Felicia's Journey - William Trevor

[melrose226]

Okay, so I want to start this off by noting two things: first, this was a school read, so even though the blurb sounds vaguely interesting, that wasn't why I read this book. Second, also on the subject of the blurb: this book is billed as a thriller, and, while I'm not saying it ISN'T a thriller, it certainly isn't a hang-on-to-the-edge-of-your-seat-while-gaping-in-horror-and-checking-under-your-bed-and-in-the-closet-before-you-go-to-sleep-with-all-the-lights-on thriller. It's more of a psychological thriller, the kind with the slow-moving creepy edge that makes chills go up your spine but isn't going to make anyone scream out loud. As someone who appreciates extremely (and I do mean EXTREMELY) dark literature, this really wasn't all that creepy for me, and even though it deals with some super heavy and potentially disturbing themes, it does so in a way that doesn't come across super heavy or disturbing.

All of the above said: I really liked this book. Even though the action moved slowly and there were a lot of detailed descriptions (usually not things I love) the book still moved incredibly quickly and flowed really easy. The descriptions managed to be incredibly intricate without being heavy and boring, and I found myself flying through this book much more easily than you might expect for a book assigned in a college course (no offense to the people who love classic lit). The story was just creepy enough to be haunting, which I love, and the delicate way the disturbing themes were handled was truly elegant. It's difficult to write delicately about things like teen pregnancy, abortion, murder, molestation, and drug usage, but somehow Trevor does it, without making anything that happens, no matter how horrific, feel gruesome. In this, Felicia's Journey was a truly refreshing read. If you're a dark literature fan, this is an easy must read, but if you just want something that handles very heavy themes in a creepy way without causing nightmares, then this would be a great choice for you too.

Rating: 4.5 stars (docking is only for personal taste purposes, i.e long descriptions and not a lot of "thriller" aspects)

[teelaelee24]

This book sounds pretty interesting I'll have to read it soon.

[AlphaSirius]

Great, I will definitely read this book. Can I get the ebook of this novel.