A 2021 World Fantasy Award Finalist! A 2020 Crawford Award Finalist An Indie Next Pick! Named a Best of 2020 Pick for NPR Transformation, enchantment, and the emotional truths of family history teem in Kathleen Jennings’ stunning debut, Flyaway. “Kathleen Jennings’ prose dazzles, and her magic feels real enough that you might even prick your finger on it.”–Kelly Link “An unforgettable … feels real enough that you might even prick your finger on it.”–Kelly Link
“An unforgettable tale, as beautiful as it is thorny.” —The New York Times Book Review
In a small Western Queensland town, a reserved young woman receives a note from one of her vanished brothers–a note that makes her question memories of their disappearance and her father’s departure.
A beguiling story that proves that gothic delights and uncanny family horror can live–and even thrive–under a burning sun, Flyaway introduces readers to Bettina Scott, whose search for the truth throws her into tales of eerie dogs, vanished schools, cursed monsters, and enchanted bottles. Flyaway enchants you with the sly, beautiful darkness of Karen Russell and a world utterly its own.
At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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Flyaway turned out to be a wonderfully mysterious, Gothic fairy tale that will ever so slowly, yet beautifully, share all it’s secrets with you.
The sad fact is that I almost DNFed this book. At the start of the story, Jennings was extremely detail oriented with the overly flowery descriptions of the town in a writing style that felt a little choppy to me, so I set it aside for a couple days and came back to it, and I am so thankful I did!
Flyaway takes place in a small western Queensland town, and our protagonist, Bettina (Tina) Scott comes across as being sort of brainwashed to not care that her father and brothers have disappeared. And they aren’t the only ones in the town to disappear. There’s an air of mystery surrounding her and most people seem to want to steer clear of both her and her mother. This is the story of Bettina setting out with her former friends to search for answers, and for her missing family members.
I love a Gothic type fairy tale, full of the region’s myths and lores, and Flyaway gave me that and more. It is full of mystery, exudes a haunted feeling of otherness, and is about family history. As I reached the end of the book, I could also understand exactly why Jennings opened the book the way she did. So if you’re anything like me and have a hard time with overly done descriptions, I’d encourage you to read to page 50 before giving up.
While I wish there was a little more character development, at the same time, I think that also could have ruined the story? I never felt overly attached to any of the characters, yet it’s also how I’ve felt with most folklore and fairy tales, so I think it’s meant to be this way. There was just enough interest built to lure me in and I fully enjoyed the ride.
If you’re a fan of Shirley Jackson, F. Paul Wilson, E. Lilith McDermott, and/or Richard Matheson, I think you’ll enjoy Flyaway a good deal.
*All thoughts are based off the advanced reading copy I read, and are subject to change by the final printing of the book. *
Many thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Tor/Forge for the e-galley and the opportunity to share my thoughts.
Bettina Scott lives in a small Australian town in Western Queensland, and is striving to become just like her mother – straitlaced and an arbitrator of what’s right and wrong – after her father flees their home followed soon after by the departure of her brothers. When she receives a note from one of her brothers, she begins questioning her own memories of what led up to the disappearance of her brothers and father.
Jennings’ writing is descriptive and you’ll swear you can feel the hot sun beating down on your head. However, the storyline seemed to overwhelm the author’s ability to write it. In trying to impress reviewers, she forgot to write for her audience. While her descriptions of the land, particularly in the prologue, are overwhelmingly detailed, Jennings’ characters, including Bettina, remained amorphous and lacking in personality.
If you like modern gothic novels and are a fan of Shirley Jackson’s writing, you’ll love this book.
My thanks to Tor and Edelweiss for an eARC.
Bettina has grown up in a small town in Australia where people seem to just up and disappear. She’s a young woman who has had good manners and decorum drummed into her by her somewhat aloof mother. Her father left them and even her two brothers disappeared but Bettina has very little recollection of the circumstances until a note turns up. Bettina has shied away from others in town knowing her mother expects her to always be ladylike but she needs answers and finally reaches out but what she discovers changes everything.
This jumps about and it is almost as if the author wants her readers to be confused. Chapters about side characters, supporting characters with their own weird experiences and then there’s the disconcerting sense of something watching, ready to gobble characters up. If blunt it took me a while to really like Bettina but as the story progressed and it became apparent that her memories were clouded I did have more sympathy for her. I did like the explanation but still feel the ending lacked quite a lot. Still if you are looking for a creepy, short read then I’m sure many will enjoy working out exactly what is going on.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair