| Icarus in Flight | 
 enlarge | Author: Hayden Thorne
Publisher: Prizm Books
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
Buy New: $8.34
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Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 298349
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5 x 1.1
ISBN: 1603703551
EAN: 9781603703550
ASIN: 1603703551
Publication Date: June 16, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
James Ellsworth is a bit jaded, especially for his young age. He hates school, and longs for his parents estate, where life is far more pleasant. Meeting new schoolmate Daniel Courtney is a much-needed distraction, one that will prove more and more engrossing as James and Daniel grow older. When his father dies, James is thrust into a position of responsibility, not just to his estate, but to his mother and sister as well. He leans as much as he can on his friendship with Daniel, but young Courtney has his own problems. His brother, George, is all Daniel has left in the world, and when he loses his brother to a freak accident, Daniel is left alone and without prospects. All the while, the two young men are discovering a relationship that their Victorian world will never approve of. Trying to deal with their loss and their love drives them apart - James to a life of debauchery, Daniel to a life of study and work. As they grow older, James and Daniel discover that life is not what they thought it would be when they were schoolboys together, and that, even as they try to make their own way, they always come back to one another. Can they find a way to make things work, no matter what their friends and family think?
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| Customer Reviews:
Tender, poignant Victorian era romance October 8, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Icarus in Flight is a gentle character study of two men of different backgrounds and temperament who fall in love at a tender age, only to face an extended separation when personal goals diverge and family members meddle for selfish reasons of their own. James comes from a world of wealth and comfort, and when we first meet him, he's blithely confident, with a strong will bordering on arrogance. But we like him because he has a sense of humor and a certain innocence that makes him quite endearing. Daniel, the quieter soul and a target of his schoolmates because of it, begins to fall for James after James becomes his protector.
At first it seems Daniel must succumb to James' more domineering personality. But bit by bit, Daniel blossoms into a fair match, emotionally and intellectually, for James. Daniel's brother, George, serves as tutor to James, providing Daniel and James an opportunity to get to know each other better and grow closer. One of my favorite sections of the novel, it's an idyllic moment of discovery for the two young men before circumstances go against them. James is ready for a happily ever after, but Daniel needs to go out into the world and establish himself before he can consider settling down with James. Independent and self-reliant, he dreams of being a writer and, as is often the case for writers at the start of their careers, undertakes different jobs during the course of the novel just to keep himself clothed and fed.
James wants nothing more than to provide an easier route for the man he loves, but Daniel is resolute, which is the cause of some conflict between them--but there is hope the separation is only temporary, until James' sister, Katherine, unmarried and bitter in her spinsterhood, takes it upon herself to put an end to a relationship she doesn't understand. The author does a capable job of making Katherine a somewhat sympathetic character. I disliked Katherine, but I always understood her. In fact, there are no conventional villains in this story, just ordinary people with dreams unfulfilled, their emotions ringing true to their respective situations. Daniel and James' path is unconventional, as well, and causes confusion, bewilderment, and anger among their friends and family.
While this novel is targeted at a young adult audience, there is a subtle complexity in the relationships that makes the story involving for readers of any age. The details of setting are so well chosen, they not only provide a you-are-there feeling, they lend a great deal to the mood of each scene. The dialogue is lovely and true, and full of layers of emotion, and needs unexpressed. Those tangled, unspoken emotions drive the story. James and Daniel suffer as parted lovers do, in believable, poignant ways, until you despair at their chances of finding their way back to each other.
The supporting cast in Icarus came to life as vividly as the main characters, all divinely Victorian in their point of views, all bringing something to the story to flesh out the time period in which the author writes. Of all the novels I've read set in the Victorian age, this feels like one of the most authentic in mindset. The frustration of the women, in particular, in coping with their rigid roles and dependency on the men, is palpable. It nicely echoes the societal condemnation James and Daniel face in order to simply have the life--and love--they long for. While this novel is not "action-packed" like many young adult novels, it is a rewarding read for the thoughtful young adult reader. In fact, I hope everyone will give it a try. I highly recommend it.
Victorian love story, told with great finesse June 29, 2008
Hayden Thorne's ICARUS IN FLIGHT, is a truly remarkable Victorian love story set in England in 1841. 12 year old James is introduced to a new boy in school, Daniel, a poor, frail orphan, who is the target of bullying. Upper-class James takes Daniel under his wing, offering him protection and takes on the task of enriching Daniel's life with culture thereby making him suitable as a comrade.
The novel quickly advances to 1847 where at 18 James has inherited his family's estate and now has the responsibility to financially care for his mother and two sisters. He continues his friendship with Daniel who occasionally visits James's home and a romance blossoms. Within a few years the relationship is consummated and James makes plans to take care of Daniel, provide a home for them both, and to sponsor Daniel's budding career as a writer. But someone gets to Daniel and convinces him that if the relationship continues on he would be spoiling James's good name. So Daniel (like Icarus in Greek Mythology) flees to Norwich with the hope of making good on his own. James is crushed and sinks into despair, eventually leaving England for Venice where he takes up a life of empty sexual encounters. I won't disclose how the story ends except to say that you won't be disappointed.
Both boys are richly-drawn, likeable characters. James, due to his being born into wealth and inheritance, is understandably a bit of a snob from time to time, and Daniel is so humble and demure that you just want to scoop him up and cuddle him. The fact that he idolizes James makes him particularly vulnerable.
What makes this novel so impressive is its tone. Thorne has wonderfully captured polite, Victorian society with English manners and mores, the cadences of proper dialog, and prudent behavior all coming together in grand style. I definitely felt the influences of Forster (and dare I say, Austen?) The female characters are as well-drawn as the male characters. In a time of Britain's history where women were not allowed to own property, Thorne demonstrates how the mother and daughters dealt with having their livelihood left in the hands of a young son, using carefully crafted language to manipulate him into serving the interests of propagating the family.
As a parlor drama, it is to be expected that ICARUS IN FLIGHT is a bit light on plot. The real strength of the writing is Thorne's dialog, which just sparkles with wit and intelligence and is so polished and authentic to the British period that it would be comfortable on the lips of actors in a production on the BBC.
One last point I'd like to make is that Icarus in Flight is being marketed as a young adult novel. That's fine, in that there is nothing inappropriate for younger readers, but if you are thinking of skipping it because you are not inclined to read YA fiction, you'd be making a mistake. The novel is completely geared toward adult readers, and there is no "dumbing down" to make it more palatable to youngsters. The publisher states it is for 16 and up and I would say that's about right because the language is probably too sophisticated for younger teens.
Mark R. Probst
The Filly
Icarus in Flight by Hayden Thorne May 30, 2008
This is a young adult novel. For teens from 14 years old and up. So reading it I tried to imagine myself like an innocent girl or boy, and then I reprimanded myself: how much innocent are 14 years old boys? Giving that I was 13 years old when I read my first romance, probably not much. All this introduction to say that I didn't find Icarus in Flight a novel strictly for teens, actually I think it is a very good reading for all ages and sincerely I think that an older reader will appreciate it more than an innocent boy.
James is the only son of a wealthy family. He has two sisters, but obviously he will be the heir and so the future master of their life. And so James is pretty self conscious of his role, and let me say, not a very naivee boy. At 12 years old he is well aware of his "importance" and of his influence in others life. When he meets David, 11 years old and orphaned, newly arrived in his boarding school and with a bitter future ahead of him like the target of all the bullies in the school, James decides to take him under his patronage. David has only his brother as relative, and when James offers him friendship and shelter, he readily accepts, turning James in his personal idol to worship.
James's superiority and self-consciousness grows farther on when his father suddenly died, leaving him to his new role as master of the house at only 14 years old. James grows too fast and too soon and he also decides that he will be the caretaker of young David, more so when the boy loses also his brother. Soon before James's departure for college the relationship between James and David shifts from friendship to love, still remaining innocent also for all the period during which James is at college. But when he is again at home, with also more experiences behind his shoulders, also of sexual things, he is ready to tighten the bonds between him and David.
But David, probably tired to be always in charge of someone else, and fearing to lose himself in James' embrace, even if it's desired and cherished, asks for time and space. No good comes from the separation and the two men take different paths risking to lose not only their love but also themself in the process.
Since the young characters begin their coming of age journey when they are still very young, this is probably considered a young adult novel. And probably because there isn't graphic sex... but mind you on the term, I said "graphic", I didn't say that there isn't sex, since in my opinion, what sex you will find in this novel is somewhat more sensual and deepen of what you will find in other romance. This is first of all a love story: even if James and David grow apart, the reader knows that they are star-crossed lovers and that they are right for each other.
This is a Victorian novel and it's finely crafted in details and words: there are not a lot of political events or figure to set the story, apart a note about the Great Exhibition in London, all the story is made more of family interiors and small receivements. I love above all the letters James and David exchange for all the course of the story, lately I notice that I'm fond of love correspondences.
So in the end, I arrive to two possible conclusion: or I have a young soul, and so I can love a tale written for teens, or Icarus in Flight is a novel that can satisfy a wider range of age.
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