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Folly (2001)
ISBN 978-0-553-38151-1Macavity award winner, a Booksense choice
It was a framing hammer, its short, strong claws nearly flat compared with a standard claw hammer’s long curves, twenty-one ounces of drop-forged steel that was ‘too much hammer for a woman,’ according to the store owner. Rae, however, was a big woman, tall and broad-shouldered. Besides which, she liked the way the hickory handle fit her hand, liked the way the exploratory swings woke up the muscles all along her right side, from fingertip to jaw and down to her hip. By now, the hammer, like its owner, had seen hard use. Ten thousand nails had worn down the face and left a fine network of scratches over the head, but it still gave her strength, this tool that had stayed with her longer than anything, or anyone, else in her life. Husbands left or husbands died, daughters married avaricious jerks or daughters died, one’s very mind wandered in and out of control, but two handles later the twenty-one-ounce hammer still fit her hand, still nestled reassuringly along the line of her pelvis. She smoothed her thumb along its icy steel head, pulled on her jacket, and let herself out of the tent.
Read Folly's preface here.
What they say
An enthralling novel, complex and clever. Rae Newborn has suffered from depression and mental problems for most of her life. After a nervous breakdown…she retires to a deserted island to rebuild her Great Uncle’s house, destroyed by fire in the 1920s. (York Evening Press)
Acclaimed mystery writer King has crafted a labyrinthian tale that is as haunting as it is touching. As Rae pieces together her house and her psyche, she slowly uncovers an extraordinary level of strength and tranquility. Solitude, broken up by some fun visits from a concerned and handsome local, is rarely this enticing. (People Magazine, a “pick”)
Rae’s quest [to rebuild Folly, her great-uncle’s home, and possibly her shattered life] is the absorbing subject of Laurie R. King’s Folly, a deeply involving novel that’s moving and disturbing. King constructs a sturdy foundation on Gothic elements and uses them to explore the effects of mental illness and steadily build an unnerving creepiness. (Miami Herald)
Links
For a Laurie King Q&A about Folly.
To look at the San Juan
Islands or to watch for Rae, Allen, Jerry, or Ed.
LKR's thoughts on writing her standalone novels.
A Pro looks at Folly's woodworker.
For a bibliography and Laurie's suggestions to teacher and
book groups, click here.
To hear an audio clip of Folly, click here.
Pictures
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The bay on Sanctuary Island |
Orcas off San Juan Island |
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A reunion in the San Juan Islands with Folly. From Left to Right: Beth, Pat, Karen, Jackie, Jo Ann, and Brenda.
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The Folly Island dock
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