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Summary: A rare thing: A poetic book about a psycho criminal
Review: William Trevor's Felicia's Journey is beautiful and compelling; It has all the page-turning suspense one finds in a "Silence of the Lambs" or Stephen King-type thriller about a weird psycho, but it is written as beautifully as any literary novel. There is humor and compassion in Trevor's vision of the lonely perp, and and almost Faulkner-like combination of exasperating simple-mindedness and emotional cunning in the victim. To come to an understanding of the human condition is a matter of survival in this novel for Felicia; and a weapon in the hands of Hilditch.
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Summary: Precise yet enigmatic study of free will
Review: William Trevor's precise, descriptive prose brings to mind other current authors (Pete Dexter, Tom Wolfe) who enable readers to visualize, as if viewing a film, the details of a scene--from beads of sweat trickling down a character's cheek to the colors in the oil paintings decorating a wall. Treveor uses this admirable technique to great employ in this enigmatic story of the relationship between a predator, a seemingly kindly bachelor, and his prey, a frightened pregnant Irish teen come to England to look for the father. The issue of free will as the Creator envisions it is examined here: the predator, Mr. Hilditch, in his manipulative fashion, carves out a destiny for Felicia (and, unwittingly, himdself) that suggests a control one might ascribe to a Deity. The ending is cryptic and odd; one can take the events and their aftermath in any number of ways and Trevor is of no help in steering one in the proper direction. Perhaps that's a good thing--the ending is far more haunting than the rest of the novel.(The unabridged audiobook I listened to was read by Simon Prebble, not Dermot Crowley. Prebble's interpretation, as well as his vocal characterization, is flawless.)
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Summary: Chilling Portrait of a Deranged Psyche
Review: William Trevor's true genius lies within the short story, however, in Felicia's Journey he proves the versatility of his skills. Barely eighteen, the young Irish girl named Felicia discovers she is pregnant after a summer romance with Johnny, a young man from England. Johnny returns to England not knowing of Felicia's condition, and he fails to leave her a way to contact him when he goes. To Johnny the romance with Felicia was a fling, but to Felicia it was real love. Shunned by her family and distraught over how to handle the pregnancy, Felicia takes off to England alone in search of Johnny hoping that he will help her. Lost, frightened, and without money in England, Felicia is befriended by Mr. Hilditch, an overweight man in his fifties who offers to help her. The naive Felicia makes an unknowingly grave mistake by trusting Mr. Hilditch. Although he seems gentle and genuinely concerned, Mr. Hilditch is really a man suffering from psychosis who sees Felicia in a disturbing light.The events that unfold as the "friendship" develops are chilling. Trevor, a master at displaying human behavior, does a fine job at taking the reader into the delusional mind of Mr. Hilditch. Felicia's vulnerabilities and blinded trust will make you want to shake some sense into her. The story provides plenty of twists and a surprising end. Once again, Trevor's rhythmic prose will move you, but this time in a dark and shocking manner.
Rating: 
Summary: Felicia's Journey
Review: William Trevor?s Felicia?s Journey tracks the unfortunate travels and travails of its hero in the gothic, semi-industrial cityscape of a late twentieth-century English factory town. Her meeting of one Mr. Hilditch, the head caterer at one of town?s several factories, brings the poor girl?s already troubled life to a harrowing peril of both the physical and moral sorts.
Trevor?s somnambular style glides us through a fallen dreamscape studded with flashbacks in a manner that almost exempts him of the empathetic anguish inflicted upon the reader. Almost. Indeed, Trevor?s national allegory is so grief ridden, so utterly bleak that it is difficult to appreciate the merits of this work. Felicia is so painfully naïve that it becomes difficult to sympathize with her even as she is dragged through exhaustive turmoil. The audience?s hope in redemption is dashed like waves against the very shore upon which Felicia lands. So used to such incessant emotional torment is the reader that the climax fails to impress. Trevor leaves us unnecessarily jaded, allowing one final glimmer of hope only to have it washed away in the tide. As such, this reader finds it necessary to give Mr. Trevor a generous four thumbs up (out of a possible ten).
Rating:
Summary: Felicia's Journey
Review: William Trevor?s Felicia?s Journey tracks the unfortunate travels and travails of its hero in the gothic, semi-industrial cityscape of a late twentieth-century English factory town. Her meeting of one Mr. Hilditch, the head caterer at one of town?s several factories, brings the poor girl?s already troubled life to a harrowing peril of both the physical and moral sorts.
Trevor?s somnambular style glides us through a fallen dreamscape studded with flashbacks in a manner that almost exempts him of the empathetic anguish inflicted upon the reader. Almost. Indeed, Trevor?s national allegory is so grief ridden, so utterly bleak that it is difficult to appreciate the merits of this work. Felicia is so painfully naïve that it becomes difficult to sympathize with her even as she is dragged through exhaustive turmoil. The audience?s hope in redemption is dashed like waves against the very shore upon which Felicia lands. So used to such incessant emotional torment is the reader that the climax fails to impress. Trevor leaves us unnecessarily jaded, allowing one final glimmer of hope only to have it washed away in the tide. As such, this reader finds it necessary to give Mr. Trevor a generous four thumbs up (out of a possible ten).
Rating:
Summary: hypnotic
Review: With elements of Faulkner's Light in August, young Irish Felicia sets out on a journey to find the father of the baby growing inside her. With the same determination as Faulkner's young woman, she seems convinced the father loves her and did not mean to leave without giving her his address. She soon falls into the clutches of Hilditch, whose dark past is eventually revealed. Rich with imagery of flowers and food, the novel shows Hilditch to be a character who wants to consume everything he can to try to fill the void of his empty life. The novel turns out to be more than a twisted detective type novel as it reveals itself to be an allegory for the relations between the patriarchal, dominating England and the poorer, more desperate Ireland. Felicia's own great grandmother becomes a symbol of Irish pride as she, like the legend of her husband who was a revolutionary, seems to outlive everyone else. Furthermore, it is an interesting and often truthful story about a single pregnant woman making a journey to England for the possibility of an abortion or a way to make money since abortions are illegal in Ireland and jobs are scarce. Written only two years after the X case, where a fourteen year old Irish girl involved the world in her need for an abortion, this novel has more than one major relevancy to today's politics.
Rating:
Summary: Strong Woman, Strong Ireland
Review: With elements of Faulkner's Light in August, young Irish Felicia sets out on a journey to find the father of the baby growing inside her. With the same determination as Faulkner's young woman, she seems convinced the father loves her and did not mean to leave without giving her his address. She soon falls into the clutches of Hilditch, whose dark past is eventually revealed. Rich with imagery of flowers and food, the novel shows Hilditch to be a character who wants to consume everything he can to try to fill the void of his empty life. The novel turns out to be more than a twisted detective type novel as it reveals itself to be an allegory for the relations between the patriarchal, dominating England and the poorer, more desperate Ireland. Felicia's own great grandmother becomes a symbol of Irish pride as she, like the legend of her husband who was a revolutionary, seems to outlive everyone else. Furthermore, it is an interesting and often truthful story about a single pregnant woman making a journey to England for the possibility of an abortion or a way to make money since abortions are illegal in Ireland and jobs are scarce. Written only two years after the X case, where a fourteen year old Irish girl involved the world in her need for an abortion, this novel has more than one major relevancy to today's politics.
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