{"product_id":"few-and-far-between","title":"Few and Far Between","description":"\n\u003ctable align=\"center\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"productDetailSmallElements\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Carson is one of the best. She has invented a geographical world, but the magic of this tale lies in the fact that it feels almost possible . . . Carson's insightful observation of human behaviour, richly painted setting, and vibrant characters carry the twists and turns of this tale without any of the clear (and frequently delightful) metaphors ever weighing it down. Rather than hovering between invention and reality, \n\u003ci\u003eFew and Far Between\u003c\/i\u003e firmly occupies a space that simply feels like both.\" -- \n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eRTE.ie\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e, \"Book of the Week\"\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"At turns funny, warm, and heartbreaking, \n\u003ci\u003eFew And Far Between\u003c\/i\u003e is Carson's best book to date--a sharp-eyed reminder that things are never as they appear at first glance.\" -- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eIrish Daily Mirror\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"Jan Carson's novel of big emotions caught in small words weathers the line between fiction and fact with real skill and surreal dexterity.\" -- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eIrish Times\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"Carson's colloquial language and ironic humour star in her fantastical new novel.\" -- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eBooks Ireland Magazine\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"A complex story about trauma and how we escape it. . . . Each character is superbly drawn, dialogue and inner monologues are never less than perfect and the timing of Carson's dark humour is impeccably judged. In short, everything about \n\u003ci\u003eFew and Far Between\u003c\/i\u003e is magnificent. It's hard to imagine we'll see a better novel this year.\" -- \n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eIrish Examiner\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"Highly entertaining.\" -- \n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eIrish News\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"[An] eerie, moving tale of fictional islands on Lough Neagh where refugees from the Troubles went to forget.\" -- \n\u003cb\u003ePatrick Freyne, \u003ci\u003eThe \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eGloss\u003c\/i\u003e (Ireland)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Warm, sharp, and gloriously funny, Jan Carson writes exuberant prose about difficult people in interesting times.\" -- \n\u003cb\u003eSarah Moss, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Ghost Wall\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"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.\" -- \n\u003cb\u003eSara Baume, author of \u003ci\u003eSpill Simmer Falter Wither\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\" \n\u003ci\u003eFew and Far Between \u003c\/i\u003eis 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.\" -- \n\u003cb\u003eLucy Caldwell, author of \u003ci\u003eThese Days\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBiographical Note\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJan Carson is the author of several short story collections and novels including \n\u003ci\u003eQuickly, While They Still Have Horses\u003c\/i\u003e; \n\u003ci\u003eThe Raptures\u003c\/i\u003e; and \n\u003ci\u003eThe Fire Starters\u003c\/i\u003e, winner of the EU Prize for Literature. She has won the \n\u003ci\u003eHarper's Bazaar \u003c\/i\u003eshort story competition and been shortlisted for many awards, including the BBC National Short Story Award, the Seán Ó Faoláin Short Story Prize, and the Irish Book Awards Novel of the Year. Jan is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and her writing has been translated into over a dozen languages, appeared in numerous journals, and been frequently broadcast on BBC Radio. She lives in Belfast.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Perfectly balanced between comedy and darker reflections . . . irresistibly diverting and vivid.\" -- \n\u003cb\u003eSarah Moss, \u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e, \"What to Read This Summer\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\" \n\u003ci\u003eFew and Far Between \u003c\/i\u003eis 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.\" -- \n\u003cb\u003eRoisín O'Donnell, author of \u003ci\u003eNesting\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Jan Carson's understanding of, and love for, complicated human people is unmatched in contemporary literature. In \n\u003ci\u003eFew and Far Between \u003c\/i\u003eshe turns that canny eye to the long effects of, and attempts to recover from, The Troubles, and what results is her best book yet.\" -- \n\u003cb\u003eHeather Parry, author of \u003ci\u003eOrpheus Builds a Girl\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Stunning alternative history . . . Carson portrays her eerie setting with deep intelligence and gritty realism. This is indelible.\" -- \n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Haunting and darkly funny. Jan Carson has the fearlessness and bounce of Anne Enright and Kate Atkinson, and a wide-ranging, endlessly surprising scope. \n\u003ci\u003eFew and Far Between \u003c\/i\u003eis moody and mysterious, a gothic like no other.\" --Flynn Berry, \n\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \n\u003ci\u003eNorthern Spy \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Gloriously funny, fantastical, and humane . . . Carson's characteristic dark humor, absurdity, and wonderfully original characters add rich layers of meaning and insight to a story of family and societal trauma.\" -- \n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"Carson has a talent for crafting uniquely neurotic characters, and the gnarled dynamics between them generate a compelling critique of gender roles and ecological decline in Northern Ireland and beyond . . . An absorbing read for fans of family dramas, magical realism, and eco-fiction.\" -- \n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Marketing\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eFrom a \"deeply talented\" (\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e), award-winning writer comes an alternate history of Northern Ireland's recent past\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e where the last remaining residents of a haunted archipelago face imminent eviction from their home.\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn 1958, a politician's ludicrous proposal to create a seventh county for Northern Ireland by draining Lough Neagh--the largest lake in Ireland--was, quite understandably, never implemented. In \n\u003ci\u003eFew and Far Between\u003c\/i\u003e, Jan Carson imagines a timeline in which the scheme proceeded. When an archipelago emerges from the receding water, a utopian community establishes itself on the islands, hoping to escape the prejudices and dangers of Troubles-era Northern Ireland. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs children in the 1970s, Marion and Robert-John Connolly moved to \"The Ark\" with their mercurial father, a prominent anthropologist studying this unique community. When the novel opens in 2017, the siblings are among the final few inhabitants. Sheltered from modernity, they work as the Ark's caretakers, monitoring the mysterious Far Side islands where ghostly figures linger and the land swallows secrets whole. A devastating algae outbreak is slowly destroying the landscape they love, but government plans to deal with the crisis by flooding the lough would force them back to the Mainland for the first time in fifty years. When a young anthropologist arrives for field research, the Connollys wonder if this ambitious academic might be the answer to all their problems. Can they keep the Ark from revealing too much of its past? \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWritten with dark humor and a distinctive Northern voice, \n\u003ci\u003eFew and Far Between \u003c\/i\u003eis a novel about family and memory, toxic masculinity and modern womanhood, and the legacy of trauma that offers an illuminating look into the history of a complex place.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e 05\/25\/2026 (EAN 9781668056639, Hardcover) - *Starred Review\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eBooklist\u003c\/span\u003e 06\/01\/2026 (EAN 9781668056639, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/span\u003e 07\/01\/2026 (EAN 9781668056639, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eContributor Bio:\u003c\/strong\u003eCarson, Jan\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJan Carson is the author of several short story collections and novels including \n\u003ci\u003eQuickly, While They Still Have Horses\u003c\/i\u003e; \n\u003ci\u003eThe Raptures\u003c\/i\u003e; and \n\u003ci\u003eThe Fire Starters\u003c\/i\u003e, winner of the EU Prize for Literature. She has won the \n\u003ci\u003eHarper's Bazaar \u003c\/i\u003eshort story competition and been shortlisted for many awards, including the BBC National Short Story Award, the Seán Ó Faoláin Short Story Prize, and the Irish Book Awards Novel of the Year. Jan is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and her writing has been translated into over a dozen languages, appeared in numerous journals, and been frequently broadcast on BBC Radio. She lives in Belfast.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n","brand":"Scribner Book Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51496195260694,"sku":"9781668056639","price":33.6,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0857\/9910\/8886\/files\/9781668056639.jpg?v=1783057259","url":"https:\/\/lusper.myshopify.com\/products\/few-and-far-between","provider":"Lusperbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}