For anyone that knows me, they would know that any book emblazoned with the phrase “a novel for anyone that believes in love” is a guaranteed turn off. I’m not a lovey dovey person, nor am I a particularly romantic person. Despite the fact that many of my favourite books happen to feature a love story, I need more than that to make it a good book. A good story, believable characters, and a gifted storyteller who can weave the bits together to make a good story. Love, to me, is part of the story, not a reason for reading the story. A second turn off is anything that goes by the tag of “master piece” or “classic novel”. If it’s that classic, I’ll have read it already. So when I got my HUGE parcel through from real readers, which contained not one but TWO books, it wasn’t long before I was feeling slightly nervous. The editions I had were beautiful. No honestly, they were amazing. Hardback, with a lovely illustration on the dust wrapper and the edition of Ferney was limited, only 500 being printed. It even contained a message from the author. Yes, dear blog reader, this is how shallow I am. I was so excited about the book’s coverings (yes, I do judge) that I put aside my misgivings and my fears (I can handle a love story or two) and got reading…..
Ferney:
Ferney is, according to the blurb “A story of love and self-discovery that resonates across the ages” (NICHOLAS EVANS, author of 'The Horse Whisperer')
So I’m expecting a classic novel, of times gone by, of people meeting and parting, and holding on to cherished memories and all the classic clichés. Or maybe something more romantic – “Time Travellers Wife” manages to pluck at the heartstrings like never before.
And this really, is where I felt the book fell down. Because although it sells itself as a love story, clearly defined on the front of the book and the blurb on the back, once you open the book, there is a conflict going on. James Long, according to the brief description, also writes historical novels. Why he chose to write this love story, I couldn’t say. Maybe he felt that he wanted to write it, and just forgot that people who read love stories don’t always want a history text book. Or maybe he felt the two could be mixed together and he was trying an experiment. My personal theory is that he really couldn’t make his mind up about what he preferred. At times he goes into long stories about the past. I learned an awful lot about the Danes and the monks and the power of sowing oats has on a community (seriously, fascinating stuff). Obviously the story being about two people who have been reincarnated again and again, you would expect a little history to come into it. But there were so many different stories and historical periods that were mentioned, that the main story became tangled and confused in all the other bits and pieces. The modern day love story became buried in the mire of the past. And whilst, ironically, this is part of the story they were telling, it also led to the reader becoming bogged down with the weight of the past. I love history and I found it to be incredibly interesting. But it detracted from the story, and became, to me part history text book, part Mills and Boon.
To cut a long story short, and to enable me to get onto the sequel of the novel, Ferney is about Ferney and Gally. Ferney is an old man who has lived in the village of Pen Selwood for a long time. In fact several times over. Gally is his love, his true love, who has lived with him in his previous lives. They were separated many years ago and he had searched for her, only for her to drive into the village one day in search of a cottage. The only snag being that Gally has no memory of who she was and she is happily married to Mike, a history lecturer from London.
I’m not giving any massive plot lines away here, as most of what I’m about to say next is either predictable or explained anyway. The reincarnation of Gally and Ferney is introduced quite early on and gathers momentum throughout the novel. I get the impression that the reader is somehow expected to automatically believe the reincarnation, and to support the growing relationship between Gally and Ferney. But for me, I kept feeling for poor old Mike. It’s not just that his beloved (although slightly crazy) wife suddenly discovers her true soul mate is an old man who she has lived with before in previous lives. He suddenly becomes side-lined and even the author seems to bore of him as he keeps getting sent off to London. His only purpose in the book seems to be arguing with Gally or delivering history lectures. (and don’t expect him to get treated better in the next book either)
I found that the book, with warts and all, was actually a good read. I did want to keep reading it and I found the style of writing was easy to follow and easy to get into. And the final chapters were incredibly compelling. To the point that the final chapter was read in a state of shock. I even ran upstairs to get the next book. Oh dear, how I wish I had stopped there…..
The Lives She Left Behind
(or as I have re-titled it, the book I wish I’d left behind)
After such an exciting ending of the previous book, I read with anticipation the first few chapters of the new novel. Taking aside the fact that from the very first page it’s more than obvious who Joanne really is, from such a fast paced ending, the new book raced into a slow, plodding waddle that really never regained it’s former speed.
Don’t expect any surprises in the new book. In many ways it follows the same format as Ferney. Expect lots of history lectures and insights into the past which we may or may not enjoy. Lots of strange things happen which I think I was expected to marvel at, or enjoy, or possibly wonder at. But it was more than obvious who Ferney and Gally are in this modern age, and aside from wanting to know what happened to the Gally we knew at the end of the first book, there seemed little new information to be gained. Mike is still in the novel, and oh poor Mike. Honestly, this guy does not get a break. Not only does he get treated like rubbish in the first book, now he’s subject to police enquiries.
I found much of the book was going over what had been previously covered in the first book. Here was a scene were “Gally” remembers something sad. Here is a scene where Ferney tells her something happy. Here is a scene where Mike is left to pick up the pieces again. Oh a new character, let’s update them with who is who. I quickly became bored with what was becoming a repetitious story with no hope of an ending. My only salvation was to keep reading and hope that the ending would save me. However it would appear I hoped against hope. The ending was a damp squib. Whilst it wasn’t a surprise, and I can’t tell you how I did want it to end, I felt that the ending left me asking the question about what the point was in it all? Why hurt so many other people, just for that? Yes I really am a cynic and this book did not dent that opinion at all!
The relationship between Gally and Ferney seemed to me, to be incredibly selfish. Again and again we are reminded that it has always been the two of them. To the extent that no one else matters (Mike, Mike who?) I found it so selfish, I wasn't drawn into their affair and so found it hard to want them to be together. My attitude being that if they've been together before, they'll do it again in the next life.
Taking the books together, overall, they’re not necessarily bad books. And there are people out there who are more romantic than me, who may enjoy that aspect of the book more than me. So I wouldn’t dismiss the books at all. But really and truly, I don’t feel my life was massively enriched by the second book. The first book would have sufficed. And if I’m totally honest, it could have been one story, just without as much history.
So overall I would say if you’re looking for a love story, carry on down the bookshelves. If you’re looking for a historical read, hover and flick through but don’t linger. However if you’re less fussy about genre and looking for something a little bit different, to make you think, then go ahead. It’s not a bad read. And at least you won’t have to read it again, and again and again. At least not in this life……
