Varley O'ConnorRecensioni

What a unique story. I greatly enjoyed it and was a fast read. Well written and I give it 4 stars.

In the 1800's a phenomenon among young girls was spreading across the Welsh countryside and this is the story of one of those girls. A fasting girl was a religious curiosity among he small town. A vicar and a struggling woman investigator/writer investigate whether this girl is truly a miracle. After a two week period, the truth is uncovered. I was really interested in reading this novel, but in the end it underwhelmed me. the writing was great, but the story seemed to revolve more around the investigator and her struggles with the story and her own family where I would have liked it to be told from the point of the fasting girl.

The late 1860s were a tumultuous time in the history of Wales. The Welsh struggled to keep their national pride despite the encroachment of the British in all areas of life, including language and religion. Against this backdrop, a twelve year old girl, Sarah Jacob, became a powerful symbol of the traditional Welsh belief in the power of supernatural forces. She became known as the "Welsh Fasting Girl" because, as her family and throng of supporters alleged, she miraculously hadn't needed to eat in years. An investigative reporter, Christine, is sent by an American newspaper to report on "The Watching", the two-week event that was supposed to settle once and for all if Sarah was secretly being fed. Unfortunately, Sarah did not survive the ordeal. Her parents were brought up on changes of manslaughter.

The Welsh Fasting Girl is a literary novel based on the true story of Sarah Jacob. It covers much the same territory as Emma Donohue's more heavily fictionalized work, The Wonder. Some have tried to make a case that the-real life Sarah was an early sufferer of anorexia nervosa, but in Varley O'Connor's vivid retelling, she is a victim of child abuse, exacerbated by an uncaring medical establishment and enabling parents. I liked how the novel delved into the aftermath of Sarah's fast, but I wasn't as excited about the device of having Christine write letters to her deceased husband to move the narrative along. In general, however, I found this a moving look at a tragic situation. Highly recommended.

The novel, The Welsh Fasting Girl, by Varley O'Connor, focuses on one of the more famous fasting girls, twelve-year-old Sarah Jacob of Wales. The year is 1869. Sarah Jacob claims that she has not eaten for two years. A local vicar, initially skeptical, is convinced that Sarah's claim is authentic and immediately notifies the press. News of the miraculous Welsh Fasting Girl spreads across the Atlantic Ocean, and American journalist Christine Thomas, a Civil War widow, is sent overseas to investigate. Once in Wales, Christine detects underlying nuances in the Jacob family's dynamics and suspects that there is more to Sarah's situation than meets the eye. ...more½

Interesting concept and storyline but I did not like how it was presented, very much like many nonfictions, although this is fiction.

In 1860s Wales, a poor pre-teen girl is bedridden while she refuses to eat for weeks at a time, yet shows no ill effects. It is either a miracle or a clever deception. The vicar, doctors, and even a reporter from America make frequent wellness checks on the girl. Finally the locals suspect that someone must be feeding her and to prove it, she is put on a round-the-clock watch for 2 weeks. She doesn't survive the watch, and there is a trial.

The family background was interesting and telling of the times. I just thought it became very drawn out and repetitive.

A LibraryThings win.

After the first few chapters, I really couldn't get into the story. It's too bad because I was actually looking forward to this novel.

Christine is a journalist who has become fascinated with the reports of a young girl in Wales who has been fasting and not eaten for more than 2 years. The girl not only lives, but she appears to be thriving. Christine decides to travel to Wales and investigate this fasting girl and post reports back to America for her newspaper. While in Wales, Christine rekindles her love for her deceased husbands homeland. She also develops a bond of affection for the young fasting girl, Sarah Jacob. Is she surviving on no morsel of food or drink? No one can seem to decide. When the government steps in to perform a two-week watch over Sarah, Christine cannot help but be relieved and yet dismayed. Will they discover that she has been secretly eating and performing a hoax? Or will they discover that she is truly fasting and may be the religious devout girl she claims to be? What will happen to Sarah, her family, and this sleepy Welsh town will mesmerize you.

This was a very interesting book! I had to look up Sarah Jacob to see if she was indeed a real girl...and she was!!!! A very interesting rendition of her life, the watch, and what transpired afterwards. Thank you LibraryThing for the advanced readers copy!!!

While reading the first section of The Welsh Fasting Girl I thought it was all too familiar, too similar to another book I had read about a historical fasting girl. A young girl reportedly has stopped eating but is alive and well, her community hoping it is a miracle for in the mid-1800s faith is being challenged by science. The parents agree to a watch to ascertain the girl is not obtaining nourishment. A woman from outside of the community, an American journalist, comes to Wales to cover the story but becomes emotionally involved.

But halfway through the book, Varley O'Connor went in a completely different direction from the book I had previously read. Whereas the other book offered a wish-fulfillment ending, O'Connor's fasting girl does not survive. And this allows the novel to go into deeper territory, probing culpability and guilt in the family, community, culture, and laws of the time.

How could people not save the life of a starving girl? The doctors and nurses, the vicar, the parents, the sibling, all stood by, trapped by their own dark dreams and secrets as Sarah wasted away over fourteen days.

And what would drive a beautiful girl to embrace death?

Hysterical anorexia was identified as a specific disease in 1873, a few years after the death of the Welsh fasting girl. O'Connor notes that although records do not show that Sarah was sexually abused, a high incident of girls who fasted were in fact victims of sexual abuse.

The fictional American reporter, Christine, is a central character. As she writes letters to her reporter husband who never returned from covering the Civil War, we understand her perception of the people and events playing out. Her children grown, her beloved husband gone, she struggles with questions of identity and role in the world. She is young enough to miss love and old enough to have a life separate from her children.

After the trial to determine culpability in Sarah's death, Christine pursues further knowledge, several clues indicating that there was more to the story. And as she digs deeper, a complicated family web is unraveled.

O'Connor's tragic novel is beautifully written, her deep research contributing to a vivid sense of place and time. And although a work of historical fiction addressing the conflicts of the 1860s, the issues are relevant today.

I received an ARC from the publisher through LibraryThing. My review is fair and unbiased.

Christine, an American reporter, travels to Wales to write about Sarah Jacob's, the famous fasting girl. Sarah, her family, and their local priest, claim that Sarah has not eaten anything in over two years. When a strict watch is called for, the world watches.

I thought this was a dry and slow moving book. The focus was more on the reporter and her family than Sarah. Overall, not a book I would re-read or recommend.

This is a very well-written story, based on factual events during Victorian times when “fasting girls” were believed by some to be religious miracles. The author tells the story from the viewpoint of an American reporter and the family of the fasting girl, who knew the truth behind the miracle. The story is fleshed out in such a way that you really care about the characters. I found it hard to put down.

In the late 19th century, several cases of "fasting girls" occurred in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. One of the best known was 12-year old Sarah Jacob, who was rumored not to have ingested food or water for almost two years yet was seemingly in good health. The religious (or superstitious) locals began to flock to her bedside, believing that they were witnessing a miracle. As word spread, visitors from further afield, including journalists, scientists, and medical experts, arrived in the small Welsh town. Ultimately, a commission comprised of five doctors and four nurses convened to "watch" over Sarah to determine the truth. After two weeks, her health took a sharp turn for the worst, yet no one--not the nurses, the doctors, the vicar, nor Sarah's parents--offered her food or water. When the subject came up, as it did when a distraught uncle begged Sarah's father to allow her to be fed, Evan Jacob refused. When Sarah died, her parents were put on trial for manslaughter. The assumption was that the gifts and money left by visitors were such a temptation that they were willing to risk their daughter's life, hoping she would live until the end of the watch so that these 'holy visitations' could continue, to their profit.

Varley O'Connor's key character is not the fasting girl herself but a character she invents: Christine Thomas, a budding American journalist whose husband, James, was lost in the Civil War and presumed dead. Christine accepts a commission from a large newspaper to investigate the case at first hand, leaving her adult children behind. Dispersed throughout the novel are letters written to her absent husband as a way to make sense of the events she witnesses. She finds Sarah to be an extraordinarily beautiful, intelligent child, yet senses an undercurrent of fear, if not evil, in the household. As she befriends Sarah, her mother Hannah, and her strange younger sister Margaret, Christine's suspicions grow. The Welsh Fasting Girl focuses on Christine's investigative work, from her initial arrival in Carmarthen through the the watch, Sarah's death, the trial, and beyond. The people she interviews form a large part of the story: what did they know, when did they know it, and why didn't they step in at some point?

It was difficult to read this novel without bringing to mind Emma Donoghue's The Wonder, which centers on an Irish fasting girl. But by bringing in an investigative journalist, The Welsh Fasting Girl goes beyond the simple question of whether or not the girl was sneaking food to the possible psychological reasons behind Sarah's initial refusal of food and the actions of those around her, and the added depth is a big plus. It also reflects on the conflicts of Christine herself: her strained relationships with her children, her difficulty adjusting to the loss of her husband, her need to claim a life of her own and a sense of personal value outside of her family. Today, Sarah Jacob is considered one of the first victims of a newly defined psychological condition, anorexia nervosa. O'Connor has done her research, both on the facts of the actual case and the persons involved, and its psychological underpinnings. Overall, a very fine historical novel.½

What happens when a 12-year-old girl stops eating altogether yet continues to live?

If it's the late 1800s, she is probably declared a 'miracle' and gains rapid fame (and fortune?) via her continued subsistence on fresh air and Bible readings.

This is what happened to Sarah Jacob of Wales, and author Varley O'Connor tells the story of this poor child with sympathy and objectiveness both. The real Sarah will forever be unknown to us of course, but O'Connor's protagonist is agonizing enough in her ultimate tragedy.

Told through the eyes of a journalist named Christine, the 'miracle' of Sarah unfolds slowly. The father, Evan, claims that his girl is a living miracle; indeed the mother goes along with this, but we are told in dribs and drabs that of course it cannot be. Then what drives Evan to such near-maniacal insistence? This is the journey that we must embark on along with Christine.

I say 'must' because it is frequently hard going. At first there is the fame, a little bit of money left for Sarah by her adoring public. Then there is scientific interest in the case. A panel of doctors decides that she must be watched in order to verify the father's claims. A group of nurses even travels from a famed London hospital to carry out the watch.

And from here on out it all goes heartbreakingly downhill. Even as Sarah weakens in the total absence of food, the nurses can do nothing. What is their purpose? The doctors argue. The parents counter-argue. The child's uncle tries to intervene as the absurdity of her fasting stretches into five days, six days. The journalist chronicles all while maintaining a professional distance. Yet all the while her heart weeps at the missed connections with Sarah, all glaringly obvious to us readers.

And as a reader, it is impossible to remain objective. O'Connor deftly lets us feel frustration, horror, and ultimately, sorrow. She leads us into the dark, musty farmhouse where the family lives, lets us breathe the particular air of Wales. Gives us glimpses into the complex relationship with the English and an even-keeled version of events from each main protagonist. All is explained yet O'Connor's narration leaves it feeling not pat, but whole.

All told, this was an affecting story about a little-known subject. Was this truly the precursor to what is now known as anorexia? I had no idea, how little we know!

More reviews on https://devikamenon.blogspot.com/search/label/books½

I received this book through the Early Reviewers program, in exchange for an honest review. While I really did enjoy the book (more on that in a moment), I also have to note how impressed I was by the publisher, both for sending this out super fast - I think I received it within a week of the closure of the Early Review cycle, which is unheard of, and also for including a complimentary second book. Very nicely done (though it will not influence my review)!

Now, the book itself - this truly is literary fiction, and the story is based on fact - the very sad fact of the death of a 12 year old girl from starvation in Wales in 1869. Sarah Jacob was known as the Welsh Fasting Girl, and allegedly had lived for nearly 2 years without eating or drinking. As her story become more widely known, not only did people come to see her, but they also called for a "scientific" experiment to prove the truth of her story. A 14 day observation began, with four nurses and numerous doctors overseeing her; despite the medical observers, she died, and her parents were charged in her death (not a spoiler, this is noted on the back cover).

O'Connor draws the reader in through a fictional reporter who journeys from Brooklyn to Wales to report on the story, in the wake of her husband's death in the Civil War. The reporter develops a relationship with the family and explores several possible causes for Sarah's fast. While I did enjoy the book because of the fascinating story and excellent writing, the topic is admittedly disturbing, and the exploration of the causative events and subsequent family situation more so.½

I loved The Welsh Fasting Girl! It is the sort of historical fiction I adore- a good story that is both atmospheric and well-researched. It took me awhile to read because I kept delving into wormholes on Wikipedia, wanting to know even more.

Set in the late 19th century, based on the true story of Sarah Jacob, a Welsh “fasting girl” who appeared to live miraculously without food, the novel is told largely from the viewpoint of an American journalist sent to cover the story.

Readers learn from the description of the back of the book that Sarah will die and the parents will be tried for murder, yet even with that spoiler, O’Connor manages to effectively build tension throughout the novel; and I found myself staying up way too late reading! Sarah’s story serves to highlight tensions between science and religion, a clash of cultures, and the historical role of women.

Highly recommended! If you like The Welsh Fasting Girl, you may also like The Wonder by Emma Donoghue (based on the same case) and The Good People by Hannah Kent (set in Ireland in an earlier time, but dealing with some similar themes).

Very sad story. A bit slow at times.

This book was so frustrating to me. I really wanted to like it. Too much happens without enough character development, and it ends up feeling a bit like a melodramatic film--maybe like Written on the Wind. There are some nice descriptions of place, and a few little images that made me stop and take notice. For example: "The sun was strong yet the air was brisk, a core of warmth with a coolness floating across it, a brilliancy in the air so sharp that its touch on their faces, their hands, nearly sounded the ping! of a gold ring tossed in a glass." But those moments weren't enough to elevate the whole book. The dialogue didn't work that well for me. I just couldn't relate to these characters most of the time. Their situations were ripe for reader empathy, but alas... A really great book from a really great writer can make me relate to characters with whom I have almost nothing in common on a superficial level. I wanted that from this book, but it just didn't deliver.

In fairness, I read this right after reading The End of the Affair. The depth of emotion conveyed just wasn't even in the same universe.

What I like about fictionalized portraits of famous people is that they send you off searching for non-fiction information about the subject, which is just what I did with this book. Much like, The Paris Wife, this book explores the relationship between a genius artist and his wife.

Tanaquil La Clerq was a young student at the New York City Ballet School when she caught the eye of George Balanchine, the round choreographer of the company. She became one of the outstanding dancers in the company and in 1952 married Balanchine becoming his fifth wife. Then in 1956, at the height of her career, she contracted polio while on tour in Europe and never danced (or walked) again.

The book explores not only her battle to survive her disease and her effort to live independently, but also her stormy relationship with Balanchine which continued after their divorce in the 1960's and remained close until his death in 1983.

Unfortunately, there is no stand-alone biography of LaClerq for I would certainly read it if there were. Maybe this book will need to be a stand-in and if so, I hope that the author's portrayal of an intelligent, brave and clear-eyed individual is correct.

Balanchine and his fifth wife, he in his fifties, she in her early twenties. Although this is about ballet it is also a portrayal of a dancer, inflicted with polio and her valiant struggle to come back. It also show a tender and the supportive side of Balanchine as her tends to her for many years all the while trying to keep his career going and her spirits up. A very interesting book, she actually stays at Roosevelt's Warm Springs, and it was nice to read about a less arrogant Balanchine.½

There is mystery that surrounds Company of Three. At face value it is the story of three actors struggling to see their name in lights on Broadway. New york City in the 1970s is a hub for creative activity such as dance and the theater and Robert, Patrick and Irene stand in the spotlight, ready as ever for their close ups. Company of Three follows their successes, their failures, their struggles. It examines their friendships and love affairs and what they mean to one another. Ultimately, it is the story of how far they would go for their careers and for each other.