Away with the fairies

by Vivienne Tuffnell

Vivienne Tuffnell Away With The Fairies Irrepressible artist Isobel has survived most things. She’s coped with everything from a sequence of miscarriages, her husband’s ordination, the birth of two small and demanding children, and finally the recent death of both her parents in a bizarre suicide pact. She’s managed to bounce back from everything so far. A sequence of domestic disasters finally signals to Isobel that perhaps things aren’t quite as rosy as she’d like. With her half of the inheritance, Isobel buys an isolated holiday cottage where she hopes to be able to catch up with some painting, as well as have the occasional holiday. The cottage is idyllic, beautiful and inspiring, but odd things keep happening. Doors won’t stay shut, objects go missing and reappear in the wrong places and footsteps are heard when there’s no one there. One of Isobel’s new neighbours suggests that it is the fairies who are responsible, but Isobel is more than a tad there’s not a hint of glitter or tinselly wings or magic wands. Isobel’s inner turmoil begins to spill over into her daily life when she hits a deer while driving back from the cottage. Her family hold crisis talks, deciding that she needs to have time alone in the cottage to get over long repressed grief and to paint it out of her system. As she works at a frenetic pace, the odd happenings begin to increase until even Isobel’s rational, sceptical mind has to sit up and take notice. And that’s when she gets really scared. Up until now, her motto has been that there’s nothing in life that can’t be made better by a cup of tea and some Hob Nobs. This time it’s beginning to look like it’ll take more than even chocolate biscuits to make things better.

310 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 30, 2011

Reviews

[Autumn Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't sure at first about this book, but it drew me in. Isobel, a young mother, whose parents have died before her second child was born must come to terms with her grief. Her artwork and some assistance from "fairies" helps her to realize that she must grieve.

[Marina Sofia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Utterly charming, a great change of pace from the much darker and more sinister books I usually read. Although there are some disturbing moments, it is very much the story of an artist struggling for self-expression and the process of grieving.

[Eileen Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful written, couldn't put it down.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this because one of my favorite authors, Caitlín Matthews, recommended it. Caitlín knows a thing or two about the Shining Folk, as well as hollow hills, mounds, and otherworldly activity. Her vouching for the authenticity of the descriptions in this story were enough for me.

However, the story itself, as well as the warm, compelling characters, made it so much more than a fantasy story or a tale of human-Faery encounters.

Tuffnell's beautiful writing style rendered each scene as vividly as the artwork of the protagonist, with a skillful blending of foreboding, hope, and grief in powerfully understated elegance.

I despise horror, and at times this book edged perilously close. But it never gave way to cheap tricks or contrived nighmares. Thank you, Ms. Tuffnell, for a lovely, deeply honest story.

[S.C. Skillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absorbing and page-turning novel interweaving several elements which are of great personal interest to me. The author is skilled at building up atmosphere, which she does to great effect with her account of creepy events in a remote cottage. I loved the author's descriptions, and her attention to details such as the swirl of dead leaves which is always at the door when Isobel enters. But, though the novel deals with a fascinating subject, I feel the author ultimately fails to exploit its full potential. I anticipated that the story would build up into something really harrowing and terrifying, but it loses pressure and tension with too much explanation after Isobel meets the old man.

In addition, I wondered about the attitude that Isobel takes to the events in the cottage. I found her resistance a bit annoying and puzzling; it seemed to me that a sensitive person - which she, as an artist, surely is - would have picked up on the paranormal nature of the repeated incidents very quickly. Later the author explains this by saying Isobel was "in a trance" which I found unconvincing. Isobel comes over to me as, on one hand, a defensive person, with a tendency to be negative, and on the other quite sassy, with plenty of attitude. I was also surprised at the rather vapid approach her clergyman husband takes to the situation, not even wanting to admit the events had happened to him; I found that a bit pathetic and unbelievable. However, my response to this may be because I've only just finished reading another of Phil Rickman's Merrily Watkins novels; and there we have a member of the clergy who fully engages with paranormal events!

A second point: in the explanation at the end of the novel, the discussion of "fairies" criticises those shown in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, implying they are on the same level as Victorian storybook fairies. I think this is based upon a very superficial view of Shakespeare's play. I've seen productions of the play where the fairies are wild, quirky, anarchic, amoral beings - there is nothing in the least sentimental about them. I believe this accords with the author's depiction of the invisible beings whom Isobel encounters.

My other reservations about the book are weaknesses in the copy-editing and in the ebook formatting. I believe ebook readers are very forgiving, in that if a story is compelling and page-turning - as this one is - they will read it right through to the end and give it 5 stars and forgive sloppy formatting and editing. But there comes a time when this kind of carelessness detracts from enjoyment of the story.

[S.J. Higbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

if the rather misleading title has you expecting some whimsical tale of winged cuteness, then don’t. This is a far grittier tale of how a couple of people deal with the curved balls Life throws at us, often in quick succession while we are still reeling from the last wicked delivery. I was immediately drawn into Isobel’s world, recalling my own struggles to prevail while in the midst of coping with a very precocious toddler and small baby suffering with a major dairy intolerance at a time when I was being told such a thing didn’t exist – though I certainly wasn’t also trying to paint…

There is a leavening of edged humour running throughout this thought-provoking book – and I can see why Viv ended up publishing the book, herself. This contemporary story isn’t all about boy meets girl, though there is plenty of love in it. Neither is it any kind of thriller or mystery, though there is tension and death in it, too. And while it is on the edge of paranormal, you won’t find any fae, vamps or werewolves stalking through it. In short – it thoroughly blurs the main genre boundaries, which probably accounts for the fact that publishers and agents left it alone, despite the fact it is an original, well-written, engrossing story.

Along with Isabel, there is a cast of well depicted, realistic characters who help to make up Tuffnell’s world and contribute to the richness of the world which bounces off the page. I stayed up reading waaay into the night to see what would happen next, as the story swept me up. Is the narrative arc brought to a successful conclusion? Oh yes – and this could have so easily descended into facile sentimentality. Tuffnell is grappling with some gnarly issues here that has most of us staring into the darkness, shivering a little… What is the point of it all? What happens when we die? How will we be remembered – if at all? It would have been so much simpler to have wrapped this story up in a thick layer of treacle and served it up as comfort food for the soul.

That Tuffnell refuses to give into that temptation is a testament to her own gutsy take on the world, which becomes apparent in her blog – and her talent as a writer. If you’re a fan of well-written, contemporary fiction featuring a sympathetic female protagonist, then track this book down. You, really, won’t find anything else out there quite like it…
9/10

[SFReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I downloaded this book, because I knew from Viv's blog that she is a fine writer, with high standards, so I knew I wasn't in for a misspelled, poorly formatted offering -- and I was intrigued by the opening passage I read as a sample.

Irrepressible artist Isobel has survived most things and managed to bounce back from everything so far. A sequence of domestic disasters finally signals to Isobel that perhaps things aren't quite as rosy as she'd like. With her half of the inheritance, Isobel buys an isolated holiday cottage where she hopes to be able to catch up with some painting, as well as have the occasional holiday. The cottage is idyllic, beautiful and inspiring, but odd things keep happening. Doors won't stay shut, objects go missing and reappear in the wrong places and footsteps are heard when there's no one there. One of Isobel's new neighbours suggests that it is the fairies who are responsible, but Isobel is more than a tad sceptical: there's not a hint of glitter or tinselly wings or magic wands.

As she works at a frenetic pace, the odd happenings begin to increase until even Isobel's rational, sceptical mind has to sit up and take notice. And that's when she gets really scared. Up until now, her motto has been that there's nothing in life that can't be made better by a cup of tea and some Hob Nobs. This time it's beginning to look like it'll take more than even chocolate biscuits to make things better.

Read more at SFReader: Away with the Fairies, by Vivienne Tuffnell

[Fran Macilvey · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Away With The Fairies' by Vivienne Tuffnell

I really liked this story. I was well written, fluent, engaging and, in parts, genuinely moving, especially early on where we hear about Izzie's parents and her struggle to hang on to her sense of self. That struggle to find space felt very genuine, very well observed and articulated, and gave the story a real grounding that most readers will identify with.

The more mystical aspects were well handled too, and there was no shirking from the explanations needed to make the whole backstory hang well together. Tuffnell has done an excellent job marshalling her research and spinning it into the story. I appreciated that.

I have only a slight quibble, which might be down to my own preference for short sentences. The kindle page felt a bit crowded. There are a lot of very long paragraphs; and sentences which, while they hung together, could have been made easier by being shortened and clarified. Occasionally, the meaning ran away with the commas. A spot of judicious editing would be so rewarding, here.

All the best, Vivenne, and thanks for a warm-hearted and interesting read. I'll go and take a look at some of your other books.

Fran Macilvey, "Trapped: My Life With Cerebral Palsy"

[Lynda Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and warmed very quickly to the characters, especially Isobel, the young mother/artist/wife of a minister who loses her parents at the same time just before her second child is born. When the family buy an old cottage for holidays and for Isobel to retreat to for her art, a fascinating story of what is sometimes called "the thin veil between the two worlds" begins.

In the garden of the cottage is an old burial barrow and this becomes the focus of Isobel's new art venture. Spiritual energies move between herself and the barrow which result in a powerful journey for Isobel.

If you are interested in spiritual ideas such as fairies and elementals, you will enjoy this book but even if you are not, this book is an enchanting story about a young family and what turns out to be a gentle but compelling "adventure".

[Suzie Grogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book from start to finish. The warmth of the characters, the moving and inspiring plot and satisfying ending all came together with the darker and more disturbing edge to offer a genuinely absorbing and intelligent page turner. Great stuff.