Item: Ferney
Rating: 5.00
Author: silverthistle

by James Long

A fabulous pastoral-romantic-suspense novel that HarperCollins are getting behind in a big way.

A couple are seeking to move from the city to the country. The wife, Gally, is an impetuous and instinctive person compared with her older historian husband, Mike. She finds a broken down old cottage in the Wiltshire village of Penselwood and falls in love with it. She is also drawn to a gnarled old local called Ferney, which rather annoys Mike, not least because every time that Mike begins to talk about the history of the area, Ferney puts him right as if he had been there himself… which, it turns out, he had. It transpires that Ferney is condemned to be reincarnated through the ages and occasionally, he is born at the right time to be in the company of the woman he loves, who is also on that same spiral through time. It’s not happening often enough, though, and last time they met, they agreed that they would both contrive to die together. Gradually, it becomes clear that Gally is the woman, and Ferney must ask her to keep her promise. Gally, though, is pregnant now, and the powerful pull of her past-love for Ferney must battle against her present love for Mike, and all her maternal instincts.

Through the earlier lives of Gally and Ferney, James Long explores the changing landscape and social history of England – from Saxon times to the present day – and weaves together a story of dreadful suspense and regenerative love. This is a rich and magical novel that will appeal to readers of bestsellers as diverse as Sarum, Midnight is a Lonely Place and The Magic Cottage.

I picked up Ferney as the third book in my '3 for 2' offer at Waterston's, without knowing the first thing about it. The cover drew me and the blurb on the back sounded interesting so I thought I'd give it a whirl.

I'm so glad I was tempted because it's such a fantastic book. It's A love story spanning countless years (and lifetimes. It's not exactly reincarnation, but it's a variation of it....kinda), and I really, really felt for Gally and Ferney, imagining how they must have struggled to find each other in some of their lifetimes. I loved when they managed to get together at the same time in their lives and hated when they overshot each other through no fault of their own. Their very first lifetime together actually moved me when it was revealed exactly what caused them to be so intertwined.

I had a real problem with Gally's husband though. What a misery he was. But then I wonder how my own spouse would be if I were in Gally's position. Probably no different. However, still don't like him *shrug*. I just wanted Gally and Ferney to be together forever and it pained me when they weren't or had interruptions.

I didn't see the 2 big revelations at the end coming though. It came as such a shock. I almost wept when I found out where Gally had been prior to being 'this' Gally (that makes no sense, I know......you'll HAVE to read it) and the end twist was so beautiful but bittersweet at the same time. It left me thinking how that would work out for them both, for days on end after finishing the book.

Such a beautiful, thought provoking book and one that is definitely worth the read, even if it's not your usual type of reading material.

I keep wondering now if I share my present life with loved ones I've spent time with in other lifetimes. I'd like to hope so.

Ferney

by James Long

Reviewed by SilverThistle on Nov 10, 2013

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