review the distance between us book

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(as of Jan 02, 2025 06:57:32 UTC - Details)

Gripping, insightful, and deft, The Distance Between Us by Maggie O'Farrell is a haunting story of the way our families shape our lives, from the award-winning author of Hamnet and The Marriage Portrait.

On a cold February afternoon, Stella catches sight of a man she hasn't seen for many years, but instantly recognises. Or thinks she does. At the same moment on the other side of the globe, in the middle of a crowd of Chinese New Year revellers, Jake realises that things are becoming dangerous.

They know nothing of one another's existence, but both Stella and Jake flee their lives: Jake in search of a place so remote it doesn't appear on any map, and Stella for a destination in Scotland, the significance of which only her sister, Nina, will understand.

Reviewer: Pamela Audeen Poddany
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: HE WAKES TO FIND HIMSELF SPLAYED LIKE A STARFISH ACROSS THE BED
Review: THE DISTANCE BETWEEN USAfter I finished this book I thought "Wow, this was her best one yet!" And then I realized that I think that exact same thought after every Maggie O'Farrell book I read. Because it is the truth. This woman is an amazing author.Stella and her sister, Nina, are beyond close. They are one, they are each other, they support and love each other. They always have and always will. And they share a deep dark secret that nobody knows about except the two of them.Jake is in search of the father he never knew. He takes a break from his current life...some good, some not so good...and goes to Scotland and searches for the lost history in his life.And there Stella and Jake meet.This was an outstanding, exciting, and unusual story about the past and present of not only Stella and Jake but also their family members. I absolutely LOVE how O'Farrell jumps from character to character and pulls in their past and present. She weaves all the characters lives together into one gigantic wonderful story. This format is easy to read, follow, and understand. Honestly, I don't know how she does it!!This book was full of little mysteries, relationships, and love. I was immediately drawn into the story and hated to see this book come to an end.You can't go wrong with a Maggie O'Farrell book. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

Reviewer: AM
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: One of my favorite authors
Review: One of the things I’ve tried to do this year was to read all of the books by some of my favorite writers. Maggie O’Farrell is on that list and after reading this book, I’ve read all of her published books to date. I love that I’ve done that, but then I was sorry I didn’t have another to read by her so I’m thrilled to know that she has a new one to be published in 2020.I’m always drawn to her characters, their complicated relationships, the intelligent and emotional depiction of their lives. I found all of this here. I’m drawn to her writing because even if though I don’t think I can find myself in the shoes of her characters, I end up there as well as in the places they are as in the book, on the streets of Hong Kong during a crowd crush at a New Year’s Eve celebration or on the streets of London or a quiet, secluded place in Scotland.While I can’t say that this my favorite story line of hers, the writing and the structure amaze me, so I won’t say much about the plot. You can find that in the book description and in other reviews. But the writing is incredible! There are paragraphs following each other, giving details of what the main characters, Jake and Stella are simultaneously doing thousands of miles apart. The narrative moves from one character to another, from one place to another, from their present to their past and back again. You might think that would be confusing, but it never was for me and I’m in awe of how she skillfully executes this, how I was continuously captivated as it moves around like this. She is simply an amazing writer. With so many transitions between time and place and character, we become privy to their past relationships, to the things they carry from that past and how it moved them to where they are in the present. As I mentioned, the story line wasn’t my favorite of hers so it’s 3 stars for that and 5 stars for the writing. In spite of the 3 star story line, I will read whatever Maggie O’Farrell writes !

Reviewer: Peggy Mundell
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Not up to Maggie O'Farrell's usual high standard
Review: I thought O'Farrell‘s book “Hamnet” was excellent. I thought her “The Marriage Portrait” was nearly as good. I have enjoyed several of her other books. But “The Distance Between Us” was not a particularly good book.I enjoy books with multiple points of view. I enjoy books that switch back-and-forth between time frames. Both of those techniques can add to the enlightenment a reader receives from a book. But this book did both of those rather badly. The effect was choppy rather enlightening.*** spoiler alert ***The relationship between the sisters was the most interesting part of the book. But I was so frustrated at the end when Stella was unwilling to go to Hong Kong with Jake and was unwilling to reveal her reason to either Jake or the reader. And then suddenly she did go to Hong Kong without any external event or internal monologue that motivated her change of mind. I just didn’t feel that that whole piece of the story arc was motivated at all.And seriously? Running through crowded city streets in the rain to get to your lost love? Such a trite ending!

Reviewer: Carmen Chuaqui
Rating: 2.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I suppose that the author wrote the history of two families and then thought that the linear narrative is out of date. So she cut it into tiny pieces, regardless of time and space, leaving the readers the hard and boring task to resolve the puzzle.

Reviewer: Susan Craig
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: This was a captivating read with an unusual storyline. My second Maggie O’Farrell.Hamnet was my first. There will more!

Reviewer: Bev
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: She is a great Author

Reviewer: karin braun
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Alles ok

Reviewer: ObEiNGLISH
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US by Maggie O'FarrellEncore un excellent roman entre Écosse et Hong Kong où les trajectoires de Jake et Stella, finiront par se croiser dans un village reculé de la campagne ecossaise où chacun est venu chercher refuge.Ils y trouveront les réponses qu'ils cherchent.Lecture très abordable recommandée par o'bEiNGLISH372 pages