Reading: Flyaway (278/365)

[white_hart]

Kathleen Jennings' debut novella, Flyaway, is a creepy Gothic fairytale set in Western Queensland, which blends mystery, folklore and horror in the interlocking narratives of nineteen-year-old Bettina's quest to uncover her lost past, and the stories the people she encounters have about weird and uncanny happenings in the woods surrounding the town of Runagate. The horror element was stronger than I was expecting, and made it quite an uncomfortable read, but I was drawn along by the mystery and even more fascinated by the folk-tale resonances of the stories within the stories. Jennings' prose is the real standout, though; her descriptions are so vivid that I really felt I could picture the struggling small towns and the endless wilderness of trees between them.

Flyaway is a weird, beautiful, immersive read. It wasn't quite what I was expecting but I liked it a lot.

Comments

[lokifan]

Oh, interesting! I love me some Australian Gothic (though this sounds very different from e.g. Margaret Mahy's The Tricksters.)

[white_hart]

I'm not sure I ever read The Tricksters, but I think there is some similarity to the Mahy I did read as a teen. It also reminded me a lot of We Have Always Lived In The Castle in places - particularly the main character's voice and sense of a hidden past.

[x_los]

Oh, weirdly I know her a little from a DWJ conference.

[white_hart]

Given that I know her Twitter handle is tanaudel, that doesn't surprise me that much!

[wellinghall]

Thank you; I will add it to my list. I certainly enjoyed Scales and Sensibility.