure whether that's part of her mental problems or that it's actually happening.

Suspense builds steadily with some remarkable discoveries taking place. I found the last 100 pages or so were filled with unexpected twists and revelations. This is a very enjoyable book containing a terrific story of discovery and renewal coupled with a very interesting mystery and tense finale.

"What does it mean to lose one's mind? Where does it go? What is sane when the world is mad by contrast?" So reads a 1918 entry in the diary of Rae Newborn's Great-Uncle Desmond, the first builder of the "Folly" or great house on a lonely 150 acre island in the San Juan chain in the Pacific Northwest.

Rae, an internationally known expert in wordworking, plans to recreate Uncle Desmond's house using only a picture taken 70 years ago. Subject to depression her whole life, and recovering from a complete breakdown after a drunken driver killed her husband and 9 year old daughter, Rae comes to Folly Island after a year in a mental institution. Rae's journey to Folly has come to mirror Desmond's--an effort to rebuild his house in an attempt to rebuild her life.

Desmond, considered a misfit after physical and psychological injuries sustained in World War I, escapes from the Newborn's oppressive Boston household to the freedom of the beautiful Sanctuary Islan, which was renamed Folly Island after Desmond's building attempt. Desmond's history comes out during Rae's stay on the island and she is particularly troubled with what seems to be a family history of madness.

She struggles to overcome her own panic and fears on the island, all the while feeling someone is watching her. Her lawyer gets a message to her that someone paid thugs to attack her two years ago--the final event that triggered her breakdown. She also is told the her greedy son-in-law is trying to declare her mentally incompetent, so he can get control of her sizable fortune. Then things begin to disappear around her camp, disrupting the stability her almost finished house has given her. Her past and present family mystery deepens when she finds the 70 year old skeleton of Desmond in a cave near the house. Who killed Desmond and why? Who is still stalking her? Are they trying to trigger another breakdown or suicide attempt?

Despite her isolation, Rae makes friends with a number of locals: a handsome sheriff, an infuriatingly perky but well meaning ranger and a shady but reliable boatman is her lifeline to the outside world. A beacon in an otherwise stormy life is Rae's granddaughter Petra, the only family member she feels close to. During Petra's visit to the island, Rae must call upon her inner strength and resources to protect them from an outside foe focused on revenge.

While a departure from Laurie R. King's Mary Russell or Kate Martinelli series, Folly is a chilling novel featuring an unforgettable heroine and her struggle over her internal and external demons. Highly recommended.

Laurie King continues to deliver quality in her most recent Folly. Rae Newborn escapes to the San Juan Islands in the Pacific northwest after a family tragedy that culminates in mental collapse. In a last ditch attempt to rebuild her spirit Rae Newborn takes on the monumental task of rebuilding a burned-out house she inherits from a mysterious relative. The theme of tension necessary to build a house is mirrored in the tension of this story. Is Rae Newborn's paranoia wholly a result of her mental instability, or is there real danger lurking on the island of Folly? This woman's tragedy and her heroic confrontation of depression, nature, the monumental task of house building strike a deep resonance. Through her we meet the quirky residents of the San Juan Islands, we explore her murky family history, and we share her innermost paranoia. The twist at the end, although not unexpected and not as effective as it could be, nonetheless works to give a satisfactory ending to this good story. As always Laurie King doesn't stint her readers, but instead presents them with a provocactive story thinly disguised as a mystery. A good read.

While I can see that some readers would be turned off by this intricate psychological study of a woman recovering from a severe episode of depression, it was fascinating to me. There is very little conventional suspense in this novel, although there is a villain dragged in towards the end -- but the novel revolves around Rae Newborn's struggle against her demons and against her own fears of being "crazy" -- and her discovery of her great-uncle Desmond's similar struggle (he had been shell-shocked in WWI, and left his wealthy family to become a "bum" before settling on Folly's Island and then disappearing after a fire destroyed the home he'd built) -- there are passages from Desmond's journal and from Rae's which parallel each other, giving the readers insight into both characters' worlds. I felt the ending was a little rushed but that the novel as a whole was worth reading -- particularly if you or someone you know has suffered from clinical depression -- even though the descriptions of Rae's episodes are stark, the fact that she does climb out of it makes the whole book seem hopeful.