Few and Far Between
The stunning new novel from the winner of the EU Prize for Literature
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- 12,99 €
Beschreibung des Verlags
From the award-winning author of The Raptures and The Fire Starters, a magically surreal novel about history, identity and redemption
'A stunningly original novel... one of the most imaginative and talented Irish writers at work today' Roisín O’Donnell, author of Nesting
'No writer captures the absurdity and beauty of life quite like [Jan Carson] does' Sara Baume, author of Seven Steeples
‘Warm, sharp and gloriously funny' Sarah Moss, author of Ripeness
‘Her best book yet’ Heather Parry, author of Carrion Crow
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It’s summer 2017 and the last few residents of the Lough Neagh Archipelago are facing imminent eviction. The flood planned to combat a devastating algae outbreak will submerge their homes, forcing them back to the Mainland for the first time in fifty years.
Robert-John and Marion Connolly came to the islands as children in the 1970s, following their mercurial father, an anthropologist studying the unique society that had developed there. For many, the Neagh Archipelago represented a utopia, a chance to be free of the prejudices and history of Troubles era Northern Ireland. 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 with a new life on the Mainland? Is it possible to leave the past behind? And will the Ark ever let them go...
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‘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
'Jan Carson is a born storyteller: her work is so imaginative, whimsical, mischievous and brave, but tender and curious too — you never know where she's going to take you next, so reading her is always an adventure.' Lisa McInerney, author of The Glorious Heresies
'Jan Carson is a unique and very special writer, one of the greatest of the modern fabulists' Donal Ryan, author of Heart be at Peace
'One of the most exciting and original Northern Irish writers of her generation.' Sunday Times
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
On the eve of the Troubles, Northern Ireland's largest lake is drained to form a new county, in this stunning alternative history from Carson (The Raptures). Years later, in 1972, anthropologist RJ Connolly moves there to study the inhabitants of the archipelago, nicknamed the Ark in part for its function as a refuge from sectarian violence. In 2017, RJ's grown children, Robert-John and Marion, are caretakers of their childhood home on the isle of Small Flat. The Ark is deeply unpopular with taxpayers, who deride it as a wasteland tainted by a painful past. One bog-like island serves as a dumping ground, where remaining residents find such discarded items as guns, diaries, and wedding dresses. Another is the site of many young men's suicides. The surviving islanders are dreading the Flood, a state-mandated opening of two dams that will destroy all traces of human habitation. In addition to the islanders' endangerment, a toxic blue-green algae threatens the fish and birds of the lake. Into this isolated world comes anthropologist Alex, who grew up on the Ark and has returned to study it. She worships RJ Connolly, to the disgust of Robert-John, whose father, outwardly jovial and universally beloved, harbored a volatile temper and psychologically abused him as a boy. Marion has secrets of her own that come to light, including a painful betrayal by her German-born mother, who was scarred by the atrocities she witnessed during WWII. Carson portrays her eerie setting with deep intelligence and gritty realism. This is indelible.
