Flock

by Lyn Hughes

A seductive novel of family, destiny, love and wallpaper . . . A seductive novel of family, destiny, love and wallpaper they met on a train. they fell in love. they got married. they lived happily ever after. Or not. Francis Sprigge and Lilian Powys, two strangers escaping their past, move to the Blue Mountains together, following their dreams of creativity and love. But as Francis pursues his gift for designing exquisite wallpaper, Lilian finds that the ordinary life she craves remains frustratingly beyond reach. Despite her adoring husband and spirited young daughter Adelaide, Lilian cannot outrun her demons, and cracks soon appear in the family's harmonious veneer. Nearly thirty years later, Addie Sprigge returns to her childhood haunts to lead a small team of conservators in the restoration of a historic mansion. But as they peel back the layers of wallpaper and begin to uncover the secrets of the house, the past resurfaces in unexpected ways. Addie learns much more about herself, and her parents, than she ever could have anticipated. Flock is the captivating story of talented and passionate people and the ghosts they must lay to rest, as well as a ravishing exploration of the nature of love - and wallpaper.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

342 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2011

Reviews

[The Bookshop Umina]

Great new Australian fiction full of art, history and wall paper! An enjoyable read with lots of layers - perfect for fans of People of the Book or Kate Grenville. This one has recently arrived in store and I am going to start recommending it now!

[Felicity · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book really deserves 3.75 stars. In fact, maybe I'm being a bit mean skimping on the extra star (and it should just be four). The novel unfolds through two parallel narratives that have one central character in common. Eventually, therefore, these two narratives intersect. The first (or older) narrative begins in the 1950s, and it's a love story between Lilian Powys--the orphan from Wales--and Francis Sprigge, son of a highly-regarded (and wealthy) Melbourne family. Lilian and Francis fall in love, get married, move to the Blue Mountains, where Francis pursues his passion for beauty and the bush by making wallpaper. Who knew wallpaper had such a history? Fast forward to the 1980s where Adelaide Sprigge--Francis and Lilian's daughter, and the common element between the two narratives--has returned to the Blue Mountains to engage in the project of restoring and conserving an old house; this is a process that involves herself and three other esteemed wallpaper experts. The wallpaper forms a backdrop to these stories (how fitting!) and the motif (or trope) that holds the narratives together. But I'm not quite sure how successful the wallpaper is in fulfilling this function. I'm not really interested in the history of wallpaper, mildly fascinating though it may be (and that's being kind). And this is perhaps why I hesitate on the fourth star. Bringing wallpaper to life in words is hard work. I'm not sure that Hughes really succeeds, even though her writing is accomplished and elegant. But color and images are really difficult to conjure up with words and only the most self-assured of writers can really do that. This means that the novel relies fairly heavily on plot and characterization to maintain interest (like many books). And in the end, Hughes did entrap me. I couldn't put the book down, wanting to know how the various threads of the plot resolved themselves. But it took a long time to get there, and Addie's story (in the eighties) was, frankly, flat boring at first. I was almost tempted to skip over her sections and just read about Francis and Lilian. So this is a book that rewards perseverance and patience. It's worth it once you get there. But getting there is a little arduous at first.

[Cath · Rating 4 out of 5]

I especially love books with Australian content. Found this one really interesting when I got into it.

[Deanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

The opening chapter of Flock was engaging as the characters of Francis and Lilian and their love story was revealed. But unfortunately, for me anyway, this novel became very tedious with the introduction of many characters and much discussion about wallpapers. It was a struggle to become involved in the lives and motivations of all these characters. In the latter part of the novel the characters suddenly began to gain some depth as finally as a reader, I felt that I could understand and empathise with them as their inner stories and backgrounds were uncovered. To me Flock was weighed down by too much padding in its dominant theme of the history of wallpapers to the detriment of the depth of the characters.

[Yvonne Milroy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Loved that it was set in the Blue Mountains. Thought the wallpaper information was interesting. However, couldn’t finish it because I found the sentence structure too odd.

[Adele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow to get going but well written.

[Tania · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a bit slow reading year for me so far. I am savouring most words I read and this book is quite lyrical in parts. No neat tight endings which is great in my eyes

[Clare De Mayo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Strange book. The author uses the theme of wallpaper to link the different time periods and characters, but, apart from the front cover, there are no visuals to substantiate and give weight to this link. Headings for each chapter (that describe an historical wallpaper in very technical language) are too dense and mean nothing to the novice (re wallpaper ) reader. There needs to be much stronger descriptions in the text to justify this continuous motif....perhaps these were edited out....but as it stands the wallpaper doesn't have a strong enough presence. All the technical research the author has apparently done perhaps made for nice trips, but again is not very evident in the text, the information she has included can mostly be found with a Wikipedia/Google search.
The gay theme is very dominant and is clearly a narrative goal from the outset of the novel, and only one heterosexual relationship is depicted as positive, and that relationship is very minor compared to others that dominate this book. The author is clearly aiming at a reversal of the dominant paradigm, but there is a sense of 'rose coloured glasses' in her resolutions. I found the Blue Mountains setting interesting, as I have lived in this area, but was not drawn in by her narrative or characterisations.

[Joanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very average - I was not sure what this book was actually about, there were so many different stories going on, some of which never actually ended anywhere. The central characters journey was so simplistic in outcome that I flicked over the final page not realising it had actually finished. It started out well, having said that, and the writing itself is fairly good, but all in all a a light and not very entertaining read

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I discovered this one by accident and am really glad I did. Wallpaper and love and the Australian bush and family and hurt and coming to terms with things and more wallpaper. The story could have taken different turns and left me wanting to punch the author in the nose, but instead I'd like to shake her hand and say, "thanks, that was lovely".

[Miriam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quick read but totally non-engaging. Considering this was a character study, the characters didn't hold much charm for me, and the wallpaper analogies were fairly lukewarm. There was a little wallpaper speech toward the end that felt like the author had written it well before most of the rest of the book, and was saving it for a special moment. Sadly, for me, it just didn't make an impact.

[Alicia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Way to much back story for my liking and there is only a slither of a story holding the characters together. It could have been a great read...but it wasn't. Beautiful cover though...that's what grabbed my attention.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars I kept thinking to not continue reading this book but I did finish it. I think the problem, for me, was too many characters and their backgrounds. I had to keep reminding myself what past belonged to whom.

[Nikki Hepburn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the Blue Mountains setting and the bits on design and heritage restoration, not a stellar performer but enjoyable.

[Barbara Whittaker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't judge a book by it's cover. Disappointing