Fairy tale prose, an unreliable narrator, family secrets, and a fully realized, gothic-tinged rural Queensland setting make this debut novella an unmissable work of mythic horror. ( )

Australian gothic, the first I've read. There are moldering villages, remains of a colonial past, supernatural creatures, stories inside stories, with a narrator, Bettina Scott, nineteen and maybe an innocent, all the gothic elements.

It was not an easy story for me to get into, so many places and people and plants and animals to know from the very first. I should have taken notes instead of thumbing back and forth trying to keep track of all the mysterious parts. But language and plot kept me reading away until it began to make sense, sense in its own wild, gothic sort of way.

This short novel tells more than one story, all of them connected, in well chosen words, making it a work of perfect length. And the cover illustration is done by Jennings herself. She is a writer, and an artist, full of talent.
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We tend to associate dark fiction with “literal” darkness – with shadows, haunted houses, twilight apparitions and “things that go bump in the night”. Similarly, the “North”, with its long winter nights and its mythology of fairies, trolls and diverse monsters, seems more attuned to conventional supernatural fiction than the Southern Hemisphere.

But just as Ari Aster’s movie Midsommar showed us that there can be dark horror in the unending daylight of a Nordic summer, Kathleen Jennings’ beguiling debut Flyway successfully challenges tradition by transplanting tropes of Gothic, fantasy and supernatural fiction to an Australian context.

The novel(la) is set in a small rural settlement in Western Queensland in the recent past – early to mid-nineties, judging by the references to early internet and mobile phones. The main storyline is narrated by nineteen-year-old Bettina Scott, although between each chapter there are short interludes – fairytale-like stories-within-stories – narrated by other characters. Bettina, we learn, was a feisty teenager, but since the sudden disappearance of her father and two brothers a few years back, she has lived a secluded life under the zealous protection of her mother Nerida. One day, she receives a mysterious message which suggests that her brothers might still be alive. With the help of two old friends, Gary and Trish, she sets out on a modern-day quest, to find her brothers and, in the process, discover hidden truths about her family.

Admittedly, Flyaway takes some time getting into. Jennings does not spell out things for the reader and the first few chapters of the novel felt somewhat disorienting. However, the narrative is well worth the initial effort and as things start falling into place, it gets increasingly gripping. A small hint… it helps to keep some notes about the different characters and the families they belong to – as in any self-respecting Gothic work, surnames are more than just identifiers…

A thrilling blend of Gothic mystery, modern fairytale and folk horror, Kathleen Jennings’ Flyaway proves that a cattle town in Australia can be as atmospheric and uncanny a setting as the magical forests of the North.

https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/2020/04/flyaway-by-kathleen-jennings.html ( )

We tend to associate dark fiction with “literal” darkness – with shadows, haunted houses, twilight apparitions and “things that go bump in the night”. Similarly, the “North”, with its long winter nights and its mythology of fairies, trolls and diverse monsters, seems more attuned to conventional supernatural fiction than the Southern Hemisphere.

But just as Ari Aster’s movie Midsommar showed us that there can be dark horror in the unending daylight of a Nordic summer, Kathleen Jennings’ beguiling debut Flyway successfully challenges tradition by transplanting tropes of Gothic, fantasy and supernatural fiction to an Australian context.

The novel(la) is set in a small rural settlement in Western Queensland in the recent past – early to mid-nineties, judging by the references to early internet and mobile phones. The main storyline is narrated by nineteen-year-old Bettina Scott, although between each chapter there are short interludes – fairytale-like stories-within-stories – narrated by other characters. Bettina, we learn, was a feisty teenager, but since the sudden disappearance of her father and two brothers a few years back, she has lived a secluded life under the zealous protection of her mother Nerida. One day, she receives a mysterious message which suggests that her brothers might still be alive. With the help of two old friends, Gary and Trish, she sets out on a modern-day quest, to find her brothers and, in the process, discover hidden truths about her family.

Admittedly, Flyaway takes some time getting into. Jennings does not spell out things for the reader and the first few chapters of the novel felt somewhat disorienting. However, the narrative is well worth the initial effort and as things start falling into place, it gets increasingly gripping. A small hint… it helps to keep some notes about the different characters and the families they belong to – as in any self-respecting Gothic work, surnames are more than just identifiers…

A thrilling blend of Gothic mystery, modern fairytale and folk horror, Kathleen Jennings’ Flyaway proves that a cattle town in Australia can be as atmospheric and uncanny a setting as the magical forests of the North.

https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/2020/04/flyaway-by-kathleen-jennings.html ( )

Parts of this book, I quite liked: the atmospheric descriptions; the intermittent fairy tales; the spooky supernatural creatures. Unfortunately, the characters themselves were hard to connect to, especially Bettina, and overall the plot is rather confusing. I think this is one of those books that you either fall in love with, or you just don't get it. Unfortunately I didn't really get it. ( )

Intertwined multileveled stories told in dazzling prose. ( )

This is a lovely book. The cover is just gorgeous. The setting of a tiny, out-of-time town in the middle of nowhere, Australia, is well drawn and seems perfect for this fanciful folkloric story. Bettina (Tina) is a prim, rather mousy young woman who lives alone with her fragile but domineering mother. One afternoon she finds a word, "Monsters," scrawled on her fence and a strange note in her mailbox, which sends on a quest to find her missing brothers. Turns out, she hasn't always been this mousy, and she can't really remember a lot of what happened before they went missing, or the night her father left. Her story is interspersed with other stories narrated by other characters, many drawing from folk and fairy tales--a shapeshifting creature, a Pied Piper-type story, a boy who made three wishes--that all come together at the end. I enjoyed the poetic writing, but sometimes I felt somewhat confused about who all the characters were and what were their family histories, which were all important; the lovely writing was not always as clear as I'd like. I suspect this short book would benefit greatly from a second reading. ( )

This is an incredibly written book. Beautiful prose, great story, and a great plot. The story is small, encompassing a small Australian Town. Fairy tales stories weave in and out - allusions to Sleeping Beauty, The Pied Piper, even The Six Swans are mentioned. However, the fairy tales are hidden, hiding underneath the landscape of this town.

An absolutely lovely book, and I hope there is more stories coming from this author. ( )

What a whimsical and enchanting book this is! I expected a fantasy novel filled with folklore but this is so much more. Don't get me wrong; this book is filled with fantasy and folklore but there are elements of horror as well. The tale is told in the style of a story teller sitting by a campfire where the words weave into a wondrous world where all is not what it seems.
A young woman living in a small town in Western Queensland, Australia receives a cryptic note from one of her brothers. Brothers who mysteriously disappeared around the time that her father left. The note compels Bettina on a search for the truth. A heartrending quest where Bettina faces ethereal animals, disappearing schools, and strange monsters to learn the unsettling truth.
The writing reminds me of Shirley Jackson's works and is beautifully poetic. This is one novel I do plan to read again because there is so much to absorb and I think it is one of those novels where you learn something new each time you read it again. ( )

After she receives a mysterious note, nineteen year old Bettina flouts her mother’s rules for ladylike behaviour and embarks on a roadtrip with a couple of forgotten friends in search of her brothers, who disappeared three years ago.

I loved some of the descriptions, especially seeing a rural Australian setting for this sort of fantasy. Jennings creates a wonderfully eerie atmosphere and the mystery kept me reading. However, the folktale parts of the story are dark, uncomfortably so.

Very successfully Gothic, just ultimately not really my brand of Gothic.

“You coward, Tina!” he shouted, voice cracking. I knew he would not follow. Mother had forbidden him the yard, back when my brothers left. Damsons respect fences.
Coward. My hands were shaking. “Hush,” I whispered to myself, until they stilled, and my thoughts were quiet once more. [...] Caution was better than bravery, I reminded myself. A civilised, bone-china soul knows, as a bird does, that a heavy-footed, shouting man is a thing to be fled.
The garage was quiet, except for the scrape and slide of noisy miner and magpie claws on the iron roof, the spreading patterns of hydrangea-blue shadows, and the perennial half-whispers in the trees that did not belong to any breeze or beast I had ever seen. ( )

I picked this up on a whim in the 'New Arrivals' section on a book buying spree. I was drawn to the beautiful illustrations, the fact that it was a contemporary Australian gothic folklore tale and that it had Shirley Jackson vibes. It ticked all the boxes.

However, sadly this novella just didn't do it for me. I'm drawn to rich, complex, character driven stories and unfortunately this lacked all of those things (especially when the protagonist's personality was reminiscent of a broom). This was quite a difficult read, it was slow going and it did put me in a reading slump. The book does pick up after the first couple of chapters and it does contain some beautifully written prose which kept me turning the pages.

I wish this was fleshed out a bit more (at least another 100 pages) as it's an interesting tale. There's certainly something special and unique about it but overall it just felt 'unfinished' and left me feeling unsatisfied :( ( )

Flyaway by Kathleen Jennings is a novella from an Australian author whose short fiction I have previously enjoyed. She is, perhaps, most well-known for her artwork, including book covers such as the one for Flyaway, among others.

Going through the tags for this review, I couldn't not include "Australian gothic". This book is a tangle of fairytales brought by settlers into the unique Australian landscape, all of them twisted and variously creepy. Flyaway is, above all, a story composed of many other stories, told as flashbacks or asides. The layers are slowly peeled back as our unreliable narrator, Bettina Scott, slowly learns more of her recent past and starts to realise what she's forgotten.

The fact that part of the story is told as Bettina's memories unfurl means that we come at the main story — for lack of a better term, I mean the story most important to Bettina — from an oblique angle. We know something strange has happened, but the pieces don't come together until very close to the end. But in the meantime, Jennings keeps the reader entertained and/or horrified with the extra stories peppered throughout the narrative.

I recommend Flyaway to readers who like weird narratives and who don't mind feeling creeped out by the bush or western Queensland. I think non-Australian readers will also find much to connect with in this book, since a lot of the fairytales are recognisably based on European folklore, despite the strong presence of the Australian landscape in the book.

4 / 5 stars

You can read more of my reviews on my blog. ( )

Written by Australian Kathleen Jennings, Flyaway is a novella full of stories within stories, delivered in a shroud of myth, legend, folklore and superstition that kept me guessing.

Our protagonist Bettina has a mysterious past and she's determined to find out what happened to her brothers - and herself - several years ago.

Set in outback Australia, the beautiful writing, evocative descriptions and imagery brought the once familiar landscape to life in a new and eerie light. The rural area was both peaceful and menacing, the town a haven for a close knit community as well as a place seething under the surface with fear and mistrust.

A combination of urban fantasy and magical realism, Flyaway is full of mysterious disappearances, creatures that lurk in the shadows and a slight otherness that you can never quite put your finger on.

The structure, lyrical prose and fairytale elements reminded me a great deal of The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. And just like that book, I enjoyed the writing, the world building and stories within stories, but I was never confident of maintaining a full and clear picture of what was actually happening at any given time.

Presented with an exquisite cover design and french flaps, Flyaway is a gothic Australian fairytale that might just penetrate the pages into your subconscious.

After letting this book settle in my mind, I realised I feel the same way about this as I do The Starless Sea. I loved it but there were definitely elements of reader confusion and matters unresolved. For instance, I wanted to learn more about Bettina's mother and her own transformation during the intervening years.

Nevertheless, Flyaway is a smashing literary debut by Kathleen Jennings and I'm sure awards will follow.

* Copy courtesy of Pan Macmillan * ( )