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journey with Mr. William Trevor has led me on quite a winding road, High highs in The Children of Dynmouth and then disappointing lows delivered by The Story of Lucy Gault, With Felicia's Journey I hoped to return to the initial ecstasy I'd experienced, and instead found a truly mixed bag,

This novel, though a briefpages, is not a quick read, Its style is dense, rather formal, and has a certain remove, similar to Lucy Gault, It took a while to get into the book, and a certain effort to stay there,

The main gist of the story: a young Irish girl still living at home becomes pregnant by a boy who goes to England without giving her a forwarding address.
She has very limited information about his whereabouts but she bravely leaves her small village to find him, She doesn't have much luck, and then she runs into Mr, Hilditch, an enormous man who works as a catering manager, and who takes an unhealthy interest in "helping" poor Felicia,

Cue the best part of the book, Mr. Hilditch's character instantly brought to mind the villain in John Fowle's remarkable novel The Collector, though Hilditch is Trevor's own unique, twisted creation.
This part of the book comes alive, Suddenly, I realize, hey, I'm reading a fine work of psychological suspense, I'm excited, thinking, oh this is the stuff, here we go,

And we DO go, and it's just as cinematic and utterly creepy and believable as I hoped it would be, and I don't want to put the book down.
What will Mr. Hilditch do next, after he consumes a pork pie and a pineapple cake and a big jug of warmed condensed milk and two KitKat bars I'm all in.


And then the ending. That same type of unbelievable, Ihadtomakeitliterary bullshit ending reminiscent of what I experienced in Lucy Gault, A wholly unsatisfying aftertaste to something that had gathered so much momentum, I don't know what it is with Trevor, He has to make sure everyone is as miserable as possible by the end of his books, He goes out of his way, so far that I just don't buy it, I feel like he's slathering me in defeatism,

It's annoying, because he's so brilliant, I mean, he's such a great writer, despite my complaints, The economy of pages but the deep riches therein, is something I can only admire, I love the way he structures the telling of his stories beautifully layered and highly crafted, And in this book in particular, the portrayal of the plight of a pregnant, unmarried woman from a Catholic family is brutal and accusing,

So, let's end on a positive note, I think I'll give Trevor a rest, just for the time being, The journey has been well worth the effort, but my feet are aching,

.rounded up for Mr, Hilditch William Trevor is considered by many to be one of the most important figures in contemporary Irish literature, and I came across opinions which named Felicia's Journey as one of his best novels.
Since Trevor is an author who has authored many, this was the one I decided to read to begin my acquaintance with his work, It turned out to be a strange mix I picked it up expecting a literary musing on the human condition, and got it but I also read a book which is at its heart a thriller.
A slowpaced, meandering one, but undoubtedly a thriller,

The novel begins with its protagonist, Felicia, boarding the ferry from Ireland, She is pregnant, and traveling to England with hope of finding Johnny Lysaght the man who fathered her child, He left no address, except for a vague information about his job in a lawnmower factory somewhere in the English Midlands, Felicia's father, a staunch Republican, believes that Johnny chose to join the British army, which for an Irish man is nothing short of treason, Despite all this, Felicia choses to believe Johnny and sets out to find him hoping that once she does, everything will be all right,

As you can probably guess, things do not turn out to be this simple, Felicia makes it to England with relative ease, but once she sets foot on the shore she steps out into another world: one very bleak, cold, and depressing, much more so than the small Irish town that she just left.
Although the year in which the action of the novel is never clearly stated or I have missed it, the grim portrait presented by Trevor suggests the early's, just after Margaret Thatcher's era as Prime Minister came to an end.
The Midlands the action takes place mostly in the city of Birmingham are depressed, overpopulated, dirty and hopeless, The novel is almost Dickensian in its sense of describing the place during the time Overwhelming, endless grey skies, tall, bleak chimneys, alienation suffered by its povertystricken characters, with poverty suffered by its sick, diseased, homeless and otherwise deprived inhabitants contrasted with the everpresent copious amounts of waste and trash generated by the other part of society signalling the growing obsession with consumerism and excess of having too much and caring too little.


Felicia is young, inexperienced, and hopelessly naive it is no wonder that she is quickly noticed by the other major character, Mr, Hilditch. At first, Hilditch seems to be kind and wellmeaning: an overweight, mildmannered gentle man, kind and helpful, someone in whom we all could trust, He works at one of the factories that Felicia visits, and is willing to help her find Johnny, However, it eventually becomes apparent that there's more to Hilditch that at first meets the eye: there's a very dark and disturbing undertone to his character.
From the point that the two meet, their lives become interlinked and the book becomes no longer just Felicia's journey alone it is now Mr.
Hilditch's journey, too. He is the slowly woundup trap to Felicia's lonely, unsuspecting mouse, Little by little, he ensnares her and prepares to catch her in his grasp,

Where the book succeeds is Trevor's portrayal of Hilditch a troubled man who does despicable things, but for whom we cannot help but feel pity, even sympathy at times.
However, many authors have made their entire careers in writing catandmouse novels about predatory characters, and the thriller element Felicia's Journey loses its impact in what is a oversaturated market.
The lack of a thrilling plot might turn off potential readers I too struggled with keeping my interest throughout the entire book, and found several parts of it largely implausible not least of them being Felicia's conveniently incredible naivete.
However, I did enjoy it and found the ending to the book satisfying and I will read more Trevor in the future, Wow, this was a slow burner, Trevor has an implacably deliberate sense of pacing and an instinct for telling detail that can make a barelypage novel seem bigger on the inside.
We are slowly given a vivid picture of a naive young Irish girl who has run away to Britain to find the boyfriend who has made her pregnant and of Mr.
Hildick, a middleaged catering manager at a factory, Hildick befriends the girl, offers her help, but he is not what he seems he has befriended young girls in trouble before, But his entanglement with Felicia seems to go further than any previous attachment,

Trevor gradually builds a gripping, horrifying portrayal of a wounded, monstrous beast and his intended victim, Nothing is spelled out in excessive detail instead we are given a selection of little details that cumulatively let us build up the full picture, or a version of it.


Most intriguing of all is Felicia herself, who seems to somehow find release and a measure of the felicity her name evokes in a footloose, uncertain existence, but at least one whose broad outlines she has become familiar with.
Marked for victimhood,she has managed to subtly turn the tables, but not without cost to herself,

Equally fascinating is the religious cult that weaves in and out of these pages and the woman who serves as their doortodoor tout.
There are several other fascinating little sidelights pinpointed for a moment or two in brilliant illumination before fading back into the textures of this intricately patterned and quietly devastating novel.
One of the few modern fictions that I liked despite having not a single character I could relate to, Two reasons:the writing is unique, Trevor uses parallel narrations covering the lives of the two main characters and also a lot of flashbacks for both without confusing the reader.
It is like presenting two lives, each covering both their current and past, in one concise and clear go andboth characters are multidimensional, although caricaturish at times, and standing directly at the opposite sides of a pole.
The way he presents them is like a symphony: starting soft and simple, then smoothly and slowly builds up until it reaches the climax before mellowing down at the end.
It is like presenting two characters in contrast, entertwining them in the middle, reaching together their highest peak before beautifully falling down separately and settling on a soft leaf floating on a pond.
Lyrical yet arresting narration. Exact and up to the point plot development, Each word contributing to the story, Just like symphony where each instrument plays a part in creating good quality unforgettable music,

Don't get the wrong picture though, Although Trevor incorporates lots of music and food here, this novel is not your usual feelgood story, This is about a single loveless middleage obese lunatic, Mr, Hilditch who fools the naive clueless young pregnant Felicia making her believe that he is helping her find her missing boyfriend, Felicia is an Irish girl who is left pregnant by an Irish man, Johnny who serves in the British army making him not a suitable husband according to Felicia's patriotic father.
So, pregnant Felicia leaves Ireland to find Johnny in the UK only to fall prey to the lunatic Mr, Hilditch. Think Psycho male protagonist meeting a pregnant female boarder minus the knife and ax, Then that Psycho killer is given a lot of screen time showing his soft, lessevil normal side like cooking sumptous meals, listening to his favorite music, working hard in the restaurant that he manages, being liked by his subordinates and getting along wll with girls in his own fantasy "Memory Lane" world.
Brilliant characterizations making these two characters among the fiction people I will remember for a long time,

The only two reasons why I am not giving this a perfectare also two:so many idiomatic expressions or words whose meanings I am not sure being not too familiar with British or Irish languages.
Examples are bloody poofter, Corner of Brunswick Way every evening on the dot, teetotal, dress for a chap, different kettle of fish, family at arm's length, etc.
andhad I not read yet the character of the killers in Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, I would have thought that the way Trevor developed the character of Mr.
Hilditch here elicing both hate and compassion from me is exceptional, I still prefer Capote's style over Trevor's, Although they are similar and wellappreciated,

Bow William Trevor, well done!

Felicia è tutto, tranne quello che il suo nome dovrebbe evocare,
Da quando entra in queste pagine la vediamo muoversi in una palude di tristezza: due sporte verdi, un piccolo gruzzolo rubato alla bisnonna centenaria e nientaltro.

Così Felicia una mattina sale sullautobus e lascia il villaggio in cui è nata e cresciuta,

Lascia lIrlanda e parte per lodiata e temuta Inghilterra,
Seguendo vaghe informazioni è diretta nella zona di Birmingham in cerca di Johnny Lysaght, sedicente fidanzato, Incontrerà una varietà di persone tra cui il signor Hilditch, molto premuroso, forse un po troppo

Le tinte fosche che colorano queste pagine hanno ulteriore ricchezza poiché Trevor costruisce una trama che ci parla di mali contemporanei e di quella solitudine ed abbandono che ogni giorno si trascina sui marciapiedi cittadini.

Speranze ed illusioni che sinfrangono,
Solitudine e il passato ingombrante da cui ci si deve difendere perché lassalto dei ricordi può trasformarsi in un incubo ad occhi aperti

Trevor vuole ricordarci quel famoso refrain de lapparenza che inganna e, in effetti, se dietro ad una vita che si presenta linda e rispettata si cela una personalità con disturbi pericolosi, al suo rovescio può esserci una vita che esibita come avanzo della società gli abiti lacerati, i denti guasti, lodore del corpo che è solo fetore eppure lì dietro ci può essere il massimo della limpidezza.


Sono quelle esistenze che si ritirano dietro ad uno schermo di sporcizia e trasandatezza,
Sguardi vuoti che vagano di città in città scappando dai ricordi che inseguono come famelici segugi, . .

Dopo “Leggendo Turgenev”, Trevor continua a piacermi


”Se torna a casa adesso, si sveglierà di nuovo in quella stanza.
Un nuovo giorno sorgerà sulla stessa disperazione, il peso di doversi alzare quando il campanile suona le sei, linizio di una nuova giornata, Le scale strette saranno di nuovo pulite di martedì, le lenzuola della vecchietta verranno cambiate durante il fine settimana, Se torna ora, lo sguardo di suo padre sarà ancora accusatore, i suoi fratelli minacceranno vendetta, ” Felicia is unmarried, pregnant, and penniless, She steals away from a small Irish town and drifts through the industrial English Midlands, searching for the boyfriend who left her, Instead she meets up with Mr, Hilditch, who is rooking for a new friend to join the five other girls in his Memory Lane, But strange, sad, terrifying tricks of chance unravel both his and Felicia's delusions in a story that will magnetize fans of Alfred Hitchcock and Ruth Rendell even as it resonates with William Trevor's own "impeccable strength and piercing profundity" The Washington Post Book World.
A story of a pregnant Irish girl who helplessly roamed the English Midlands in search of her lover, Trevor juxtaposed Felicia's innocence with Hilditch's premeditated and strangely benign violence, A psychological thriller so subtle it takes you by surprise and leaves you in shock, Exquisitely written. I read this novel on holiday, immediately after Patricia Highsmiths Ripleys Game, I had thought of the Highsmith as my murder/mystery romp and the Trevor as my literary read, However, they have more in common than I thought, Trevor is also a bit of a murder mystery romp, the first time Ive ever thought of him in that way, Both novels exercise psychological compulsion both build intensity and then suddenly switch scene or character, They draw a lot of energy from what they dont tell youat least not until the very end,

William Trevor is the more chilling of the two because his characters feel real, My familiarity with this Irish writer is through his short stories, many of which are magnificent character studies, With Trevor, you can assume nothing: anything is possible, even though the world in which it happens will be impossibly ordinary,

He writes beautifully, His narrative style is careful and measured, on the traditional side in a good way, He likes the present tense and he uses it unobtrusively to bring you uncomfortably close to the action,

We have two main characters in this novel: Mr Hilditch, the English catering manager and Felicia, the runaway pregnant Irish girl, Both are victims, though Hilditch is also a predator, Trevors description of them is meticulous, He lays down small details beautifully and nothing is accidental, Here is Hilditch:

“The private life of Mr Hilditch is on the one hand ordinary and expected, on the other secretive, To his colleagues at the factory he appears to be, in essence, as jovial and agreeable as his exterior intimates, His bulk suggests a man careless of his own longevity, his smiling presence indicates an extrovert philosophy But Mr Hilditch, in his lone moments, is often brought closer to other, darker, aspects of the depths that lie within him.
When a smile no longer matters he can be a melancholy man, ”

What a beautiful final sentence that is: When a smile no longer matters, . . ”. The best words in the best orderit is surely more than just prose,

The sinister side of Mr H is there from the start, Then theres the innocent seventeenyearold, ironically named Felicia, who runs away to find her boyfriend Johnny Lysaght, He left without a forwarding address and she is carrying his child, When Mr Hilditch gives her directions, he recognises her type immediately, She is lost and she is looking for someone, carrying her whole world in two carrier bags, He follows her. She is indeed alone. Names of other girls start to trickle through his mind, What happened to them We dont know, though we are already uneasy, The first seriously sinister reference is in chapter:

“The frisson of excitement that has been with him all day is charged with a greater surge now that he has spoken to the Irish girl again: never before has there been a girl as close to home as this one, a girl who actually approached him on the works premises.
Elsie Covington cropped up in Uttoxeter, Beth in Wolverhampton, Gaye in Market Drayton, Sharon was Wigston: Jekki, Walsall, All of them, like the Irish girl, came from further afield and were heading elsewhere, anywhere in most cases, You make the rule about not soiling your own doorstep, not shopping locally, as the saying goes you go to lengths to keep the rule in place, but this time the thing just happened.
Fruit falling from a tree you havent even shaken something meant, it feels like, And perhaps to do with being approached rather than the other way round, Mr Hilditch senses a promise: this time the relationship is destined to be special.
”

Meanwhile, we empathise with Felicias thinking, as her circumstances get worse and worse, Hilditch, while pretending to be kind, steals her money so that she will be

more vulnerable, but she doesnt know this, She starts off in cheap bed and breakfast places but is soon sleeping rough, We know he is out to get her, We know it is only a matter of time before she will enter his house, desperate for any form of shelter, Her mental pain gets worse, Soon it is physical pain when he persuades her to have a late abortion at his expense,

He is a serial killer, isnt he Thats certainly what we assume, And the fascination is like watching a cat playing with a mouse, The cat has practised this many times, The mouse is doomed. But what kind of serial killer weeps like this:

“Tears flow from Mr Hilditch, becoming rivulets in the flesh of his cheeks and his chin, dripping on to his neck, dampening his shirt and his waistcoat.
His sobbing becomes a moaning in the room, a sound as from an animal suffering beyond endurance, distraught and piteous, ”

It is a very sad novel, He is, of course, a killer but not quite like you think, Nothing ends up quite like you think as the novel builds in momentum and sweeps you along with it,

It is powerful writing, If there is a weakness, it is that too much of the explanation for Hilditchs motivation is left to the final chapters, In fact, perhaps there is simply too much explanation, period, I am reminded of some of Trevors short stories Miss Efoss is one Miss Smith is another where characters behave in bizarre and even cruel ways but the explanation is withheld.
We know there are explanations: that is always clear because of the way at least one character is fully dissected, But sometimes the beauty of the thing is to leave the reader puzzling, trying to assemble the clues,

Im tempted to think the novel form has made this shortstory writer feel he has to tie up more of the endssay more, suggest lessand as a result this narrative is not quite as fine as some of his short prose fiction, not as shockingly unusual.
It is an excellent novel though, It will stay with me,
.