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Highway Blue
A hypnotic debut of broken love on the run, from a blazingly original young writer
"In front of me the long length of the road wound out, wound out and wound on under hot sky. And I drove . . ."
In the lonely town of San Padua, Anne Marie can never get the sound of the ocean out of her head. And it's here--dog-walking by day, working bars by night--where she tries to forget about her ex-husband, Cal: both their brief marriage and their long estrangement.
When Cal shows up on Anne Marie's doorstep one day, clearly in trouble, she reluctantly agrees to a drink. But later that night a gun goes off in a violent accident and the young couple are forced to hit the open road together in escape.
Crammed in a beat-up car with their broken past, so begins a journey across a vast, mythical American landscape, through the dark seams of the country, toward a city that may or may not represent salvation.
Highway Blue is a story of being lost and found--and of love, in all its forms. Written in spare, shimmering prose, it introduces the arrival of an electrifyingly singular new voice.
"In front of me the long length of the road wound out, wound out and wound on under hot sky. And I drove . . ."
In the lonely town of San Padua, Anne Marie can never get the sound of the ocean out of her head. And it's here--dog-walking by day, working bars by night--where she tries to forget about her ex-husband, Cal: both their brief marriage and their long estrangement.
When Cal shows up on Anne Marie's doorstep one day, clearly in trouble, she reluctantly agrees to a drink. But later that night a gun goes off in a violent accident and the young couple are forced to hit the open road together in escape.
Crammed in a beat-up car with their broken past, so begins a journey across a vast, mythical American landscape, through the dark seams of the country, toward a city that may or may not represent salvation.
Highway Blue is a story of being lost and found--and of love, in all its forms. Written in spare, shimmering prose, it introduces the arrival of an electrifyingly singular new voice.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published May 18, 2021
13 people are currently reading
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 157 reviews
April 5, 2021
Anne Marie is working at a bar by night and walks dogs by day, trying to build a new life for herself and forget about her ex-husband Cal. She marries him aged 19 and he disappears a year later then out of the blue he turns up several years on. What does he want? Why is he back? Unfortunately he brings disaster to her door and they have to take to ‘Highway Blue’ to escape the consequences.
I really like this short novel especially the way it’s written which is extremely simply, it’s stripped back and without unnecessary frills. I equally like that we’re either inside Anne Marie’s head or she’s having a dialogue with us. Despite its simplicity you get a strong sense of character and you see Cal for what he is and so, finally, does she. She’s changed, she’s not prepared to just accept although her youthful naivety does come across at the beginning as her thought processes unfurl she’s really starting to see him for what he is and her idealism has gone. She’s an introspective deep thinker with much more substance than Cal, she’s not necessarily a barrel of laughs, far from it as she can be melancholic. Her mind focuses on the tiny things to stop herself from thinking about bigger issues and she makes apt and profound comparisons to her situation. There’s an other worldly aura created, it’s almost dreamlike and a bit surreal in places and in others it’s sheer chaos which makes for an interesting comparison. The chaos involves some fearful moments of panic which causes feelings of claustrophobia enveloping her. As they pass through areas and places (we assume Southern California although it’s unspecific) there are some good and colourful descriptions of the journey which gives her the opportunity to reflect and make some welcome decisions.
Overall, this is a clever debut which is principally about the growth of self knowledge and understanding, it’s about growing up and confronting the past and moving on.
With thanks to NetGalley and Random House, Vintage for the arc in return for an honest review.
I really like this short novel especially the way it’s written which is extremely simply, it’s stripped back and without unnecessary frills. I equally like that we’re either inside Anne Marie’s head or she’s having a dialogue with us. Despite its simplicity you get a strong sense of character and you see Cal for what he is and so, finally, does she. She’s changed, she’s not prepared to just accept although her youthful naivety does come across at the beginning as her thought processes unfurl she’s really starting to see him for what he is and her idealism has gone. She’s an introspective deep thinker with much more substance than Cal, she’s not necessarily a barrel of laughs, far from it as she can be melancholic. Her mind focuses on the tiny things to stop herself from thinking about bigger issues and she makes apt and profound comparisons to her situation. There’s an other worldly aura created, it’s almost dreamlike and a bit surreal in places and in others it’s sheer chaos which makes for an interesting comparison. The chaos involves some fearful moments of panic which causes feelings of claustrophobia enveloping her. As they pass through areas and places (we assume Southern California although it’s unspecific) there are some good and colourful descriptions of the journey which gives her the opportunity to reflect and make some welcome decisions.
Overall, this is a clever debut which is principally about the growth of self knowledge and understanding, it’s about growing up and confronting the past and moving on.
With thanks to NetGalley and Random House, Vintage for the arc in return for an honest review.
May 27, 2021
"We married when I was 19, in a little wooden shack church down in Tana Beach." Cal was a little drunk. He left Anne Marie exactly one year later, vanishing without a trace. Anne Marie now worked in a bar by day and was a dog walker by night. She rented a space in an apartment with four girls who all worked together in a hair/nail salon. "The [apartment] was an old peeling heap, an ugly dump with a leak in the ceiling and spiders in the corners." "Everything about [Anne Marie] seemed for a strange moment to have shrunk in on itself." She was lonely, sometimes seeking comfort in the arms of a stranger. Thoughts of Cal were often "in her head".
"Cal was always shifting...shifting ideas, shifting plans, always going somewhere, always something on his mind, the next thing...until the next one." Suddenly after two years had passed, he arrived on Anne Marie's doorstep. He convinced her to go for a drink. Cal had an agenda. Needing money fast, Anne Marie was his last hope. She had no money to spare. The past silence and stunted conversation between them had not changed.
A very determined Cal started to walk Anne Marie home. "The houses in this part of town stood up on stilts-their old wooden faces sagged...up ahead-a little alley which led away from the oceanfront-a shortcut...". A dark shadow stepped out from the alley. "Where's the money, Cal?" A struggle. A gun discharged. Anne Marie and Cal, were on the run, leaving San Padua immediately. Hitching a ride from the main highway was their first step to the town of La Maya. Perhaps Cal's friend could supply a bed for the night and then a car to speed up their journey to safety.
Anne Marie mulled over her childhood memories while embarking upon a journey of self discovery. Did she ever really know Cal? Does she want to know him now? What are Cal's thoughts and feelings after two years spent without Anne Marie? Each one must confront the past and choose a path going forward.
"Highway Blue" by debut author Ailsa McFarlane is a literary novella seemingly spare of words, but in its simplicity, it packs a powerful punch.
Thank you Random House Publishing Group/ Hogarth Press and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
"Cal was always shifting...shifting ideas, shifting plans, always going somewhere, always something on his mind, the next thing...until the next one." Suddenly after two years had passed, he arrived on Anne Marie's doorstep. He convinced her to go for a drink. Cal had an agenda. Needing money fast, Anne Marie was his last hope. She had no money to spare. The past silence and stunted conversation between them had not changed.
A very determined Cal started to walk Anne Marie home. "The houses in this part of town stood up on stilts-their old wooden faces sagged...up ahead-a little alley which led away from the oceanfront-a shortcut...". A dark shadow stepped out from the alley. "Where's the money, Cal?" A struggle. A gun discharged. Anne Marie and Cal, were on the run, leaving San Padua immediately. Hitching a ride from the main highway was their first step to the town of La Maya. Perhaps Cal's friend could supply a bed for the night and then a car to speed up their journey to safety.
Anne Marie mulled over her childhood memories while embarking upon a journey of self discovery. Did she ever really know Cal? Does she want to know him now? What are Cal's thoughts and feelings after two years spent without Anne Marie? Each one must confront the past and choose a path going forward.
"Highway Blue" by debut author Ailsa McFarlane is a literary novella seemingly spare of words, but in its simplicity, it packs a powerful punch.
Thank you Random House Publishing Group/ Hogarth Press and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
February 23, 2021
“Cal had his quick talking and humor and sudden shift between warmth and harshness, and the flash of a sharp twisted smile. He called me beautiful and his skin tasted of the hot salt of a sweat. I was caught, I was caught in all of it and floating in happy looseness, and for the first time in my life I didn’t feel like I was suffocating”.
Anne Marie moved in with Cal at age 19, after only knowing him for three weeks.
Cal left Anne Marie a year after they were married, a year to the day.
Two years later, the absentee materialized in front of Anne-Marie’s apartment.
Cal needed money ( of course)....
Anne-Marie didn’t have money and says she wouldn’t have given him any, if she did, (I wasn’t so sure) —
As even the blurb tells us....
“a gun goes off in a violent accident, hurling the two of them on the road in escape”.
This is a short 192 page debut.
The characters are streetwise, and I enjoyed the comfortable informal writing style.
“Highway Blue” is thoughtfully crafted....depictions good...
and Ailsa McFarlane did a great job.
Not a Pulitzer Prize contender,
but ... it was an engaging story.
I think most readers would like it. Quick read, mystery-suspense - a tone of sadness... mixed with sparkly
heartfelt finesse.
3.7 rating
Anne Marie moved in with Cal at age 19, after only knowing him for three weeks.
Cal left Anne Marie a year after they were married, a year to the day.
Two years later, the absentee materialized in front of Anne-Marie’s apartment.
Cal needed money ( of course)....
Anne-Marie didn’t have money and says she wouldn’t have given him any, if she did, (I wasn’t so sure) —
As even the blurb tells us....
“a gun goes off in a violent accident, hurling the two of them on the road in escape”.
This is a short 192 page debut.
The characters are streetwise, and I enjoyed the comfortable informal writing style.
“Highway Blue” is thoughtfully crafted....depictions good...
and Ailsa McFarlane did a great job.
Not a Pulitzer Prize contender,
but ... it was an engaging story.
I think most readers would like it. Quick read, mystery-suspense - a tone of sadness... mixed with sparkly
heartfelt finesse.
3.7 rating
July 14, 2021
Anne Marie married Cal at age 19 and a year to the day later he walked out. It was unannounced though, as we’ll learn later, not totally unexpected. In the two years that have since passed she’s lived with four girls who aren’t her friends and scraped up enough money to survive by tending bar and walking other people’s dogs. Then Cal reappears, he’s in trouble and about to draw Anne Marie in neck deep too.
A violent encounter with a money lender who’s come to collect a debt sends them both scurrying out of town. They manage to hitchhike their way to a friend of Cal’s from whom they scrounge a beat up old car. They’re on the run but unsure where they’re going. And as they travel Anne Marie, through whose eyes we view this story, starts to unpick her thoughts about her marriage, her previous life with a mother who died when she was fifteen years old and on this reacquaintance with Cal.
Set in a mythical place that might somewhere in the American West, this is largely a road trip tale with the pair heading in a southerly direction towards the place Anne Marie’s mother was born. Tight for money they sleep in the car or cadge a sofa when they can, meeting a ragtag group of people as they go.
The tone of the whole thing is pretty dark, the atmosphere threatening and dingy throughout. The writing is sparse and, in truth, the plotline is pretty thin too. The attraction, then, is in the writing and the characterisation – particularly of Anne Marie, who I liked a lot. There are some great descriptions of places and people here and some memorable lines as Ann Marie ruminates on her life and the people she’s been close to, particularly Cal.
This first book by a new young writer shows talent and promise. I suspect she’ll write better books in time, but I think this one is still worth catching. Three and a half stars rounded up to four, for me.
My thanks to Random House UK, Vintage and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
A violent encounter with a money lender who’s come to collect a debt sends them both scurrying out of town. They manage to hitchhike their way to a friend of Cal’s from whom they scrounge a beat up old car. They’re on the run but unsure where they’re going. And as they travel Anne Marie, through whose eyes we view this story, starts to unpick her thoughts about her marriage, her previous life with a mother who died when she was fifteen years old and on this reacquaintance with Cal.
Set in a mythical place that might somewhere in the American West, this is largely a road trip tale with the pair heading in a southerly direction towards the place Anne Marie’s mother was born. Tight for money they sleep in the car or cadge a sofa when they can, meeting a ragtag group of people as they go.
The tone of the whole thing is pretty dark, the atmosphere threatening and dingy throughout. The writing is sparse and, in truth, the plotline is pretty thin too. The attraction, then, is in the writing and the characterisation – particularly of Anne Marie, who I liked a lot. There are some great descriptions of places and people here and some memorable lines as Ann Marie ruminates on her life and the people she’s been close to, particularly Cal.
This first book by a new young writer shows talent and promise. I suspect she’ll write better books in time, but I think this one is still worth catching. Three and a half stars rounded up to four, for me.
My thanks to Random House UK, Vintage and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
October 23, 2021
"That's another useful lesson I learned: if something has happened to you that you didn't like, or if something has made you feel small or useless or stupid, you just leave behind the life that dropped you in the middle of that experience and slip away into another one . . . You build another person." -- the rumination of narrator / protagonist Anne Marie, on page 110
On the surface, I thought I knew what to expect with Highway Blue, given the plot description and cover artwork: a twenty-one year-old bartender living a lonely existence in a coastal California town suddenly has to hit the road after an unexpected violent altercation. Said drink-slinger would be Anne Marie, and her similarly-aged husband Cal had walked out on their brief marriage two years earlier. Now he returns out of the blue to ask for her help, as a loan shark's goon is pursuing him, and things become quickly become a mess for them after the goon brandishes his pistola in an alley.
This was not a very involving book, because arguably nothing really happens in a dramatic sense - it is slow-burn and undemonstrative to the point of being nearly comatose. (Forget the stylish cover photograph, with a sunglasses-clad young woman sporting a near-grin, and tooling through a U.S. desert in a convertible - this is not Thelma & Louise, and no such scene as specifically described appears in this narrative.) Although Anne Marie narrates the brief story, it is only in the final forty pages that the reader begins to understand her restrained personality once she explains (and this was probably the best, and most heartbreaking part of the book) the trauma of her teenage years. But none of the other characters make much of an impression, especially estranged husband Cal. Although Anne Marie describes him as both charming and verbose, he remains annoyingly one-dimensional, and the duo's conversations are perfunctory and flat. The inside cover flap sports the publisher blurb "A hypnotic story of young love on the run", but said duo barely seems to actually love one another, and the only hypnosis here is the kind that would make a reader fall asleep.
On the surface, I thought I knew what to expect with Highway Blue, given the plot description and cover artwork: a twenty-one year-old bartender living a lonely existence in a coastal California town suddenly has to hit the road after an unexpected violent altercation. Said drink-slinger would be Anne Marie, and her similarly-aged husband Cal had walked out on their brief marriage two years earlier. Now he returns out of the blue to ask for her help, as a loan shark's goon is pursuing him, and things become quickly become a mess for them after the goon brandishes his pistola in an alley.
This was not a very involving book, because arguably nothing really happens in a dramatic sense - it is slow-burn and undemonstrative to the point of being nearly comatose. (Forget the stylish cover photograph, with a sunglasses-clad young woman sporting a near-grin, and tooling through a U.S. desert in a convertible - this is not Thelma & Louise, and no such scene as specifically described appears in this narrative.) Although Anne Marie narrates the brief story, it is only in the final forty pages that the reader begins to understand her restrained personality once she explains (and this was probably the best, and most heartbreaking part of the book) the trauma of her teenage years. But none of the other characters make much of an impression, especially estranged husband Cal. Although Anne Marie describes him as both charming and verbose, he remains annoyingly one-dimensional, and the duo's conversations are perfunctory and flat. The inside cover flap sports the publisher blurb "A hypnotic story of young love on the run", but said duo barely seems to actually love one another, and the only hypnosis here is the kind that would make a reader fall asleep.
August 14, 2021
highway blue is a vivid yet surreal road novel. we follow anne marie and her estranged husband, cal, after an unexpected violent death forces them to head out on a delirious journey.
they travel an unidentifiable landscape in the southwest US. it seems to be the southern california coast, but perhaps it's better that we don't know for sure. and although there are a few brief references to modern technology, the whole book seems to take place in an atmosphere of timeless highway.
the gritty, summer-hot vibes and the ever-shifting coastal scenery are the most notable things about this novel. despite being a story about two people on the lam, not much happens in highway blue. we spend most of the book in anne marie's mind as she watches the scenery streaming past, reflects on her relationship with cal, thinks about the mother she lost when she was fifteen, and observes other people living their odd little lives around her.
this rambling stream-of-consciousness style is definitely not for everyone. there are many long passages like this:
it's melancholic and beautiful, although page after page of landscape imagery can become tiresome. but for the most part i enjoyed being swept into the arid setting, which is richly detailed and atmospheric; so i enjoyed highway blue.
i also appreciate the theme song which often plays through anne marie's mind: this grateful dead track. she says it's her namesake, and the vibe is very fitting.
i'd recommend highway blue if you want a short, dreamy, and quietly introspective read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hogarth Press for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
they travel an unidentifiable landscape in the southwest US. it seems to be the southern california coast, but perhaps it's better that we don't know for sure. and although there are a few brief references to modern technology, the whole book seems to take place in an atmosphere of timeless highway.
the gritty, summer-hot vibes and the ever-shifting coastal scenery are the most notable things about this novel. despite being a story about two people on the lam, not much happens in highway blue. we spend most of the book in anne marie's mind as she watches the scenery streaming past, reflects on her relationship with cal, thinks about the mother she lost when she was fifteen, and observes other people living their odd little lives around her.
this rambling stream-of-consciousness style is definitely not for everyone. there are many long passages like this:
There was a little pebbled rest area in the woods for the logging trucks and it was edged with long wild grasses which gave way to the dark of the pine trees. We were ringed by them. Up above us was an oval of night sky full of stars and dark quick-moving clouds and wind moving the black treetops at its edge.
I got out of the car and walked to the edge of the trees and there was the smell of pine, sharp, and the wet smells of soil and moss on the breeze.
I had left my shoes in the footwell of the car and my feet were bare. Between tufts of grass there were pieces of gravel and they dug into the soles of my feet and the pain seemed to heighten the night and sharpen it and it felt good.
it's melancholic and beautiful, although page after page of landscape imagery can become tiresome. but for the most part i enjoyed being swept into the arid setting, which is richly detailed and atmospheric; so i enjoyed highway blue.
i also appreciate the theme song which often plays through anne marie's mind: this grateful dead track. she says it's her namesake, and the vibe is very fitting.
i'd recommend highway blue if you want a short, dreamy, and quietly introspective read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hogarth Press for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
May 20, 2021
Published today 6th May 2021
I first came across this novel on the Guardian’s best debut novelists of 2021 feature – which last year featured Douglas Stuart (who went on to win the Booker) and this year featured a number of excellent debuts I have already read including two books which have been longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize Caleb Azumah Nelson , Rebecca Watson , the outstanding debut by Natasha Brown , as well as Megan Nolan and Abigail Dean .
The author describes the book well as “a novel about outsiders, love and loneliness, and the desire for a sense of belonging”, and a novel which takes the American road trip novel genre (one which is partly autobiographical for her, having dropped out of Vet studies in the UK to return to the US of her birth for a road trip) and “plays around within it, to put my own spin on it. I also like a slightly raw, ragged and offbeat feel.”
This book – a short novella easily read in a couple of sittings, is narrated by the young Anne Marie. At the book’s opening she is living a rather aimless life in the fictional coastal town of San Padua, where she was abandoned a few years back after a brief marriage to Cal. To her surprise he shows up on her doorstep one day, and over a drink tries and fails to get some money from her to help with some troubles he has got into further North. Walking back, his troubles catch up with him and in a fracas the gun held by Cal’s assailant goes off, and realising they face a murder charge Cal and the reluctant Ann Marie head South, sometimes hitching lifts sometimes in a beat up car.
Their journey takes them through a landscape and regions which are simultaneously evocative but also indeterminate. The author has called it an “almost mythological” version of America
It seems to me to capture the way in which both Cal and Ann Marie, in their own way, are searching for something (home, roots, a sense of belonging, a fixed identity, meaning) that they have never really had and perhaps will never find.
Cal comments, in one of the rare insights into his true feeling and the fears that lie behind his easy going confidence and bluster: “I have this feeling, this smothering feeling, and it’s pressing on me all the time and it’s like I’m burning up against the whole world and the only way to escape it is to move, to keep moving so it doesn’t catch up with me.”
Ann Marie by contrast seems to be fleeing from bodily existence, or perhaps more trying to find evidence to reconcile external corporeality “somehow I was very aware of my skin stretching over the bones of my face and I could almost feel it, that tension, and I could feel, too, the separation of me, of my bony gray body alone on a reflected field of white tiles and I felt the space around me with no one else there to break it. I seemed so odd, a small odd construction of white bone and slick red muscle and nameless yellow sludge all tied up with sinews and tendons and packaged mechanically to stand or fall.” with her inner world of feeling and need for connection, a connection she thought she had found in Cal only to realise she had not “A few years later I met Cal and decided to align the course of my happiness with him and that was that …. I thought he would stop me from being alone in my own head. I pinned that expectation on another collection of cells who was just as lost and hopeless and confused at finding themselves in the unexpected state of being conscious as I was. And in there was my mistake, my huge steaming train wreck ….. I used to believe that we, a little fringed- off species, isolated lumbering hunks of flesh, could truly know one another purely and selflessly. Whatever that was supposed to mean”
We get glimpses of both their upbringings marked by death of parents – parents who themselves seemed to represent a life that their children rejected but without really knowing how to replace it; and of their brief marriage based it seems more on impulse, and a desire to escape than on any sense of love or shared purpose – and which inevitably finished as easily as it began.
A couple of times lyric extracts come to Ann Marie’s mind - which with some Googling I found were from Grateful Dead’s “Friend of the Devil” – which I assume (given the verse with which I open my review – lyrics featured in the novel) stands as a coda for the novel (and gives the narrator her name).
Overall a promising debut novel - 3.5 rounded up
My thanks to Random House UK, Vintage Harvill Secker for an ARC via NetGalley
“Got two reasons why I cry away each lonely night
The first one's named sweet Anne Marie and she's my hearts delight
The second one is prison, babe, the sheriff's on my trail
And if he catches up with me, I'll spend my life in jail”
I first came across this novel on the Guardian’s best debut novelists of 2021 feature – which last year featured Douglas Stuart (who went on to win the Booker) and this year featured a number of excellent debuts I have already read including two books which have been longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize Caleb Azumah Nelson , Rebecca Watson , the outstanding debut by Natasha Brown , as well as Megan Nolan and Abigail Dean .
The author describes the book well as “a novel about outsiders, love and loneliness, and the desire for a sense of belonging”, and a novel which takes the American road trip novel genre (one which is partly autobiographical for her, having dropped out of Vet studies in the UK to return to the US of her birth for a road trip) and “plays around within it, to put my own spin on it. I also like a slightly raw, ragged and offbeat feel.”
This book – a short novella easily read in a couple of sittings, is narrated by the young Anne Marie. At the book’s opening she is living a rather aimless life in the fictional coastal town of San Padua, where she was abandoned a few years back after a brief marriage to Cal. To her surprise he shows up on her doorstep one day, and over a drink tries and fails to get some money from her to help with some troubles he has got into further North. Walking back, his troubles catch up with him and in a fracas the gun held by Cal’s assailant goes off, and realising they face a murder charge Cal and the reluctant Ann Marie head South, sometimes hitching lifts sometimes in a beat up car.
Their journey takes them through a landscape and regions which are simultaneously evocative but also indeterminate. The author has called it an “almost mythological” version of America
It seems to me to capture the way in which both Cal and Ann Marie, in their own way, are searching for something (home, roots, a sense of belonging, a fixed identity, meaning) that they have never really had and perhaps will never find.
Cal comments, in one of the rare insights into his true feeling and the fears that lie behind his easy going confidence and bluster: “I have this feeling, this smothering feeling, and it’s pressing on me all the time and it’s like I’m burning up against the whole world and the only way to escape it is to move, to keep moving so it doesn’t catch up with me.”
Ann Marie by contrast seems to be fleeing from bodily existence, or perhaps more trying to find evidence to reconcile external corporeality “somehow I was very aware of my skin stretching over the bones of my face and I could almost feel it, that tension, and I could feel, too, the separation of me, of my bony gray body alone on a reflected field of white tiles and I felt the space around me with no one else there to break it. I seemed so odd, a small odd construction of white bone and slick red muscle and nameless yellow sludge all tied up with sinews and tendons and packaged mechanically to stand or fall.” with her inner world of feeling and need for connection, a connection she thought she had found in Cal only to realise she had not “A few years later I met Cal and decided to align the course of my happiness with him and that was that …. I thought he would stop me from being alone in my own head. I pinned that expectation on another collection of cells who was just as lost and hopeless and confused at finding themselves in the unexpected state of being conscious as I was. And in there was my mistake, my huge steaming train wreck ….. I used to believe that we, a little fringed- off species, isolated lumbering hunks of flesh, could truly know one another purely and selflessly. Whatever that was supposed to mean”
We get glimpses of both their upbringings marked by death of parents – parents who themselves seemed to represent a life that their children rejected but without really knowing how to replace it; and of their brief marriage based it seems more on impulse, and a desire to escape than on any sense of love or shared purpose – and which inevitably finished as easily as it began.
A couple of times lyric extracts come to Ann Marie’s mind - which with some Googling I found were from Grateful Dead’s “Friend of the Devil” – which I assume (given the verse with which I open my review – lyrics featured in the novel) stands as a coda for the novel (and gives the narrator her name).
Overall a promising debut novel - 3.5 rounded up
My thanks to Random House UK, Vintage Harvill Secker for an ARC via NetGalley
May 1, 2021
This feels like a mood piece to me, a long short story or novella that captures a feeling of rootlessness and melancholy, a drifting, lulling dip into twisted romance and edgy on-the-run narrative. The physical journey which is also a psychological journey is such an archetype that this feels overly familiar and the decision not to anchor it in real places adds to a slightly surreal feel.
All the same, this is relatively slight and while there's a kind of doomed romance at heart, the protagonist's reckoning with her past, her abbreviated marriage and her life still feels unresolved. A bit Thelma and Louise, albeit with a M/F couple; a tiny bit Cormac McCarthy - I'm not sure the author has quite found her own subject yet.
Many thanks to Vintage/Harvill Secker for an ARC via NetGalley.
All the same, this is relatively slight and while there's a kind of doomed romance at heart, the protagonist's reckoning with her past, her abbreviated marriage and her life still feels unresolved. A bit Thelma and Louise, albeit with a M/F couple; a tiny bit Cormac McCarthy - I'm not sure the author has quite found her own subject yet.
Many thanks to Vintage/Harvill Secker for an ARC via NetGalley.
February 27, 2021
Actual rating 3.5/5 stars.
Anne Marie was married to Cal for one whole year before she awoke one morning to find him gone from her side. Two years later and he reappears. Her life has altered little on the outside, but she is much changed on the inside. She isn't the same care-free girl he married but must channel the aspects of the person Cal fell in love with, in order to acclimatise to the chaos that becomes their new, forced reality after a tragedy occurs and sees them fleeing for their freedom and their lives.
This book was an interesting blend of being somehow both peaceful and chaotic at the same time. I think this may stem from the protagonist, Anne Marie's, somewhat accepting and docile nature, despite the turmoil and tumult surrounding her. She was far from mellow, however, and her struggles became more apparent, and her history gradually revealed, as the duo journey further, together.
The writing mirrored these aspects of the story's central character, as it remained both sparse and yet exuberant, at the same time, ensuring I appreciated all aspects of this emotional short novel. I did, however, ultimately find myself yearning for a little something more to occur, during the second half of this.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Alisa McFarlane, and the publisher, Hogarth Press, for this opportunity.
Anne Marie was married to Cal for one whole year before she awoke one morning to find him gone from her side. Two years later and he reappears. Her life has altered little on the outside, but she is much changed on the inside. She isn't the same care-free girl he married but must channel the aspects of the person Cal fell in love with, in order to acclimatise to the chaos that becomes their new, forced reality after a tragedy occurs and sees them fleeing for their freedom and their lives.
This book was an interesting blend of being somehow both peaceful and chaotic at the same time. I think this may stem from the protagonist, Anne Marie's, somewhat accepting and docile nature, despite the turmoil and tumult surrounding her. She was far from mellow, however, and her struggles became more apparent, and her history gradually revealed, as the duo journey further, together.
The writing mirrored these aspects of the story's central character, as it remained both sparse and yet exuberant, at the same time, ensuring I appreciated all aspects of this emotional short novel. I did, however, ultimately find myself yearning for a little something more to occur, during the second half of this.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Alisa McFarlane, and the publisher, Hogarth Press, for this opportunity.
February 23, 2021
We meet Anne Marie in the seaside town where she's carved something of an existence, or as she puts it, "...made a little life" for herself, when her long missing husband Cal shows up and sets her on a different path. They'd only been married for a short while several years before, and it seems they'd never shared much of a connection, only that they were young, hot and bored. Also, she'd not had much of a connection to anyone all through her life, her relationship with her mother only intermittently affectionate. The prose is stark, but stunning: ("Together we walked through old rooms full of red and dark.... "..you could hear was the occasional muffled fug of laughter and it sounded like interference." ). We experience their flight solely through Anne Marie's impressions, her reactions to sharp odors and light of day. Ailsa McFarlane is cagey about location, but various descriptors tend to set this for me on the East Coast, but its haunted, visceral quality could settle it elsewhere. To sum up, Highway Blue is a good example of why I love reading debut novels. There is such promise on display, and I look forward to following this young author's journey.
March 30, 2021
Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: May 18, 2021
Alisa McFarlane’s debut novel, “Highway Blue”, is a setting-driven, coming-of-age, road trip story set amongst the backdrop of California, with an honest and powerful protagonist.
Anne Marie is trying to start her life over after her husband left her, less than a year into their union. Dog walking and waitressing is paying the bills until one day, her husband, Cal shows up and Anne Marie’s life is completely turned upside down. After an altercation with a drug dealer, a gun goes off and soon both Cal and Anne Marie are on the run from the police. As the two are forced together on a state-wide road trip, they must come to terms not only with their broken relationship, but also with themselves.
The story is narrated by Anne Marie, and McFarlane does a wonderful job of bringing the voice of Anne Marie to life. Normally, a story that is short on commas and long on sentences would turn me off, but in this case it actually helped hear Anne Marie’s voice in my head. Young, naïve, and under-educated, Anne Marie is telling the story in her own words, and we are able to see the world through her eyes.
As mentioned, the story is very heavily reliant on the setting. McFarlane uses beautifully poetic adjectives to describe the California landscape, as Cal and Anne Marie make their way across the state. After the first dramatic scene, nothing extraordinary happens, but I was still invested enough in Anne Marie’s story to want to know how it ends.
Anne Marie’s bravery comes out in full force in the end of the novel, and I emphatically cheered for her. I felt as if I had been through Anne Marie’s transition with her, and the ending brought so much satisfaction and closure.
McFarlane’s debut will make waves when it hits shelves in May. Beautifully written, poetic and emotional, “Highway Blue” will push McFarlane into full-fledged “author” status.
Expected publication date: May 18, 2021
Alisa McFarlane’s debut novel, “Highway Blue”, is a setting-driven, coming-of-age, road trip story set amongst the backdrop of California, with an honest and powerful protagonist.
Anne Marie is trying to start her life over after her husband left her, less than a year into their union. Dog walking and waitressing is paying the bills until one day, her husband, Cal shows up and Anne Marie’s life is completely turned upside down. After an altercation with a drug dealer, a gun goes off and soon both Cal and Anne Marie are on the run from the police. As the two are forced together on a state-wide road trip, they must come to terms not only with their broken relationship, but also with themselves.
The story is narrated by Anne Marie, and McFarlane does a wonderful job of bringing the voice of Anne Marie to life. Normally, a story that is short on commas and long on sentences would turn me off, but in this case it actually helped hear Anne Marie’s voice in my head. Young, naïve, and under-educated, Anne Marie is telling the story in her own words, and we are able to see the world through her eyes.
As mentioned, the story is very heavily reliant on the setting. McFarlane uses beautifully poetic adjectives to describe the California landscape, as Cal and Anne Marie make their way across the state. After the first dramatic scene, nothing extraordinary happens, but I was still invested enough in Anne Marie’s story to want to know how it ends.
Anne Marie’s bravery comes out in full force in the end of the novel, and I emphatically cheered for her. I felt as if I had been through Anne Marie’s transition with her, and the ending brought so much satisfaction and closure.
McFarlane’s debut will make waves when it hits shelves in May. Beautifully written, poetic and emotional, “Highway Blue” will push McFarlane into full-fledged “author” status.
July 28, 2021
3.5/5 stars.
A read you whisk through, you feel the dry heat, the desperation, the desire to be alone and drifting through life. It's a nice read and I felt an excruciating moment of existential dread when I realised the women who wrote this is 24, the same age as me - her author profile says she has travelled the world and this is her first novel. I can't say much, I haven't travelled or written a novel, I only dream of that. Kudos to McFarlane, I couldn't have written this, but it wasn't as fantastical as the quotes on it's back cover claim.
A read you whisk through, you feel the dry heat, the desperation, the desire to be alone and drifting through life. It's a nice read and I felt an excruciating moment of existential dread when I realised the women who wrote this is 24, the same age as me - her author profile says she has travelled the world and this is her first novel. I can't say much, I haven't travelled or written a novel, I only dream of that. Kudos to McFarlane, I couldn't have written this, but it wasn't as fantastical as the quotes on it's back cover claim.
March 25, 2021
This novel comes across more like a screenplay, with highly descriptive passages oozing with atmosphere and heavy on the dialogue. The first person narrative is also cleverly written like spoken word, with cadences and repetition, lending an hypnotic quality to the reading experience, and although there is little action, it feels like being part of someone’s dream - a most impressive debut.
Thanks to the publisher for the ARC via NetGalley
Thanks to the publisher for the ARC via NetGalley
May 16, 2021
This is a quick and voyeuristic look into a few days in a young girl’s life; a girl with no roots, no baggage (literally and figuratively), and absolutely no expectations of life. I realize this sounds sad, but it’s a very realistic peek into the average young person’s life who finds themselves out on their own with nothing of any substance.
Anne Marie is surviving, not living, but simply surviving day to day. Her wayward husband suddenly appears again after a two-year absence, and immediately they're thrust into a violent situation. On the run, they attempt some semblance of a relationship and shared life, but it fails miserably.
The lifestyle of Anne Marie is one I’m not familiar with, but sadly a large population of people live like this day to day. No hopes, no plans, no idea where the next meal is coming from, no concern for basic needs, no expectations. The only basic human need Anne Marie expressed was the desire to take a shower. She was aware that she and her husband had body odor. Other than this one basic desire, she is simply surviving.
This is a quick and sad read, a voyeuristic look into a snippet of how others may live, a sad commentary of human needs and desires. This doesn’t sound like an interesting subject to read, but thanks to the beautiful writing and imagery, it is captivating. It echoes “Thelma and Louise” to me, sad but stunning.
Sincere thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date was May 18, 2021.
Anne Marie is surviving, not living, but simply surviving day to day. Her wayward husband suddenly appears again after a two-year absence, and immediately they're thrust into a violent situation. On the run, they attempt some semblance of a relationship and shared life, but it fails miserably.
The lifestyle of Anne Marie is one I’m not familiar with, but sadly a large population of people live like this day to day. No hopes, no plans, no idea where the next meal is coming from, no concern for basic needs, no expectations. The only basic human need Anne Marie expressed was the desire to take a shower. She was aware that she and her husband had body odor. Other than this one basic desire, she is simply surviving.
This is a quick and sad read, a voyeuristic look into a snippet of how others may live, a sad commentary of human needs and desires. This doesn’t sound like an interesting subject to read, but thanks to the beautiful writing and imagery, it is captivating. It echoes “Thelma and Louise” to me, sad but stunning.
Sincere thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date was May 18, 2021.
March 9, 2021
I was given a copy of this book by the publisher to read and review.
I'll be honest, if this book wasn't so short, I would not have finished it. It was VERY short, about a 2 hour read.
I can absolutely see people enjoying this book. I was not one of those people. The writer's prose came off as pretentious to me. Hey look! I'm going to write paragraphs that are massive run-on sentences and I'm going to put the word 'and' instead of using a period and it will be really cool and it will end up being really annoying to me and it was just too much and hence my dislike.
Another thing that I didn't like about this book was that there was no storytelling. The author dumps us into the life and mind of the main character and didn't create enough story to keep me interested. We basically jump into her life for a couple of weeks and then jump back out of it. There was nothing to help me identify or empathize with the characters.
I'll be honest, if this book wasn't so short, I would not have finished it. It was VERY short, about a 2 hour read.
I can absolutely see people enjoying this book. I was not one of those people. The writer's prose came off as pretentious to me. Hey look! I'm going to write paragraphs that are massive run-on sentences and I'm going to put the word 'and' instead of using a period and it will be really cool and it will end up being really annoying to me and it was just too much and hence my dislike.
Another thing that I didn't like about this book was that there was no storytelling. The author dumps us into the life and mind of the main character and didn't create enough story to keep me interested. We basically jump into her life for a couple of weeks and then jump back out of it. There was nothing to help me identify or empathize with the characters.
May 12, 2021
This book was definitely not the right fit for me.
Firstly, I'm not a fan of, and never read, short stories / novella's, and this one turned out to be exactly that, which I didn't know when I decided to pick it up. Secondly, I'm a reader who loves fast-paced, plot driven, edge of your seat types of reads, and although I have been known to really enjoy slower paced novels about love and life, this one just didn't even fit that bill for me. Absolutely nothing happens in this novella. I kept reading and reading thinking that a big plot twist or something interesting must be just around the corner but it wasn't. At the end of the day, this story is about a road trip taken by an estranged married couple who haven't seen each other in a few years. And that's it, nothing more. They leave one town and head off to another town and that's the whole story. Literally. Yes, it's about their interactions and their words and their lives, but really, I just didn't get the point of this story. I have no doubt that the story ultimately tries to convey some deep philosophical message to the reader, but whatever it was, I didn't catch it. I was bored to tears. This one was just much too slow, much too meandering, much too much of nothing happening and I really didn't like it. I did finish it, but I should actually have DNF'd it when I realised that I wasn't interested. Not for me I'm afraid and I can't say much good about this one.
Firstly, I'm not a fan of, and never read, short stories / novella's, and this one turned out to be exactly that, which I didn't know when I decided to pick it up. Secondly, I'm a reader who loves fast-paced, plot driven, edge of your seat types of reads, and although I have been known to really enjoy slower paced novels about love and life, this one just didn't even fit that bill for me. Absolutely nothing happens in this novella. I kept reading and reading thinking that a big plot twist or something interesting must be just around the corner but it wasn't. At the end of the day, this story is about a road trip taken by an estranged married couple who haven't seen each other in a few years. And that's it, nothing more. They leave one town and head off to another town and that's the whole story. Literally. Yes, it's about their interactions and their words and their lives, but really, I just didn't get the point of this story. I have no doubt that the story ultimately tries to convey some deep philosophical message to the reader, but whatever it was, I didn't catch it. I was bored to tears. This one was just much too slow, much too meandering, much too much of nothing happening and I really didn't like it. I did finish it, but I should actually have DNF'd it when I realised that I wasn't interested. Not for me I'm afraid and I can't say much good about this one.
June 28, 2021
Kind of a weird one... not much plot, moody atmosphere.
July 18, 2023
Kelly Reichardt x Hemingway. good swift read for anyone in the mood for melancholy summer road trip vibes (which I almost always am)
April 15, 2023
I see no reason why this book was published to be honest.
April 16, 2021
I received an ARC of this on my kindle and didn’t realise how short it was. I read it in just a few sittings. It is marvellous. At a time when I am taking a creative writing class and trying to observe different writing styles I want to learn how to write like this. I feel like I highlighted half the book. The way people stood, what they wore and astute observations on the objects and settings around them made me devour the book. I will certainly be recommending when it is comes out.
March 29, 2021
3.5
Highway Blue is a short novel of under 200 pages. Alisa McFarlane offers readers a moment in time in the life of her characters, two lost and lonely young adults whose lives intersect in a moment in time.
Twenty-year-old Anne Marie is going through the motions of life, living with strangers, work at a bar and dog walking giving her just enough money to survive, still hurt by the disappearance of her husband after a year of marriage. Now he suddenly has returned, hoping Anne Marie can save him, but she has nothing to give him.
But when a man attacks them and ends up dead, Cal convinces Anne Marie to run and over the next days she remembers her past and contemplates Cal's place in her future.
They are helped by strangers along the way, a happy couple and a lonely trucker. Cal tells Anne Marie that he had hoped their marriage would give him a place to belong in this world. She had loved him. He loved the idea of them.
Heavy on dialogue and Anne Marie's inner thoughts, the story is about romantic ideals and disillusion, the limits of love, and the strength to recreate oneself.
I received a free galley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
Highway Blue is a short novel of under 200 pages. Alisa McFarlane offers readers a moment in time in the life of her characters, two lost and lonely young adults whose lives intersect in a moment in time.
Twenty-year-old Anne Marie is going through the motions of life, living with strangers, work at a bar and dog walking giving her just enough money to survive, still hurt by the disappearance of her husband after a year of marriage. Now he suddenly has returned, hoping Anne Marie can save him, but she has nothing to give him.
But when a man attacks them and ends up dead, Cal convinces Anne Marie to run and over the next days she remembers her past and contemplates Cal's place in her future.
They are helped by strangers along the way, a happy couple and a lonely trucker. Cal tells Anne Marie that he had hoped their marriage would give him a place to belong in this world. She had loved him. He loved the idea of them.
Heavy on dialogue and Anne Marie's inner thoughts, the story is about romantic ideals and disillusion, the limits of love, and the strength to recreate oneself.
I received a free galley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
May 10, 2021
Anne Marie was 19 years old when she married her husband Cal and 20 years old when he left her. Unable to afford their apartment on her own, she moved in with three other women in an apartment in San Padua, living a lonely existence just working to survive. Two years later, Cal shows back up outside of her apartment, claiming he owes money and needs her help. She turns him down but as they’re walking back to her apartment, they’re mugged, which ends in fatality. The two estranged lovers go on the run, driving across California, hoping for salvation and possibly a way to heal the brokenness inside them both. Do you like philosophical questions about the meaning of life and love or stream of consciousness novellas? Because if you do, you’re going to love this. Unfortunately I am not one of those people so I really had to drag myself through reading this. Anne Marie is also a super unreliable narrator, which normally I love, but I just found myself getting more and more confused by her. Honestly, I just didn’t get the point of the book. Anne Marie was broken and so was her relationship with Cal but instead of doing anything about it, she just wallowed in it.
October 26, 2021
Cool, cinematic but ultimately not that good. McFarlane has some potential but there is just not enough of anything in this novel. The writing is decent - it has a detached tone that fits with the narrator and her listlessness. But I didn't believe the crime near the start of the book, nor any of the characters' reactions thereafter. It all seemed a bit thin and cold. Maybe she's too hip for her own good.
'Young people running away from something on the highways of the US' is basically its own genre at this point and there are far, far better examples than this. It's not McFarlane's fault that I've happened to read Sam Shepherd, Willy Vlautin and Denis Johnson recently. But they are way better. So read them instead.
'Young people running away from something on the highways of the US' is basically its own genre at this point and there are far, far better examples than this. It's not McFarlane's fault that I've happened to read Sam Shepherd, Willy Vlautin and Denis Johnson recently. But they are way better. So read them instead.
September 7, 2021
Highway Blue reads like you're finding voices of old friends. It's familiar and yet new at the same time. There were times when Anne Marie (the narrator) reminded me of Esther Greenwood's voice. The amassing of declarative sentences void of emotion during scenes which one might imagine filled with panic and tumult. But as it when on, I felt that Anne Marie was a female Meursault and that Highway Blue seems destined to be The Stranger of the 21st century. Clinical, detached, existential and ultimately unresolved. It's very clever and super stylised and, I would imagine, will win a lot of literary prizes.
October 3, 2021
That Highway Blue is a debut novel is remarkable. The writing is superb, incredibly controlled and restrained. It tells the story of Anne Marie, a young woman who has been living in a shared house in San Padua since her husband, Cal, left her a few years previously. When he turns up out of the blue one night, disturbing the settled nature of her new life, it sets in motion a series of events that sees them both having to flee north, crammed into a battered old car. The journey forces them to examine their damaged relationship. This road-trip takes them through the dark heart of America, through broken landscapes, desolate and neon-lit, populated by desperate and lonely characters. Is their destination a shot at redemption or merely a gateway to a new life?
I burned through this short novel in a matter of hours. The prose is unpretentious, stripped back and incredibly readable. I found myself caring deeply for the plight of Anne Marie, and yet I understood how her depth of feeling for Cal could leave her vulnerable. The characters – even the secondary ones -are well-formed and recognisable. Since her husband’s abrupt departure, Anne Marie has had to change and grow, and Cal’s return finds him encountering a very different woman to the young girl he abandoned. There are snippets of her childhood dropped into the narrative, colouring her character and hinting at why she fell in love with someone so inherently bad. But through the progress of the story – which, like the prose, is straightforward and simple – we begin to see how her life experiences have enlightened her to her past mistakes and perhaps given her the courage to do this time what’s right.
Highway Blue is a fantastic novel, marking Ailsa McFarlane as a writer to watch out for. I had a great time reading it and I have no hesitation in recommending.
I burned through this short novel in a matter of hours. The prose is unpretentious, stripped back and incredibly readable. I found myself caring deeply for the plight of Anne Marie, and yet I understood how her depth of feeling for Cal could leave her vulnerable. The characters – even the secondary ones -are well-formed and recognisable. Since her husband’s abrupt departure, Anne Marie has had to change and grow, and Cal’s return finds him encountering a very different woman to the young girl he abandoned. There are snippets of her childhood dropped into the narrative, colouring her character and hinting at why she fell in love with someone so inherently bad. But through the progress of the story – which, like the prose, is straightforward and simple – we begin to see how her life experiences have enlightened her to her past mistakes and perhaps given her the courage to do this time what’s right.
Highway Blue is a fantastic novel, marking Ailsa McFarlane as a writer to watch out for. I had a great time reading it and I have no hesitation in recommending.
April 23, 2021
I enjoy a good road trip book (especially right now when we can’t go anywhere). This debut novel by Ailsa McFarlane is a moody and melancholic tale about estranged couple Anne Marie and Cal who go on an unplanned road trip down the coast of an unidentified part of America (likely South California) after an ill-fated event prompts them to flee the fictional town of San Padua.
It’s a short book - less than 200 pages - and I read it in one sitting. There is not a whole lot in the way of plot or character development, and the sparse prose, syncopated rhythm and stream of consciousness style of writing won’t be for everyone.
There is some lovely descriptive writing of what feels like a mythical otherworldly America, and reading the book evokes a feeling not unlike watching a indie/arthouse movie, albeit a gloomy and introspective one.
Unfortunately though, the story fell a little flat and while it is a short novel, for me it might have worked better as a short story.
It’s interesting and it’s stylish but it’s just a bit lacklustre. It feels reductive to say it’s all style and no substance, when I think here the style *is* the substance. It’s just not substantial enough for me, I need more to get me excited about a book. Does that make sense? 3/5 ⭐️
*Highway Blue by Ailsa McFarlane will be published on 6 May 2021. Many thanks to the publisher @vintagebooks and Penguin Random House for a proof copy via @netgalley. As always, this is an honest review.*
It’s a short book - less than 200 pages - and I read it in one sitting. There is not a whole lot in the way of plot or character development, and the sparse prose, syncopated rhythm and stream of consciousness style of writing won’t be for everyone.
There is some lovely descriptive writing of what feels like a mythical otherworldly America, and reading the book evokes a feeling not unlike watching a indie/arthouse movie, albeit a gloomy and introspective one.
Unfortunately though, the story fell a little flat and while it is a short novel, for me it might have worked better as a short story.
It’s interesting and it’s stylish but it’s just a bit lacklustre. It feels reductive to say it’s all style and no substance, when I think here the style *is* the substance. It’s just not substantial enough for me, I need more to get me excited about a book. Does that make sense? 3/5 ⭐️
*Highway Blue by Ailsa McFarlane will be published on 6 May 2021. Many thanks to the publisher @vintagebooks and Penguin Random House for a proof copy via @netgalley. As always, this is an honest review.*
April 30, 2021
Firstly, for full transparency I just want to say that I was fortunate enough to be sent a copy of this very surreal, fever dream-esque debut to review for a magazine (shoutout to Amy at Stylist). Though rest assured, as everything stated below is entirely of my own opinion (nothing can hold this girl back from speaking her truth!)
Highway Blue is a darkly vivid road trip novella, set against an unknown, south American landscape. We follow Anne Marie and her estranged husband, Cal, after an unexpected violent incident occurs, forcing the two to quite literally “hit the road Jack!”
Now I don’t want undermine how much blood, sweat and tears must’ve gone into creating this book. It definitely does an amazing job of capturing the atmospheric southern setting, however the dialogue and plot (or lack of) felt incredibly lacklustre.
For a book described as a “road trip” novel, there was really nothing concrete ‘driving’ the narrative. Though McFarlane aptly captures her characters sense of aimlessness -particularly Anne Marie’s, it all too quickly loses its way, and became, I’m sorry to say, rather boring.
McFarlane definitely shows potential and I am keen to see what she creates next. However for me, this debut fell into the unfortunate category of style over substance.
3 very average stars.
https://www.instagram.com/elliekakoulli/
Highway Blue is a darkly vivid road trip novella, set against an unknown, south American landscape. We follow Anne Marie and her estranged husband, Cal, after an unexpected violent incident occurs, forcing the two to quite literally “hit the road Jack!”
Now I don’t want undermine how much blood, sweat and tears must’ve gone into creating this book. It definitely does an amazing job of capturing the atmospheric southern setting, however the dialogue and plot (or lack of) felt incredibly lacklustre.
For a book described as a “road trip” novel, there was really nothing concrete ‘driving’ the narrative. Though McFarlane aptly captures her characters sense of aimlessness -particularly Anne Marie’s, it all too quickly loses its way, and became, I’m sorry to say, rather boring.
McFarlane definitely shows potential and I am keen to see what she creates next. However for me, this debut fell into the unfortunate category of style over substance.
3 very average stars.
https://www.instagram.com/elliekakoulli/
March 17, 2021
This was a short and interesting read, but I feel like it was let down slightly by the long sentences and repetitive style of writing.
The story is a modern Bonnie and Clyde - it follows a young 20-something woman called Anne Marie, who’s husband left her suddenly, a year after their wedding, two years ago. When he shows up again out of the blue, a law-breaking incident takes them on a soul-searching road trip where they are forced to rediscover the new people they have become.
There seemed to be a lot of unnecessary details in the text, especially things like full names of unimportant, fleeting or past characters, so I found myself skipping over a few disposable details. The writing style comes across as quite child-like sometimes - there are a lot of repeated descriptions and settings, especially when describing smells and heat. Repetition is a bit of a pet peeve of mine, but the style of writing did feel accurate to the age of the character.
Choosing a favourite quote was easy, this one stood out to me by a mile and I love it! Anne Marie is describing why she slept with so many strangers after her marriage separation…
Favourite quote:
I thought he would stop me from being alone in my own head. I pinned that expectation on another collection of cells who was just as lost and hopeless and confused at finding themselves in the unexpected state of being conscious as I was.
Highway Blue will be available on May 6th 2021, thank you very much to Penguin Random House for the ARC.
The story is a modern Bonnie and Clyde - it follows a young 20-something woman called Anne Marie, who’s husband left her suddenly, a year after their wedding, two years ago. When he shows up again out of the blue, a law-breaking incident takes them on a soul-searching road trip where they are forced to rediscover the new people they have become.
There seemed to be a lot of unnecessary details in the text, especially things like full names of unimportant, fleeting or past characters, so I found myself skipping over a few disposable details. The writing style comes across as quite child-like sometimes - there are a lot of repeated descriptions and settings, especially when describing smells and heat. Repetition is a bit of a pet peeve of mine, but the style of writing did feel accurate to the age of the character.
Choosing a favourite quote was easy, this one stood out to me by a mile and I love it! Anne Marie is describing why she slept with so many strangers after her marriage separation…
Favourite quote:
I thought he would stop me from being alone in my own head. I pinned that expectation on another collection of cells who was just as lost and hopeless and confused at finding themselves in the unexpected state of being conscious as I was.
Highway Blue will be available on May 6th 2021, thank you very much to Penguin Random House for the ARC.
June 6, 2021
Highway Blue is an impressive and thoroughly enjoyable début. Anne Marie is in San Padua, trying to forget about her ex-husband, Cal and build a new life for herself. She married Cal when she was 19, but then he left her not long after and she hasn't seen him in years. Then he turns up suddenly and they have a drink together. Later that night a gun is fired and they go on the run.
Ailsa McFarlane's fantastic literary novella packs a powerful punch. Though dark in tone, I liked the author's style of writing and her tremendous characterisation, particularly of Anne Marie as she ponders her life. There is a well-portrayed feeling of rootlessness and a casual drifting into doomed romance, all the while continuing an edgy on-the-run narrative. A piece of engaging, escapist reading that many will find appealing.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Harvill Secker via NetGalley and this review is my unbiased opinion.
Ailsa McFarlane's fantastic literary novella packs a powerful punch. Though dark in tone, I liked the author's style of writing and her tremendous characterisation, particularly of Anne Marie as she ponders her life. There is a well-portrayed feeling of rootlessness and a casual drifting into doomed romance, all the while continuing an edgy on-the-run narrative. A piece of engaging, escapist reading that many will find appealing.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Harvill Secker via NetGalley and this review is my unbiased opinion.
June 9, 2022
Meh. This book wasn’t boring, but it didn’t have much substance. It is fast paced, and I was always concentrating on what was going on and immersed in the story, but it felt pretty cliche and had a lack of depth. I wasn’t ever moved emotionally, really.
She’s a good writer, seriously. Yet…Anne Marie’s reflections are so empty of any meaning, the reader is left to ride along apathetically, adopting a chronic disinterest.
Their journey on the run isn’t gut-punching and nerve-wracking, like it should be. A question I asked myself while reading was “why am I okay with this happening?” I wasn’t emotionally invested in the characters, despite the book’s addictive nature.
Yes, it is a page turner, it is interesting, but it lacks a core ingredient. That could be a multitude of things, intimacy, depth, or insight. Ultimately, this book left me wanting for something more.
She’s a good writer, seriously. Yet…Anne Marie’s reflections are so empty of any meaning, the reader is left to ride along apathetically, adopting a chronic disinterest.
Their journey on the run isn’t gut-punching and nerve-wracking, like it should be. A question I asked myself while reading was “why am I okay with this happening?” I wasn’t emotionally invested in the characters, despite the book’s addictive nature.
Yes, it is a page turner, it is interesting, but it lacks a core ingredient. That could be a multitude of things, intimacy, depth, or insight. Ultimately, this book left me wanting for something more.
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