I finished reading Ferney on Sunday, but I've been so busy with giving my class their final and Christmas shopping that I haven't had time to do a review. This book is another that was in the bag of random books my mother-in-law gave us a couple of years ago. I don't quite know what to say about it. I guess I liked it, but it's kind of not a book you LIKE.Ferney is about a woman named Gally and her husband, Mike. They are looking for a new home, somewhere out in the country, somewhere outside of London. Gally has suffered from debilitating panic attacks and crippling nightmares - the burnman and the boilman. She's never understood the origin of the dreams, but they intrude upon her sleep nevertheless. When Mike and Gally come across a little, run-down stone house in Penselwood, Gally knows this is the place. After they buy the house and start renovating it, her nightmares subside, and they meet an elderly neighbor man named Ferney. Ferney tells Gally an unbelievable story about why the house seems so familiar to her, where her dreams come from, and who she is. Will she choose to believe his yarns, or will she stay firmly rooted in her present? What will she do if forced to choose between Mike and Ferney? I knew nothing about this book before reading it, but I'm glad I did. At first, it was really hard for me to get into the book - it was atmospheric, but the atmosphere was primarily foreboding. I didn't want to go back to it, because I felt sure something terrible was going to happen. But the story ended up sucking me in, and I flew through the rest of it. For me, finishing a book in a week or less is almost impossible, so I must have really liked this one! Four out of five Whatevers. I took off one Whatever for the sense of foreboding that initially kept me at bay. Recommended for those who like historical fiction, for fans of magical realism, and for those who enjoy a good Gothic read (I don't know that it's strictly Gothic in nature, but it had that feel to it).
Could be contender for book of the year. Already.I loved this book and couldnt wait to open it and read it. There are a couple of themes and passages within the book that are attitude changing.Essentially its a lover story - and although there are parallels to Time Travellers wife, this came first. It also reminded me a little of last house on the strand, with its references to changing landscapes.We have a newly wed couple - Gally and Mike. We know Gally has problems sleeping but Mike is a patient man. They are avoiding a car accident and take a back road in a village on the Wiltshire/Dorset/Somerset border when they find a cottage that meets their requirements. Its a shell of a building but Gally really is drawn to it. Mike sucumbs and they buy it with a view to renovation. And then they meet Ferney.Ferney is a man in his 80s and starts a friendship with Gally. The friendship is based on the following - gally and ferney have been lovers throughout the ages and meet in different bodies through reincarnation.The mystery is slowly revealed, with mounting conflict with Mike. The cottage / shared history is the key and centre to the story and the reason for the revelations - first in terms of ring hidden under the entrance of a door and then the two characters from the civil war that are responsible for the nightmares.Obvioulsy, there is some credibility issues to overcome, but the story is so well put together you can overcome this. The message of the book is the relatively short period of time modern history has evolved. In one passge, Ferny describes how he can get back to the civil war by going back four generations of people his age. This is truthful and a little bit eye opeing, when you think of it.The pace of the book is generally spot on - plenty of mystery and tension that always want to make you read the next chapter. The characterisation is good and even the credibility is overcome through materful story telling.A five star book.
What do You think about Ferney (1998)?
Fifteen hundred years earlier...Two soulmates make a pact with the aid of a magical stone to not let even death itself, seperate them. However, fate and tragedy have often conspired against them despite their many reincarnations. Present Day...It was an accidental detour inspired by one of Gally's frequent panic attacks that sent her husband, Mike, stumbling down a twisting lane to the abandoned country cottage. From the moment Gally's gaze falls upon it, she feels a sense of having come home. As her husband works at their new home's restoration, Gally finds herself growing unexpectedly close to an eighty-three-year-old man named Ferney . How could she become so attached to a virtual stranger and why does Ferney seem to know her better than she knows herself?As Ferney slowly begins to help Gally remember her past lives. Lives almost exclusively shared on some level or another with Ferney, Gally comes to see the truth and history behind some of her worst nightmares, which are really nothing more then experiences her soul encountered from the 600's to the present day. Through it all, Ferney is there, and the love between them that has existed for over 1,500 years isn't about to die just because of their ages. Somehow they must be together again - but closer in age then they are now....I'm a big fan of books that mix the past and present lives together. I liked how Long explained the concept of time, and how he weaved the reincarnated lives of Ferney and Gally throughout the book. I became invested in all the characters and really wanted an ending that offered some hope for the future for both Ferney and Gally. The ending comes across as anti climatic, however, I've recently learned that there is a sequel called, The Lives She Left Behind. Highly recommended.
—Nisareen
Similar to Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander" series, but J.L. doesn't quite attain her passion, color, & romance. Still, a good read, you come to care about Ferney & Galley & the mystery of their connection. Set in England--liked their old cottage in the country! The author gets a little lost towards the end.fav quotes: from Ferney- 'being full of beans' comes from people having more energy from their improved diet & 'feeling their oats' from people discovering that oats gave their horses more energy so they could work more & live in villages instead of separated on farms & the gene pool enlarged so better chances for successful matings, thus energizing & growing their societies. And, "a horse is just a great big machine for asking questions without knowing what the answers mean, so it gets frightened very easily." :)
—Suzanne Cooper
Quando Mike e Gally decidem comprar uma casa fora da cidade que vivem, devido ao estado de saúde mental de Gally, Gally sabe perfeitamente onde quer viver. Após uma longa procura da casa ideal, encontram acidentalmente uma belha casa na Vila de Somerset e infrutífera de casas que são bonitas mas de alguma forma não muito bem que eles acidentalmente cair e para desconforto de Mike, Gally afirma que a casa é perfeita.É aqui que encontram Ferney, protagonista da história, um homem idoso, quase com 80 anos que ao longo do livro se aproxima de Gally, criando um ligação muito estranha entre Ferney, Gally e a estranha casa. Depressa se apercebem que já se conhecem há muitos anos e concluímos que Ferney e Gally foram casados mas Gally foi assassinada sem nunca ter sido encontrado o corpo. Estava a ser uma leitura muito interessante mas fui perdendo o interesse à medida que a leitura foi avançando. Mas não deixa de ser um livro bom, pois apesar da ideia da reencarnação nao ser original, achei a história bastante credível, apenas alongou-se um pouco. Um bom livro com uma escrita envolvente.
—Mafi
