A FAR COUNTRY Daniel Mason Picador A$32.95
Following the huge international success of his first novel, The Piano Tuner, this second work has been keenly anticipated. I read it while on holiday this week.
Set in an anonymous third world country, I assume somewhere in Central America, it tells the story if Isabel who has been raised in a remote village between the edge of the jungle and the sugar cane plantations which provides work for the men of the village.
From a very young age she is looked after by her brother Isaias and over the years they become inseparable friends. When drought strikes Isaias is sent off to the distant city to work and when he does not return Isabel sets out to look for him.
The bulk of the book is taken up with Isabel’s journey to the city, several days journey on the back of a flat bed truck, of her huge adjustment to the confusion and danger of the city, and of her search for her much-loved brother. She is just 14 years old.
Stylish and elegant, heart-breaking in parts, teeming with unusual and distinctive characters, including our protagonist this is a tale that is quiet but also both powerful and emotional
Following the huge international success of his first novel, The Piano Tuner, this second work has been keenly anticipated. I read it while on holiday this week.
Set in an anonymous third world country, I assume somewhere in Central America, it tells the story if Isabel who has been raised in a remote village between the edge of the jungle and the sugar cane plantations which provides work for the men of the village.
From a very young age she is looked after by her brother Isaias and over the years they become inseparable friends. When drought strikes Isaias is sent off to the distant city to work and when he does not return Isabel sets out to look for him.
The bulk of the book is taken up with Isabel’s journey to the city, several days journey on the back of a flat bed truck, of her huge adjustment to the confusion and danger of the city, and of her search for her much-loved brother. She is just 14 years old.
Stylish and elegant, heart-breaking in parts, teeming with unusual and distinctive characters, including our protagonist this is a tale that is quiet but also both powerful and emotional
Here is an interview with the author.
1 comment:
Like you, I'm a big Daniel Mason fan. His short story, "A Registry of My Passage on the Earth," is one of my all-time favourites. It was published in Harper's in April 2005. Subscribers can access it online - only subscribers, unfortunately. But maybe it's in Auckland library?
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