Rating: 
Summary: The Dynamic Duo
Review: The frightening thing about this exquisite mystery by William Trevor isn't anything found in a typical detective or police mystery; there is no theft, no murder, no crime, at least not at first. The truly horrifying thing in the mystery is the unknown, for we don't know what is going to happen next. We wonder if a murder is to occur, or if we are about to discover some gut-wrenching fact about the main male character, Mr. Hilditch. The book makes you feel as if something is coming around every corner; so much reading time is spent waiting, anxiously, anticipating the next move. The two characters make quite a pair, one searching desperately for her lover, and essentially her family, and the other, searching for something to replace the family he no longer has. The truly strange thing about Mr. Hilditch is his normalcy. He seems a very nice, hard working, grandfather figure, until we learn of his crimes. Pity seems to be given to Felicia, even though I think she is undeserving of it. It was unintelligent of her to leave home alone, go to another country, and then associate with a strange man she knew nothing about. Although we are probably supposed to feel for this unsuspecting, sweet, innocent girl, I almost felt more sympathy for Mr. Hilditch and for the nightmare of a life he is living. All in all, an interesting mystery that kept me guessing at every turn, but certainly not one of my favorites.
Rating: 
Summary: A padded short story disguised as a literary novel
Review: The kindest description of this book would be that it is well-written and quite pointless. The plot is paper thin and all the characters (with the possible exception of Mr Hilditch) are either two dimensional or borrowed from other, more superior, works. The much-touted plot twist, when it finally arrives, lacks any irony and seems contrived. William Trevor is best known as a short story writer and this book is essentially a short story padded into a novel. As a well-written, mildly diverting, piece of light entertainment it would have been acceptable, as a prize-winning piece of high literary pretensions, it is not. Dickens, Poe, even Highsmith have succeeded much better in what Trevor seeks to achieve.
Rating: 
Summary: The serial killer as protagonist
Review: The most disturbing novels about murderers are the ones where the reader inhabits the killer's mind and comes to know and, in a sense, understand him. Such is the case with 'Felicia's Journey', a novel that treads a very fine line between sympathy and disgust for both main characters, Felicia, a young girl looking for the father of her unborn child and Mr. Hilditch, a refined and courteous catering manager, who sets about to befriend her. Her initial innocence and snivelling about her condition, though understandable, is grating, while the friendly and gentle Mr. Hilditch, although we (and Felicia) should know better, is the more interesting and thoughtful character. What's at once troubling and fascinating about the novel is this general lack of sympathy for Felicia and the feeling that Hilditch just 'can't be that bad.' I'm sure Trevor has constructed the narrative this way in order to unsettle the reader, and it works. I can't divulge one of the most intriguing aspects of the novel, other than to say, growing self-awareness is not always a good thing. I'm reminded of Hannibal Lecter, another likable bad boy. However, Lecter is great fantasy while Mr. Hilditch is the much more realistic and believable character. You know he's living just around the corner. This novel is beautifully written and unusual in every sense. I can guarantee the next novel you pick up will read like lead. Best to wait a while, and let Mr. Hilditch swirl around in your head like a fine wine gone vinegar.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Good Short Story
Review: The premise is certainly interesting--a pregnant and penniless teenager running away from home to seek out her lover is befriended by a mentally disturbed and dangerous man. And an interesting story is just what Mr. Trevor gave us. But too much of it. This book would have benefited from editing and a cleaner ending. Also, while the character of the villanous Mr. Hilditch was wonderfully developed, Felicia, who we should have cared about the most, was little more than a wisp of a character. This is an entertaining story, but do not expect too much.
Rating: 
Summary: Felicia Falls For Serial Killer
Review: The two most thoroughly explored characters in this novel are Hilditch, a serial killer with certain resemblances to other fictional serial killers like Hannibal Lecter or John Beecham,of Caleb Carr's "The Alienist.," and Felicia, an innocent Irish girl for whom we come to feel increasingly sympathetic as she becomes increasingly poor.
Mild mannered , able to hold a job in the real world as a catering manager, and ostensibly very kind to strangers like Felicia, Hilditch has a "Memory Lane" that contains five previous young female victims he befriended and an incestuous relationship with his dead mother, as well as some unresolved feelings for his failed career in the military.
Hilditch has squinty eyes, eyeglasses, and is seriously overweight. He lives in an antiquated mansion where his delusions often overtake his rational mind.His taste in recorded music runs to the 1950's. His kinder side encourages Felicia to have an abortion as the most satisfactory way out of her pregnancy dilemma, a medical procedure that causes her no small amount of guilt and delusion. There are also two Christian proselytizers who accuse Felicia of robbery and a variety of homeless people that Felicia befriends in England, as well as Felicia's family and friends back home in Ireland. Felicia will never successfully complete her quest for Johnny, who left her pregnant back in Ireland. Felicia's stern father does not approve of Johnny and calls Felicia a "hooer." and Felicia is likewise rejected by Johnny's mother; she seeks out other help in Ireland to little avail, She is left in quite a destitute situation and guilt-ridden frame of mind, particularly since the money she stole from her great- grandmother is stolen back from her by Hilditch. She becomes an innocent heroine, a fallen angel. She cannot return to Ireland because she is seen as guilty of theft as well as of premarital sex. Her two older brothers beat up Johnny when he returns from England.
Rating:
Summary: A master of the unadorned style . . .
Review: There are only two real characters in this drama, narrated in Trevor's usual spare, sparse style that puts you into the heart of things. There's Felicia, a somewhat plain teenage girl from a depressed industrial town in the Irish Republic. She's the product of a convent school, but only on suffrance because her father tends the convent's gardens. She's inexperienced and naive and when Johnny Lysaght comes along and turns her head, her subsequent pregnancy is no surprise. And there's Mr. Hilditch, a fifty-something catering manager at a factory in the English Midlands, who lives by himself and fancies young girls, though he's very careful "not to shop near home," as he thinks of it. Felicia runs away from home in search of the absent Johnny, but she finds it's not easy even to survive, much less to locate an errant Irishman, in England. She's a bit suspicious of Hilditch when he tries to help her out, but he arranges things to reduce her options, and Felicia is suddenly in very great danger indeed. Trevor does a terrific job getting inside the head of a pleasant, mild-mannered psychopath, allowing the reader to gradually understand what makes him tick. He won the Whitbread Prize (again) for this novel and he deserved it.
Rating:
Summary: One can't help but be impressed
Review: There's a strong Hitchcock feel to this novel, as well as "Beauty and the Beast". One can't help but be impressed by William Trevor's delicate handling of his characters, and his superb build-up of suspense. Weaving them together, and constantly holding back information, he depicts a depth portrait of humanity that is at once devastating and real. He questions whether evil people are intrinsically that way, or whether they are shaped by consequence, and emotion. William Trevor is a master in his prose, and the brilliance of the tension never ceases to revolve around the novel.
Rating:
Summary: Complex, subtle, brilliant
Review: This book is brilliantly written. And it focuses on the character it's meant to focus on... regardless of the title. What it did for me, (which so few books do) is let me do the work. It let me play psychologist and investigator. It let me analyze the characters. It let me decide who was pitiable, and why, and who was sinister, and why. It let me see the conception, so to speak, of a "lost" soul. Ever wonder.. truly wonder... how the depraved got that way? Or those that reject society and end up rooting through bins for sustenance? What events led to it? It also struck me that how and what one ate, in the book, signified almost how they viewed life and people, whether they were a rejector or a hoarder. Mr. Hilditch, a hoarder, with a house full of objects from his past and other people's pasts, also a hoarder of young girl's souls, kept a stocked cupboard, and ate with great gusto. And Felicia, all her belongings fitting in a couple bags, eats hardly at all, (sp.) and ends up rooting through rubbish bins after "rejecting" her unborn child and basically the whole of society.
Rating:
Summary: IN THIS CASE A LITTLE LESS SYMBOLISM, PLEASE
Review: This book starts with a lot of promise and the writing is excellent--for the first few chapters. However, the character of Felicia undergoes very little development, something I find to be Mr. Trevor's biggest writing mistake. Much more depth could (and should) have been added to the story had we been privy to Felicia's inner thoughts. As it is, she is very flat and one-dimensional with no deep emotions and seems to exist only to further characterize the fascinating Mr. Hilditch. Mr. Hilditch is a very well formed character indeed, almost comical and likable, and does have many thoughts and emotions. This made the book a story about Mr. Hilditch, with Felicia just passing through, really serving no purpose other than to become Mr. Hilditch's current obsession. Based on the title, I would assume the author wanted this to be a story about Felicia. If that is the case, then Mr. Trevor should have had the climax of Felicia's story closer to the end of the book. Instead, the last ΒΌ of the book gives us no clear glimpses of Felicia. As for Felicia's fate, I would have preferred a more solid ending. Symbolism is well and good, but only when used in a symbolic book. When used simply to confuse and surprise, I find it rather annoying. Had the book been titled "Mr. Hilditch" perhaps I would have enjoyed it more and rated it higher.
Rating:
Summary: Well-crafted thriller
Review: This is an extremely well written thriller that left me in a slight daze by the time I was finished. A great aspect of this book is that the ending is totally unpredictable.
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