Folly

Rating:
Summary: building a world in time
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Laurie King
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Intriguing story about a woman recovering from trauma.
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Intriguing story about a woman recovering from trauma.
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Should be on Oprah's List!
Review: Rae Newborn, an internationally famous woodworker, moves to a remote island to rebuild her great-uncle's house. Isolated and paranoid, with only a tenuous hold on sanity, Rae has the "skin-crawling feeling of being watched." Well, just because you're paranoid, it doesn't mean people aren't watching you. Laurie King's Folly is a beautifully written, rich psychological thriller. (King is also the author of, among a slew of other things, The Beekeeper's Apprentice, the excellent first book in a series about Sherlock Holmes' life in retirement.)

Debra Hamel -- book-blog reviews
Author of Trying Neaira: The True Story of a Courtesan's Scandalous Life in Ancient Greece

Rating:
Summary: Just because you're paranoid....
Review: Rae Newborn, an internationally famous woodworker, moves to a remote island to rebuild her great-uncle's house. Isolated and paranoid, with only a tenuous hold on sanity, Rae has the "skin-crawling feeling of being watched." Well, just because you're paranoid, it doesn't mean people aren't watching you. Laurie King's Folly is a beautifully written, rich psychological thriller. (King is also the author of, among a slew of other things, The Beekeeper's Apprentice, the excellent first book in a series about Sherlock Holmes' life in retirement.)

Rating:
Summary: [e-mail]
Review: Right off the bat, I must say that I am a tremendous fan of Laurie King's Kate Martinelli Series. Based on that series alone I would buy any of her books. However, I found Folly to be a disappointment. The Publishers Weekly review above is actually right on target with how I felt about the book. It was way too bogged down with house building details. And then a bunch of 'mystery' thrown in at the end, that seemed disjointed and somehow unfullfilling. One thing I enjoy about L. King's writing is her insights about people. That shows through here, she develops strong characters, it was just the plot that left much to be desired.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down!
Review: This book is a real page-turner. The reader is faced with nested plots: what happened to Rae's great-uncle, who disappeared in the 20's around the same time his house burned down? are all Rae's "hallucinations" just in her mind? are the disappearing girls a red herring or do they have something to do with the plot? who is stalking Rae and why?

I had to go to bed before I read the last 50-100 pages and all the next day at work I couldn't wait to get home to read the end!

Rating:
Summary: Different, interesting adventure story
Review: This book was really different from most other books on the market, since it was about a woman woodworker with mental problems who's living on an island off the coast of Washington state. It's the kind of book that's hard to lay down. The author might have gone on a little too long about tools and woodworking, and the "occupation" of the heroine's love interest was really fakey and unbelieveable, but overall it was a pretty darn good book.

Rating:
Summary: It starts off slowly, but keep reading.
Review: This is a wonderful book. Laurie King's books are always intelligent and thoughtful, and although this is not part of either of her ongoing series, it is just as well-written. Rae Newborn is clinically depressed and recovering from a suicide attempt when she decides to attempt to rebuild her great-uncle Desmond's house on a remote island off the coast of Washington state. As we get to know Rae better and learn the background of her family, her personal history and her art, we become invested in her twisting plot line. The book may start off slowly, but boy is there a plot in there. this is a good read.