diff --git a/r/R/feather.R b/r/R/feather.R
index 637ce23234a..7c545eeda56 100644
--- a/r/R/feather.R
+++ b/r/R/feather.R
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ write_feather <- function(x,
 #'
 #' @inheritParams read_ipc_stream
 #' @inheritParams read_delim_arrow
-#' @param ... additional parameters, passed to [FeatherReader$create()][FeatherReader]
+#' @param ... additional parameters, passed to [make_readable_file()].
 #'
 #' @return A `data.frame` if `as_data_frame` is `TRUE` (the default), or an
 #' Arrow [Table] otherwise
@@ -144,17 +144,20 @@ write_feather <- function(x,
 #' }
 read_feather <- function(file, col_select = NULL, as_data_frame = TRUE, ...) {
   if (!inherits(file, "RandomAccessFile")) {
-    file <- make_readable_file(file)
+    file <- make_readable_file(file, ...)
     on.exit(file$close())
   }
-  reader <- FeatherReader$create(file, ...)
+  reader <- FeatherReader$create(file)
 
   col_select <- enquo(col_select)
   columns <- if (!quo_is_null(col_select)) {
     vars_select(names(reader), !!col_select)
   }
 
-  out <- reader$Read(columns)
+  out <- tryCatch(
+    reader$Read(columns),
+    error = read_compressed_error
+  )
 
   if (isTRUE(as_data_frame)) {
     out <- as.data.frame(out)
diff --git a/r/R/parquet.R b/r/R/parquet.R
index 45751b16170..169d9f57f52 100644
--- a/r/R/parquet.R
+++ b/r/R/parquet.R
@@ -52,10 +52,16 @@ read_parquet <- function(file,
     schema <- reader$GetSchema()
     names <- names(schema)
     indices <- match(vars_select(names, !!col_select), names) - 1L
-    tab <- reader$ReadTable(indices)
+    tab <- tryCatch(
+      reader$ReadTable(indices),
+      error = read_compressed_error
+    )
   } else {
     # read all columns
-    tab <- reader$ReadTable()
+    tab <- tryCatch(
+      reader$ReadTable(),
+      error = read_compressed_error
+    )
   }
 
   if (as_data_frame) {
diff --git a/r/R/util.R b/r/R/util.R
index 6d9c91b74aa..f5b505f352a 100644
--- a/r/R/util.R
+++ b/r/R/util.R
@@ -87,10 +87,26 @@ is_constant <- function(expr) {
   length(all_vars(expr)) == 0
 }
 
+read_compressed_error <- function(e) {
+  msg <- conditionMessage(e)
+  if (grepl(" codec ", msg)) {
+    compression <- sub(".*Support for codec '(.*)'.*", "\\1", msg)
+    e$message <- paste0(
+      msg,
+      "\nIn order to read this file, you will need to reinstall arrow with additional features enabled.",
+      "\nSet one of these environment variables before installing:",
+      sprintf("\n\n * LIBARROW_MINIMAL=false (for all optional features, including '%s')", compression),
+      sprintf("\n * ARROW_WITH_%s=ON (for just '%s')", toupper(compression), compression),
+      "\n\nSee https://arrow.apache.org/docs/r/articles/install.html for details"
+    )
+  }
+  stop(e)
+}
+
 handle_embedded_nul_error <- function(e) {
   msg <- conditionMessage(e)
   if (grepl(" nul ", msg)) {
     e$message <- paste0(msg, "; to strip nuls when converting from Arrow to R, set options(arrow.skip_nul = TRUE)")
   }
   stop(e)
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/r/man/read_feather.Rd b/r/man/read_feather.Rd
index c5467c3a22f..fe3a7f1e23d 100644
--- a/r/man/read_feather.Rd
+++ b/r/man/read_feather.Rd
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ of columns, as used in \code{dplyr::select()}.}
 \item{as_data_frame}{Should the function return a \code{data.frame} (default) or
 an Arrow \link{Table}?}
 
-\item{...}{additional parameters, passed to \link[=FeatherReader]{FeatherReader$create()}}
+\item{...}{additional parameters, passed to \code{\link[=make_readable_file]{make_readable_file()}}.}
 }
 \value{
 A \code{data.frame} if \code{as_data_frame} is \code{TRUE} (the default), or an
diff --git a/r/tests/testthat/test-feather.R b/r/tests/testthat/test-feather.R
index 52325c7f410..e33fda64641 100644
--- a/r/tests/testthat/test-feather.R
+++ b/r/tests/testthat/test-feather.R
@@ -196,3 +196,23 @@ test_that("Character vectors > 2GB can write to feather", {
 })
 
 unlink(feather_file)
+
+ft_file <- test_path("golden-files/data-arrow_2.0.0_lz4.feather")
+
+test_that("Error messages are shown when the compression algorithm lz4 is not found", {
+  msg <- "NotImplemented: Support for codec 'lz4' not built\nIn order to read this file, you will need to reinstall arrow with additional features enabled.\nSet one of these environment variables before installing:\n\n * LIBARROW_MINIMAL=false (for all optional features, including 'lz4')\n * ARROW_WITH_LZ4=ON (for just 'lz4')\n\nSee https://arrow.apache.org/docs/r/articles/install.html for details"
+
+  if (codec_is_available("lz4")) {
+    d <- read_feather(ft_file)
+    expect_is(d, "data.frame")
+  } else {
+    expect_error(read_feather(ft_file), msg, fixed = TRUE)
+  }
+})
+
+test_that("Error is created when feather reads a parquet file", {
+  expect_error(
+    read_feather(system.file("v0.7.1.parquet", package = "arrow")),
+    "Not a Feather V1 or Arrow IPC file"
+  )
+})
diff --git a/r/tests/testthat/test-parquet.R b/r/tests/testthat/test-parquet.R
index 4ac356f004d..14e7aa78e05 100644
--- a/r/tests/testthat/test-parquet.R
+++ b/r/tests/testthat/test-parquet.R
@@ -234,3 +234,21 @@ test_that("ParquetFileReader $ReadRowGroup(s) methods", {
   expect_true(reader$ReadRowGroups(c(0, 1), 0) == Table$create(x = 1:20))
   expect_error(reader$ReadRowGroups(c(0, 1), 1))
 })
+
+test_that("Error messages are shown when the compression algorithm snappy is not found", {
+  msg <- "NotImplemented: Support for codec 'snappy' not built\nIn order to read this file, you will need to reinstall arrow with additional features enabled.\nSet one of these environment variables before installing:\n\n * LIBARROW_MINIMAL=false (for all optional features, including 'snappy')\n * ARROW_WITH_SNAPPY=ON (for just 'snappy')\n\nSee https://arrow.apache.org/docs/r/articles/install.html for details"
+
+  if (codec_is_available("snappy")) {
+    d <- read_parquet(pq_file)
+    expect_is(d, "data.frame")
+  } else {
+    expect_error(read_parquet(pq_file), msg, fixed = TRUE)
+  }
+})
+
+test_that("Error is created when parquet reads a feather file", {
+  expect_error(
+    read_parquet(test_path("golden-files/data-arrow_2.0.0_lz4.feather")),
+    "Parquet magic bytes not found in footer"
+  )
+})