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Felicity is the twelve-year-old daughter of an amiable father who drinks too much and a critical mother who runs a bed-and-breakfast in a small British seaside town. After yet another fight with her mother, she goes to the forbidden Gull Rocks, where there's a dangerous undertow... and rescues a young man in a suit from the current.
The man, who calls himself Albert Ross, is installed (or installs himself) in their hotel, first as an invalid and then as a semi-permanent and non-paying guest. It's clear from the get-go that he's lying about at least some things and possibly everything, but why is much less clear. He's deliberately and very skillfully manipulating everyone, but his effect seems to go beyond that; people see him as they want to see him, and he functions as a catalyst for people's relationships and emotions. Whether he's a force for evil or good or simply for change is one of the many mysteries of the book.
I really loved this. It's ambiguous and mysterious in a way that's thought-provoking rather than infuriating. Felicity and the other characters are real and compelling, and it's beautifully written.
You could interpret Mr. Ross as being a con man, and Felicity having a vivid imagination that tends toward fantasy. But I interpret the book as fantasy, and Mr. Ross as some kind of amoral trickster spirit, able to take the shape of a bird but probably not having a bird as his true essence; I think his true essence is change itself, and so he's able to take many shapes while having none as a primary self.
In this book, while he causes a lot of suffering and upheaval along the way, his overall effect is mostly positive, helping Felicity through a difficult transition to adolescence and giving people a glimpse into what it's like to be seen the way they want to be seen. Felicity's often-mean mother gets to feel like what it's like to be kind, and so feels more able to actually be kind; Bony gets to use his intelligence and be brave; Felicity not only gets to be competent and heroic, but to be seen by others that way.
But the long stretches where Mr. Ross seems very sinister aren't wrong. I get the sense that his visit easily could have turned out completely differently, had he not either taken a liking to Felicity or had Felicity and Bony not been able to tip the scales themselves.
The Publishers Weekly review writes, in an amazing example of statements which are factually correct but miss the larger picture by a country mile, But through their encounter with him, Felicity, Bony and readers come to a greater understanding of themselves and a new awareness of the potentially destructive power of gossip.
Mysterious Mr Ross
The man, who calls himself Albert Ross, is installed (or installs himself) in their hotel, first as an invalid and then as a semi-permanent and non-paying guest. It's clear from the get-go that he's lying about at least some things and possibly everything, but why is much less clear. He's deliberately and very skillfully manipulating everyone, but his effect seems to go beyond that; people see him as they want to see him, and he functions as a catalyst for people's relationships and emotions. Whether he's a force for evil or good or simply for change is one of the many mysteries of the book.
I really loved this. It's ambiguous and mysterious in a way that's thought-provoking rather than infuriating. Felicity and the other characters are real and compelling, and it's beautifully written.
You could interpret Mr. Ross as being a con man, and Felicity having a vivid imagination that tends toward fantasy. But I interpret the book as fantasy, and Mr. Ross as some kind of amoral trickster spirit, able to take the shape of a bird but probably not having a bird as his true essence; I think his true essence is change itself, and so he's able to take many shapes while having none as a primary self.
In this book, while he causes a lot of suffering and upheaval along the way, his overall effect is mostly positive, helping Felicity through a difficult transition to adolescence and giving people a glimpse into what it's like to be seen the way they want to be seen. Felicity's often-mean mother gets to feel like what it's like to be kind, and so feels more able to actually be kind; Bony gets to use his intelligence and be brave; Felicity not only gets to be competent and heroic, but to be seen by others that way.
But the long stretches where Mr. Ross seems very sinister aren't wrong. I get the sense that his visit easily could have turned out completely differently, had he not either taken a liking to Felicity or had Felicity and Bony not been able to tip the scales themselves.
The Publishers Weekly review writes, in an amazing example of statements which are factually correct but miss the larger picture by a country mile, But through their encounter with him, Felicity, Bony and readers come to a greater understanding of themselves and a new awareness of the potentially destructive power of gossip.
Mysterious Mr Ross
