Freya North – Little Wing (Literature Review)

Known as one of the most prolific UK authors, Freya North returns with her latest novel, Little Wing.

With over 14 bestselling books to her name, there’s no doubt readers of contemporary romance or ‘chick-lit’ will be familiar with her work. Released in 1996, her debut novel Sally caused a stir when it entered a five-way publisher’s bidding war, which resulted in a three book deal and a legion of fans North continues to expand upon with each new release.

Her newest novel, Little Wing, takes place in Britain and Scotland as we follow three main characters and several time periods.

In 1969, Florence is determined to be an artist of great renown. With the world at her feet, she is determined to make it so, until she’s sent away to the Isle of Harris after becoming pregnant at 16 and bringing shame to her religious family.

It’s the 1980s and Dougie is finding life difficult. A failed photographer who used to find beauty in taking people’s portraits, he now spends his days working in catalogues and getting himself lost in a past he cannot forget.

Then we fast forward to 2004, where Nell is working as the manager of a care community café. She loves her job working with a rag-tag group of staff who have different challenges, but her own life isn’t all roses. She is also trying to make peace with the past and reconcile her place in the world while caring for her mentally ill mother. She’s also about to discover a secret that threatens everything she has ever known to be true.

While I’d heard of Freya North before, I hadn’t delved into any of her books. So when the opportunity came to review her latest novel, Little Wing, I thought it was a great opportunity to start reading her work, and went into this book with low but hopeful expectations.

Unfortunately, even though the premise of Little Wing was intriguing, it didn’t quite deliver for me. Even though I had little to no expectations of the book, I was still hoping for a compelling read with rich characters that came to life at the turn of a page.

This wasn’t what I got. In my opinion, while the story itself had promise, it was all a little too rushed for me as we jumped from Florence’s storyline, to that of Dougie’s and ultimately Nell’s. What I’d found so interesting soon fell away as we spent more time on plotlines that would have been best left behind and not enough time on the points I was attracted to.

I also found the characters to be a bit flat. They were too one dimensional and I didn’t really connect with them as I’d hoped. This didn’t help in keeping my interest as the story continued on to it’s ultimate conclusion.

As the timelines started to meet, it didn’t quite stitch together as well as I would have hoped, particularly towards the finale, where even more character’s voices were introduced without need or explanation

In the end, I just don’t think this book – or perhaps North’s writing style itself – was for me. While I have no doubt that fans of romance or the author’s previous work will enjoy Little Wing, I can’t honestly say it’s a novel that resonated with me.

Little Wing is out now through Allen & Unwin.