Feather Man

by Rhyll McMaster

"In this beautifully written and disturbing Australian coming-of-age novel, McMaster tells the story of Sooky, who struggles to overcome her difficult childhood, the effects of which are powerfully portrayed as she moves from relationship to relationship and from Brisbane to London."— Boston Globe “I think it’s quite wonderful. Beautifully written. Engrossing and utterly involving and it does something new.”—Maureen Freely "Let me say that Rhyll McMaster is an extraordinary writer. Her prose is dazzling, poetic and thought-provoking, and this is literary fiction at its best... I have likened Rhyll McMaster to Margaret Atwood. Atwood is brilliant, but in my view McMaster is even better. Feather Man has quite rightly won literary prizes in Australia and my money is on Feather Man making the Booker Prize longlist here." — Vulpes Libris Winner of the Barbara Jefferis Award 2008 Winner of the Glenda Adams Award for New Writing 2008 Set in Brisbane during the stultifying 1950s and moving to grubby London in the 1970s, Feather Man is about Sooky who, ignored and misunderstood by her parents, is encouraged to make herself scarce and visit Lionel, their elderly next door neighbor. The early pages of Feather Man are full of images of suburban life in Brisbane in the 1950s. The Thor washing machine thunders away. A kookaburra is perched on the oven door. Sooky’s mother is often chained to the treadmill of her sewing machine. The novel follows Sooky through four relationships with men and her entry into the art world, but the truth is, she is never able to survive unless a relationship is providing the context, however bad it may be. My hands still gripped his shoulders. I felt the bat wings of hair that ran across his back. He pushed his face close to mine. I looked at his eyes. They were remarkable, glassy, with yellow rays, but now they had a white glare in them, as if I was looking up close into the tunnel of a turned-on torch.
‘Whose girl are you?’ He gave my shoulders a shake.
‘I’m nobody’s girl. I’m me.’ Rhyll McMaster , born in 1947, started writing poetry whilst a child. Washing the Money won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award and the Grace Leven Prize. Feather Man is her first novel.

Genres: Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2007

Reviews

[Blake Fraina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rhyll McMaster knows how to rivet her readers’ attention. The opening scene in Feather Man depicts Sooky, the pre-adolescent protagonist, being molested by Lionel, the creepy pedophile next door. It’s no accident that this is our introduction to Sooky, because it’s this abuse that shapes Sooky’s entire story – her adult behavior, her relationships with men, her sense of self-worth.

The story is narrated by Sooky, looking back on her childhood in dusty suburban Brisbane, where she is neglected by disinterested parents and pawned off on Lionel (dubbed "Feather Man" by the girl because of his brood of hens), an elderly neighbor with a bedridden wife. Despite feeling ashamed of the sexual abuse, she also craves his attention because it is the only time she is made to feel special. Her mother is a stereotypical shrill harridan and her father, whom she dotes on, is a vaguely disinterested adulterer.

As Sooky matures, McMaster gives the reader glimpses into the great divide between how she views herself and how the world perceives her. As a young adult, she becomes a rather prolific artist and begins to find modest success. But she doesn’t seem to express any particular passion for her art and then blithely abandons it for marriage to a rival artist – Lionel’s equally creepy son Redmond. And yet her work, which is described in detail, sounds arresting and unique. Outwardly, Sooky, like her artwork, displays the brash bravado of a rebel, but inside she isn’t particularly impressed with herself, frequently deferring to the whims of the mediocre men in her life. In her own mind, she is secondary to them, so much so that even in her own life story the chapters are entitled Lionel, Peter, Redmond and Paul.

I found this one a tough go in parts. The main character has an almost laissez faire attitude about her own best interests; there is little rage or self-pity and, for a reader, it feels a bit maddening. Yet there’s enough oddball humor to keep the proceedings afloat. One particularly memorable scene involves Sooky inadvertently lighting her veil on fire at her wedding reception, causing a sensation and landing her in the paper – only to be met with outrage by her husband for upstaging him.

McMaster is a wonderful writer. She evokes a very tangible sense of place - from the stifling backwater of Brisbane to the grotty bohemia of the London art world. Plus all of the secondary characters are nuanced and believable. But Sooky is certainly her masterwork. In her, McMaster has created a difficult, contradictory, infuriating, funny and admirable protagonist. Truly one of most believable characters I’ve come across in fiction.

[Karen Powell]

This novel is the story of a young woman's search for her identity, a search that goes through several men, beginning with the old neighbor who molests her, and ending with his equally self-centered son. The structure of the novel is organized into the progression of four men's impact on her life: Lionel (her rapist), Peter (the too-eager first lover), Redmond (Lionel's cruel son through whom the narrator believes the past can be made right), and Paul (the father-like gallery owner). Despite these four distinctions, one man has as much an impact on the narrator's life, if not more: the father who withheld his love, went mad, and abandoned his family for his mistress. The memories of these men continuously haunt the protagonist, whose name is not revealed to the reader until she has secured her identity.[return][return]But has she really secured her identity, or merely just freed herself from her childish attachment to the family that stole her innocence? A hallmark of her relationships with men is how each of them tries to change her. Even Paul, the kind gallery owner who seems most suitable for her, eventually gets her into a skirt against her normal routine, and says the haunting words that echo her rapist Lionel: "Whose popsy are you?" The question remains unanswered, but even Lionel never let her answer it and would further inform her: "You're mine." While the skirt can be interpreted as the narrator's relaxation from the confines of her past, Paul's last words in the novel are chilling, and I wonder what the author meant by it. Is Paul a vessel through which the narrator can explore her newfound identity as an artist and independent woman, or is he just another man wielding the puppet strings? I think it's telling that the narrator's symbol of independence, the single bed, is taken over by Paul in the room he once designated as just hers, but eventually houses them both. I suppose the consolation is that she will be well cared for, but that seems to damper the themes of independence and identity. We don't want to dislike Paul, but we do wonder at his motives. The narrator, meanwhile, gets the loving father figure she always craved. [return][return]Despite the troubling end, the novel is very well written. Australia comes alive with the stifling heat that matches the stifling relationships, and the wildlife particular to the area. The narrator is a character with whom we can identify and sympathize even at her meanest, even when our patience is tried during her relationship with Redmond. The beginning of the novel is hard to take, as the narrator's search for fatherly love renders her vulnerable to Lionel's advances. Yet it is all written believably, her pain and rejection ultimately real and all the more harrowing. [return][return]There is so much to discuss in this novel: the narrator's mother alone could take pages of analysis, as could the themes of mirrors and oceans, including the relationship of Redmond and Pammy as a reflection of each other. With so many nuances, this novel has many layers to pick at.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rhyll McMaster's first novel is the turbulent coming of age story of Sooky, a young girl who lives in Brisbane, Australia at the start of her narration. Not long into the novel, she recounts an instance of sexual abuse at the hands of her adult neighbor, family friend, and amateur chicken farmer, Lionel, which sets the tone for the types of unhealthy and abusive relationships she will encounter throughout her life. Sooky's quarrelsome parents are blind to the instances of abuse, and as their interaction with their daughter increasingly consists of ignoring or berating her, Lionel's abuse morphs into welcome attention in the young girl's mind. When Sooky intimates that she "suffered people-burnout at an early age," it is not difficult to see why.

As she matures and eventually relocates to England in hopes of becoming a professional artist, Sooky struggles in nearly all of her relationships, particularly those that include men. Although she is often the victim in such relationships, Sooky's sympathetic situation does not absolve her from perpetuating unhealthy alliances. She comes to believe that "simple pleasures are for inferior people," and seems determined to break ties with any benevolent figure in her life. After encountering no shortage of narcissistic, manipulative characters, Sooky herself has acquired these traits and manages to shun seemingly successful relationships while pining over Lionel's equally troublesome son, Redmond.

Although Sooky is plagued by an inordinate number of volatile, abusive situations, McMaster imbues the novel with a dry humor that can induce actual laughter despite the largely bleak subject matter. It is occasionally difficult to sympathize with Sooky, and her decisions can be frustrating, but she is an intelligent, reflective character who is self-deprecating and witty. While she may be guilty of some of the behavior she abhors in others, Sooky's actions are often a painful reminder of the abuse she endured. Early in the story, McMaster writes that Lionel robbed Sooky of the "mundane, unexamined happiness of ordinary life," and despite her faults, one hopes that Sooky, having mastered the art of examining her life, finds some inkling of happiness even when she doubts that she wants it for herself.

[Jennifer (JC-S) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of a girl nicknamed Sooky. While readers can work out her real name, it isn’t actually used in the text until nearly the end of the book. This use of a nickname is in many ways the key to the story.

Who is Sooky?

Sooky is largely defined through a series of relationships. Growing up in the suburban Brisbane of the 1950s, her childhood is defined by an abusive relationship with a male neighbour, her hero worship of his son and a sense of alienation as her parents reject each other and Sooky herself. Sooky’s sense of self is battered and wounded by the time she travels to London in the 1970s. Sooky makes some questionable decisions and at times exhibits appalling judgement. Yet it is difficult not to feel at least some sympathy for her as she strives to find her own way in a world that has not generally been supportive and where many seek to stifle her individuality.

‘It is always a mistake to show your throat to the snarling teeth.’

Rhyll McMaster is an accomplished poet. This is her first novel and while the world it creates is a dark place, it is full of evocative imagery and humour. It is not a light read but it is a rewarding one. Those of us, who grew up in the 1950s and 1960s (especially in suburban Australia) will recognise many of the descriptions of household life.

[Pamela Pickering · Rating 1 out of 5]

To be read for Library Ventures Fund club for September via internet B&N Book Explorer's bookclub.----Having problems reading this one. I feel obligated to read it since it was a free copy but ay, yi yi....I am at 100pages and want to ditch it--can't quite get the writing style.

Update: Made it to just past 150 pages and I won't be able to finish this one. If it were my face to face book club I would bite the bullet and finish. I can't say that I am enthralled with this writer's style. It seems so choppy--almost clinical yet confusing at times; found myself skimming frequently. I also feel really disconnected with the main character and don't know if it is because of the writing style or something else. In fact, I couldn't even recall the main character's first name after 100 pages---NOT GOOD. I should also feel some sympathy for her (since she was a victim of molestation) but as she's grown older I just don't seem to care for her that much and it bothers me that I don't. I've just come to dread picking the book up to finish the story so I am going to abandon it.

[Literary Ventures Fund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in Brisbane, Australia, during the stultifying 1950s, and moving to the grubby London of the 1970s, Feather Man is about Sooky, who, ignored by her parents, is encouraged to make herself scarce and visit Lionel, the farmer next door—there, an incident will take place that will impact the rest of her life.

Against the backdrop of rural Australia and the London art world, McMaster meticulously paints the landscapes of Sooky's internal and external worlds through a narrator that brings to mind Scout of To Kill a Mockingbird.

Following Sooky from her neglected childhood to womanhood and her entry into the art world, the book combines comedy with emotional intensity. When Sooky's attraction to Redmond leads her to London, her past follows her into the future in a deadly confrontation.

[Alison Petchell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can't do it. I'm 157 pages in and it's just too damn depressing. Yes I agree the prose is charmingly clever but I'm getting sucked into Sooky's vortex and with every page turned I feel more despondent. The first chapter was macabre - the description of her violation terrible, filthy, sickening and sad. The book is so very cleverly written with deep insight into the main character's mind as she ages with this dark and terrible secret burden. As selfish and shallow as this sounds, I honestly can't bear any more and, being lucky enough not to have actually endured such an invasion myself, I think I'll stop now, because I can. There may be some who are entertained by such raw and terrible tales. Or others who find some therapy or insight. Too burdensome a way to spend my leisure hours for me. I don't need to relive someone's nightmare to be able to empathise.

[zespri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was going to give this book four stars, but the last section let me down - so had to revert to three.

The book has four distinct sections, each a portrait of a relationship. We first encounter Sookie as a young girl, and we move through her growing, and her relationships. Not wanting to give much away, this is a sad but absorbing read, but as mentioned I felt the last section was too tidy and did not hold my attention like the first three.

The writing style is beautiful, Rhyll McMaster writes poetry as well as prose and that is very evident from her beautiful choice of words.

[Cel Jel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book that I will not tell my friends to read, but this is not because of the writing, but because of the content. The writing of the incident at the start of the book, was so descriptive, and this is the incident that I do not want to have friends read. Although I found some of the characters seemed flat, and not fully developed, the story reflected the effect of the incident on the relationships in the girls life well. It also reflected the experiences of the era, with lack of communication between parents, and misunderstanding of reasons for choices.

[Linda]

A good story and a great author. It was about a subject thats really hard to hear about but I feel very necessary especially this era in life when its so prevalent. It happens all the time and so much of it is never known. It causes harm to a young girl as she grows. A very good read.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

loved the book. Great Writer and great story. A story that needs telling so maybe it will or could prevent this horrid thing happening again or not as often.

[Tasha · Rating 1 out of 5]

I"m trying my best to read this book but 64 pages in, I want to give up. The writing is all over the place, saying everything but not saying anything.

[Louise Chambers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful writing. Painful subject matter, yet I could not put this one down. I had to find out what happens.
McMaster's prose is a dream. Taut and well-crafted. I highly recommnend this book.

[Shandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very dark, but an extremely well-written psychological study.