Felicia's Journey (original 1994; edition 1999)

Slow moving mystery. ( )

I will always read anything by William Trevor. He writes such beautiful prose in the form of a quiet novel. ( )

I have several of William Trevor’s novels and short story collections on my shelves, but this was the first work of his I’ve read. What a dark and creepy introduction! Felicia is a naïve Irish teenager, left pregnant by a local boy and abandoned upon his return to England where he supposedly works in a factory. She travels there in search of him but meets up with the helpful Mr. Hilditch instead.

The novel started off rather slowly for me but as the tension mounted and the atmosphere of foreboding and menace increased, I found myself more and more involved in the story. Trevor’s great gift here is to present the reader with “warts and all” portraits of his characters but to stir a sense of empathy for them, as well. The snatches of memory and dreams he describes give the novel a disjointed, uneasy feeling that only adds to the dark atmosphere. It’s all very bleak but also very well-written. I am glad I have more of Trevor’s work to explore. ( )

Somewhat predictable. I didn't like this nearly as much as Lucy Gault. ( )

I recently read Trevor's The Story of Lucy Gault, so was pleased to find this one in the 1001-Library.

The titular Felicia leaves her home in Ireland to find the man who left her pregnant, with nothing more to go on than the fact he said he worked in a lawnmover factory near Birmingham. Taking some of her great-grandmother's wages, she takes the boat across to England. A man offers to help her, Mr. Hilditch, a man whose very appearance seems to be the epitomy of safety, he is smiley, chubby with glasses.

Both Felicia and Hilditch are looking for something to complete their lives. Felicia, unemployed since the factory closure and without support at home, seeks in her boyfriend the end of uncertainty, a happy homelife. Hilditch sees Felicia as the latest girl to add to his Memory Lane, a young girl who is dependant on his help. As they both try to fulfil their dreams, the reader is left with a sense of foreboding, there is a strong air of tragedy from the start, and also of creepiness.

What struck me was that while at times the book feel like it was set in the '60s, it was actually set in the time it was written, the '90s. I think this was because Felicia is from a small Irish town, one that hasn't changed so much, though it is beginning to. Mr. Hilditch also feels like a relic from a previous time, with his ideas of how to behave, how to treat people.

Another strong book from Trevor, though rather different in style to Lucy Gault. I was pulled into the story, wanting, and yet not, to find out what would happen in the end. ( )