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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
After seeing the movie (which I disliked) I was a bit hesitant to read the book. However, I am glad I did! The book is much better!
adventurous
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Four Feathers is about courage and what it really means to be brave. A man who is afraid of the possibility of being a coward quits his regiment. His friends misunderstand his motives, brand him a coward with three white feathers, his fiancee adds a fourth upon seeing the three other feathers. This man faces his fears and decides to do everything possible in hopes his friends will take back the feathers. He learns that courage isn't the absence of fear, but in reality, courage is found in the act of facing his fears.
A delightful romance in the traditional sense where bravery and honor trump all. The hero commits an act of cowardliness through fear of not being brave enough and fights to redeem his name. Those around him act nobly. Good stuff. Fairly fast read, though slow to get into at first.
3.5 stars. An old-time novel of courage, cowardice, love, bravery, and forgiveness. It has a very British, stiff-upper-lip feel, at times. Since the focus is on war stories, a great deal of the novel consists of conversations recounting events, rather than the events themselves. This can sometimes seem like a hindrance, since we are denied access to certain crucial moments, such as Harry’s reconciliation with his father. For much of the book, Harry is on the periphery, his actions described by other characters. We finally get a firsthand account near the end of the novel, but it left me wondering how much the novel would have been improved had Mason given us more of Harry’s story in earlier chapters, rather than relying on characters giving second-hand descriptions of his self-imposed exile.
I can understand why this was a classic in turn-of-the-century Britain, but the clearly-defined moral lines and tidy wrapping up of narrative points (that, in reality, would have left gaping chasms of ambiguity) make this novel seem of another era, especially due to the modernist movement in literature that would supplant these kinds of novels in the years following its release. Still, it’s an enjoyable enough read.
I can understand why this was a classic in turn-of-the-century Britain, but the clearly-defined moral lines and tidy wrapping up of narrative points (that, in reality, would have left gaping chasms of ambiguity) make this novel seem of another era, especially due to the modernist movement in literature that would supplant these kinds of novels in the years following its release. Still, it’s an enjoyable enough read.
At Villa Rose was my first introduction to A.E.W.Mason's writing - and that was his entry to the mystery genre which became his claim to fame. I found the book little more than a pulp novel. That delayed my next tryst with Mason. I switched to this book as a temporarary distraction from Dune, a read which was going much slower than expected. Over the next few nights, I found myself spell-bound by this tale of cowardice and courage, adventure and romance, loyalty and duty, love and nobility. Yesterday late into the night, I turned the last page on what was definitely one of my best reads of this year so far. This is the story of a man's realization of his own capabilities, his deep desire to prove himself worthy - and the story of the strength of true love.
Henry Flaversham is born to a life with the British Army - his father has so ordained it. He hears tales of how army men lose their heads in the face of battle. He believes himself to lack the heart for fight himself and assuming so, resigns from the army when there is a call for battle. Three of his friends realize what he has done and send him one white feather each, the feather representing an accusation of cowardice. Henry who is engaged to the charming Ethne Eustace, receives the feathers in a post while with his finance. When questioned, Henry discloses the complete story to her. As he ends his tale, he is stunned to find an additional feather - Ethne's own accusation. She breaks her engagement to him but in one of the memorable passages in the book, they spend one last evening participating in a country party organised by her father. The next morning, she asks him to leave, he doesn't have to meet her father as she has already told him of the broken engagement. But Henry stands firm, "No. It is right that I meet him and explain". You as the audience realise that this man is no coward. But Henry realizes it not himself. He undertakes a perilous adventure to redeem himself in his friends' eyes and get them to take back their feathers.
This is his story but it is not only his. Mason paints each character most lovingly, taking us into their hearts and thoughts with immense sensitivity. All major characters of the book are equally memorable - Ethne. Durrance and Henry are most prominent of course. But Trench, Willoughby. Sutch, Lord Faversham - they are equally memorable in their own ways.
Beautiful prose and the tender telling of an inspiring story has made this one of the few books I rate five on five. Outstanding !!
Henry Flaversham is born to a life with the British Army - his father has so ordained it. He hears tales of how army men lose their heads in the face of battle. He believes himself to lack the heart for fight himself and assuming so, resigns from the army when there is a call for battle. Three of his friends realize what he has done and send him one white feather each, the feather representing an accusation of cowardice. Henry who is engaged to the charming Ethne Eustace, receives the feathers in a post while with his finance. When questioned, Henry discloses the complete story to her. As he ends his tale, he is stunned to find an additional feather - Ethne's own accusation. She breaks her engagement to him but in one of the memorable passages in the book, they spend one last evening participating in a country party organised by her father. The next morning, she asks him to leave, he doesn't have to meet her father as she has already told him of the broken engagement. But Henry stands firm, "No. It is right that I meet him and explain". You as the audience realise that this man is no coward. But Henry realizes it not himself. He undertakes a perilous adventure to redeem himself in his friends' eyes and get them to take back their feathers.
This is his story but it is not only his. Mason paints each character most lovingly, taking us into their hearts and thoughts with immense sensitivity. All major characters of the book are equally memorable - Ethne. Durrance and Henry are most prominent of course. But Trench, Willoughby. Sutch, Lord Faversham - they are equally memorable in their own ways.
Beautiful prose and the tender telling of an inspiring story has made this one of the few books I rate five on five. Outstanding !!
If I didn't want to get to 50 words for this review I would stick with one, vague. I kept trying to come up with different "talking points" about the book for the review but all of the had something to do with the vagueness of the book. Another word to describe it would be "fuzzy." Nothing felt concrete about the book, even the dialogue. I found the narrative mildly captivating and would even be able to recommend this book to readers beyond those interested in the classics if not for the -- you got it -- vagueness.
I was not a fan.
I was not a fan.
took forever to read this tiny book...and sadly the movie was even worse than the book