Few and Far Between
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Transworld Publishers Ltd
Published:9th Apr '26
Should be back in stock very soon
This hardback is available in another edition too:
- Paperback£9.99(9781804995167)
A piece of land that should not exist; a community established on unstable ground with dreams of utopia. For readers who love literary fiction with a dark imaginative twist, the haunting new novel from the winner of the European Prize for Literature.
'One of the most imaginative and talented Irish writers at work today' Roisín O’Donnell, author of Nesting
‘Warm, sharp and gloriously funny' Sarah Moss, author of Ripeness
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In 1958, a politician proposes a plan so absurd it should have remained a footnote in history: drain the largest lake in Ireland to create new land. In Jan Carson's dazzling vision, the plan goes ahead...
It’s summer 2017 and the last few residents of the Lough Neagh Archipelago, formed over fifty years ago, are facing eviction. The flood planned to combat a devastating algae outbreak around the islands will submerge their homes, forcing them back to the Mainland for the first time in decades.
Robert-John and Marion Connolly came to the islands as children, following their father, an anthropologist studying the unique society that had developed there. For many, the Neagh Archipelago represented a chance to reinvent themself, to be free of the prejudices and history of the mainland. But perhaps this utopia wasn’t all that it seemed.
Marion and Robert-John have grown accustomed to their haunted existence on the Ark, monitoring the mysterious Far Side, where ghostly figures linger and the land swallows secrets whole. How will they cope when they lose everything they've ever known. And will the Ark ever let them go...
For fans of the eerie tenderness of Our Wives Beneath the Sea or the political hauntings of Mariana Enriquez, this is the real world made strangely new.
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‘Her best book yet’ Heather Parry, author of Carrion Crow
'No writer captures the absurdity and beauty of life quite like [Jan Carson]' Sara Baume, author of Seven Steeples
‘No one writes like Jan Carson... Few and Far Between packages history, horror and redemption in her signature combination of humour and grace.’ Sheila Armstrong, author of Falling Animals
'Jan Carson is a born storyteller: her work is so imaginative, whimsical, mischievous and brave, but tender and curious too......
Warm, sharp and gloriously funny, Jan Carson writes exuberant prose about difficult people in interesting times * Sarah Moss, author of Ripeness *
A stunningly original novel told with warmth and humour. The story of an island sanctuary, it celebrates all the joys and challenges of living in a community, and should further cement Carson's reputation as one of the most imaginative and talented Irish writers at work today. * Roisín O’Donnell, author of Nesting *
Jan Carson's understanding of, and love for, complicated human people is unmatched in contemporary literature. In Few and Far Between she turns that canny eye to the long effects of, and attempts to recover from, The Troubles, and what results is her best book yet. * Heather Parry, author of Carrion Crow *
A joy to read… No writer captures the absurdity and beauty of life quite like [Jan Carson] does, and with this novel she has created something especially prescient, a fictional microcosm that speaks so powerfully about the troubled state of the planet, and of society. I revelled in her attention to detail, to the unexpected, to glorious oddity. * Sara Baume, author of Spill Simmer Falter Wither *
Few and Far Between is Jan Carson’s most ambitious novel yet – bold in its counter-factual conception, confident in its scope, yet intimate in the knowledge of its characters, all of whom are accorded dignity and a quiet humanity. It’s also very, very funny. * Lucy Caldwell, author of These Days *
No one writes like Jan Carson. Surreal times call for surreal stories, and Few and Far Between packages history, horror and redemption in her signature combination of humour and grace. * Sheila Armstrong, author of Falling Animals *
Few and Far Between, is Jan Carson at her very best, with her trademark wit, exceptional turn of phrase and keen eye for character... A beguilingly original work on family, community and connection, what holds us together, breaks us apart, and allows us to start again. Unmissable. * Olivia Fitzsimons, author of The Quiet Whispers Never Stop *
Haunting and darkly funny. Jan Carson has the fearlessness and bounce of Anne Enright and Kate Atkinson, and a wide-ranging, endlessly surprising scope. Few and Far Between is moody and mysterious, a gothic like no other. * Flynn Berry, New York Times bestselling author of Northern Spy *
ISBN: 9781529936759
Dimensions: 225mm x 144mm x 31mm
Weight: 460g
368 pages